Now that Jose Canseco has retired from playing baseball to begin his writing career, the debate is on regarding his Hall of Fame credentials. He would join the induction class of McGwire, Ripken, and Gwynn. So what are his chances? He has 446 career home runs, which puts him in an elite area since most of the players with that many longballs are in the Hall. Also consider that Canseco was the original member of the 40-40 Club with 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in 1988.
But home runs may be the only area in which Canseco excelled. In fact, his consistency in that area was not clear. He had a few really good seasons, but was hurt in several others. Unfortunately for Canseco, a couple of his most memorable moments were not positive. Every baseball fan recalled the SportsCenter moment where Canseco turned a fly ball into a home run with his head. We also remember Canseco blowing out his arm while pitching mop-up work with the Rangers. It's too bad that these two incidents overshadow his early success with the A’s as a member of the Bash Brothers.
Canseco was a very good player, but he’s borderline for the Hall of Fame. Many writers and sportscasters have not given him very good chances.
Everyone has their own standards for who deserves Hall of Fame recognition. There are several variables outside of the player’s control, such as the ever-changing rules for induction voting and the era in which a player took the field. One factor that doesn’t change is that a player has to be among the elite for an extended period of time.
So let’s look at his chances by comparing him to his contemporaries that approximate his contribution to the game.
The first place to compare has to be with his longtime teammate and future Hall of Famer, Mark McGwire. Here are their respective career lines:
Canseco
Average .266
Hits 1811
HR 446
RBI 1358
OPS .872
McGwire
Average .265
Hits 1616
HR 580
RBI 1405
OPS .980
Tony Perez is in the Hall of Fame and is a much better match for Canseco’s career.
Average .279
Hits 2732
HR 379
RBI 1652
OPS .804
Perez played longer than Canseco, having over 3000 more at bats.
Two other players that match the career of Canseco are Jim Rice and Dale Murphy.
Rice
Average .298
Hits 2452
HR 382
RBI 1451
