It’s Official: Mike Trout is Hall-Worthy Oct 7, 2016 by Adam Darowski

That’s Mike Trout. Photo Credit

The Hall of Stats is now updated with 2016 statistics. This day is one of my favorite for the Hall of Stats. I love seeing how a new season has an effect on he future of the Hall of Stats. Who passed the 100 Hall Rating threshold? Who’s closing in? Who hit a bump in their seemingly inevitable trail to Cooperstown?

Once again, a huge thank you to Baseball-Reference for making their WAR data freely available for download.

Mike Trout has officially crossed over the threshold, reaching a 107 Hall Rating. Trout (who also passed Chuck Finley to become the top player in Angels history) was joined over the line by Cole Hamels (102) and Ian Kinsler (100). Felix Hernandez (98), Justin Verlander (97), and Joey Votto (97) all came very close, but none came as excruciatingly close as Dustin Pedroia (99.9). Despite falling short of 100, Pedroia did pass Bobby Doerr to become the top second baseman in Red Sox history.

Mookie Betts: Photo Credit

Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria (both of whom I still think of as young) reached a 90 Hall Rating.

Checking on players who are actually young, Mookie Betts (37) already has a higher Hall Rating than Paul Konerko (36). Manny Machado is just about halfway to 100 (49) while Bryce Harper (43) took an unexpected detour this season. Nolan Arenado also reached 40 while still only 25 years old. Clayton Kershaw, still just 28, is up to 117 after passing 100 last season. He also now ranks among the 50 best pitchers of all time.

Albert Pujols’s Hall Rating rose to 211, now placing him 30th all time. Adrian Beltre skyrocketed to 175, good for 48th all-time. Beltre also moved into second place among Rangers and fifth among third basemen.

Jose Fernandez: Photo Credit

I entered the retirements of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, David Ortiz, and (regretfully) Jose Fernandez. If you know of any other retirements that aren’t reflected on the site, please let me know.

Quick note about Mr. Ortiz. Three years ago, I wrote this:

Right now, I think I have to stick to my numbers and say Ortiz still hasn’t done quite enough. However, with a couple more productive seasons he could launch past Rice in regular season statistics, thus letting us decide if the postseason is enough to put him over the edge. Strictly going by the numbers, Ortiz needs to repeat his 2013 season three more times to reach a Hall Rating of 100 (he had an 8.1 Hall Rating this year). Can he do it?

I gave Ortiz a blueprint of what he needed to do. It was a stretch, but he damn near did it. He finished with a Hall Rating of 95. That combined with his postseason exploits makes him a Hall of Famer to me.

Miguel Cabrera (33 years old) reached a 133 Hall Rating overall, but also reached 100 with the Tigers. He becomes the tenth Tiger to do so.

Have fun going through the updates. Be sure to check out the players who are active and hall-worthy and active and close. Find something interesting I didn’t mention above? Let me know in the comments.