Palmeiro a Worthy Hall Inductee?

Rafael Palmeiro will represent the ultimate test case for MLB's Hall of Fame voters. How much will the offensive transformation of the mid-'90s weigh down Palmiero's accomplishments?

When you look at the numbers alone, there is no argument. There just isn't a case to be made against him. Of all the Hall-eligible players with 3,000 hits, all are enshrined in Cooperstown. Rafael Palmeiro has 3,004 of them. Of all the Hall-eligible players with 500 home runs, again all are enshrined in Cooperstown. Palmeiro has 567.

In fact, Palmeiro is only one of four players to have accomplished that particular dual feat, along with Eddie Murray, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. And if he slugs 33 more big flies, Hammerin' Hank and the Sey Hey Kid would be Palmeiro's sole peers as members of the 600/3,000 club.

With regards to statistics, the company he keeps is unquestionably extraordinary. But is he as exceptional as his career numbers might suggest, or did he happen to thrive in an expansion-laden era that produced mediocre pitching which was accompanied by diminishing ball parks and juiced up baseballs?

Palmeiro has been the most consistent first baseman of the last 15 years, but he has never been the best — even in his own league. Granted, the competition has been extremely stiff (Frank Thomas, Mo Vaughn, Cecil Fielder, Mark McGwire, Jim Thome, Jason Giambi, and Carlos Delgado to name a few), but never the less, Palmeiro always remained a step behind.

Palmeiro has never won the Most Valuable Player award. The highest he ever finished was fifth, and he's only been in the top 10 three times. He's never won a home run title. The next person on the all-time home run list without accomplishing that feat? Stan Musial, who belted 475 home runs, but won three MVP's and finished with a lifetime average of .331. Palmeiro's career average is .289.

In fact, Palmeiro has won only two silver slugger awards (given to the home run leader at each position in each league), and one of which came as a designated hitter, which brings up another point. How much did Palmeiro benefit from more than 2 ½ seasons worth of at-bats from the DH spot?

Over the last 11 years, Palmeiro has averaged a staggering 40 home runs a season. Two and a half seasons as a DH roughly approximates to 100 home runs, which would bring his total right around the 500 mark.

And it's not like Palmeiro has been hitting in the most challenging of stadiums. Beginning in 1989, he has either played in the sweltering heat and humidity of Arlington or the cozy confines of Camden Yards. In 2003, Palmeiro had a chance to move to a new home, but he invoked his no trade clause in a deal that would have sent him to the Chicago Cubs.

That is probably the largest blemish of Palmeiro's remarkable career. As someone who stood before the Congressional Committee and with valiant conviction rebuked the notion that he had ever taken steroids, Palmeiro's decision to stay in Texas, with a losing club, boggles the mind.

His contract was up at the end of the season, and Rangers made it clear he was not in their plans after the season. Why not go to Chicago and help be part of ending one of the most historic curses the public has ever been saturated to death with?

Palmeiro explained he wanted to stay and help bring Texas back to the .500 mark. I think his reasons were more selfish than noble, specifically that he didn't want anything to jeopardize his home run total. I think he values a Hall of Fame nod more than a World Series ring, and playing in Chicago would have meant splitting time and hitting in a place where fly balls don't sail over the fence with the same regularity that he had grown accustomed to in Arlington.

Palmeiro essentially passed on a chance to distinguish himself, something also lacking from his resume. Palmeiro has been the best player on his team exactly one year — 1995 in Baltimore. The next year, Roberto Alomar showed up and quickly distinguished himself in the playoffs as the man you did not want to have beat you. In five postseason series, Palmeiro's average is a pedestrian .244 with an unexceptional 4 home runs.

Palmeiro does have three gold gloves, although one of them came in 1999, when he played all of 28 games at first, which brings into the credibility the discerning nature of the gold glove judges. Palmeiro is good at first, but I don't think his defense plays any part in his induction into the Hall.

If Palmeiro were to get in, which I think is inevitable, I would have to ask the voters why players such as Jim Rice are kept out? For a six-year stretch, Rice was one of the most formidable hitters in the game. He won an MVP, and finished in the top five on four other occasions, while leading the league in home runs three times. He might not have played for 20 years, but for 14, he more than stood out, which is more than I can say for Palmeiro.

The Hall of Fame is for the elite baseball players. I wasn't on this earth early enough to judge whether or not Don Sutton was a good enough pitcher to be deemed worthy of being enshrined amongst the baseball gods, but I harbor the same kind of reservations about Palmeiro that many others did when Sutton was voted on. Yes, his numbers are certainly adequate, but is he an excellent player or one of the all-time greats?

Palmeiro is an excellent player with all-time great numbers. Anyone who is thrown into a list with Mays and Aaron and cracks 3,000 hits should be a no-brainer. But the fact that Palmeiro has accomplished all he has and is still being talked about as a fringe Hall of Famer makes me believe that voters should save their votes for the exceptional, and not just the number seekers.