What does Freddie Freeman need to do the rest of his career to have a strong HOF case?

Illustrious Potentate

Illustrious Potentate

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He’s got over 10 years in the league and is 31 now, he was always a good player, but didn’t become elite until he was several seasons into his career, only averaging about 25 homers a year en sech.

What does he need to do get HOF consideration after he retires. @navamind ?
 
RP-29 said:
Winning another MVP would go a long way.
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That don’t mean much. Dale Murphy had a great peak that included back to back MVPs, but the rest of his career wasn’t good enough.
 
Illustrious Potentate said:
That don’t mean much. Dale Murphy had a great peak that included back to back MVPs, but the rest of his career wasn’t good enough.
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Okay, so how about this... it's "hall of fame" and Freeman (and Dale Murphy) isn't famous enough to be easily recognized by general population... so how 'bout he stars in "Space Slam" to boost his "fame" level.
 
Doesn't help that Freeman had two seasons cut short by injury and had one season shortened by COVID. I think a few more seasons in line with his career averages would give him a decent case but I don't think his numbers particularly stand out for a 1B, unfortunately. Lance Berkman had a 144 OPS+ and while I think he was pretty clearly one of the best hitters in the league for a good chunk of his career, he only lasted one year on the HOF ballot. Fred McGriff had a 134 OPS+ and fell just short of 500 home runs, but never got past 40% on the BBWAA ballot. Freeman's 138 OPS+ mirrors that of Carlos Delgado's, and Delgado only got 3.8% before falling off.

Freeman's most similar batter according to BB-Ref is Eddie Murray. Murray was a slightly better hitter through age 30 than Freeman was and Murray was one of the more durable players of all-time, amassing 12817 PA and played in over 3000 games. Murray played in 150+ games a whopping 16 times and 137+ in 17 of his 21 seasons. Three of those exceptions were strike shortened seasons (81, 94, 95) and one was his final season when he was clearly toast. Murray had a 115 OPS+ from 1987-97. If Freeman can replicate that and stay on the mound he could get to some milestones that would help his chances (400+ HR, 2500 hits, 60 WAR). That being said I don't think Murray would have fared as well on the HOF ballot if he were up for election today than he did in 2003.

You can play around and see how Freeman compares to other 1st basemen

www.baseball-reference.com

First Base JAWS Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com

First Base JAWS Leaders
www.baseball-reference.com www.baseball-reference.com
 
I’ve got Freeman’s HOF odds at .6%.

Maybe he hits another 300 homers, but the chance is slim.
 
If He gets to 400 HRs I think he is in.

doesn’t help that he probably hits close to 40 HRs last year in a 162 game season.

And in 2017 he was off to the best start of his career before he broke his wrist and even when he came back didn’t have as much strength
 
Don't see it happening. Defense doesn't have enough say in HOF voting. One of the best defensively to ever suit up at 1B. Going to need to be in the upper 400's in homers to make it. Doubt it happens. He's not a guy swinging for the fences.
 
RubinRock said:
Don't see it happening. Defense doesn't have enough say in HOF voting. One of the best defensively to ever suit up at 1B. Going to need to be in the upper 400's in homers to make it. Doubt it happens. He's not a guy swinging for the fences.
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I don’t either. WAR doesn’t take into account a first baseman’s stretching and scooping. Freddie has saved more throwing errors than any 1B I’ve ever seen.

He spent too much of his 20’s being a good solid player the get the offense numbers to reach the HOF. Great peak though, hope it lasts a while longer
 
He has one Gold Glove guys.

Let’s not pretend your boy is Keith Hernandez.
 
broncosmitty said:
He has one Gold Glove guys.

Let’s not pretend your boy is Keith Hernandez.
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Rafael Palmeiro won a Gold Glove as a DH and Derek Jeter has multiple Gold Gloves. Most useless award in pro sports
 
Illustrious Potentate said:
He’s got over 10 years in the league and is 31 now, he was always a good player, but didn’t become elite until he was several seasons into his career, only averaging about 25 homers a year en sech.

What does he need to do get HOF consideration after he retires. @navamind ?
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He has a WAR of 38.9 He would need a WAR of at least 70. Lou Whitaker has a WAR of 75.1 (more than Derek Jeter) and received 2.9% votes for the Hall of Fame
 
Voltaire said:
He has a WAR of 38.9 He would need a WAR of at least 70. Lou Whitaker has a WAR of 75.1 (more than Derek Jeter) and received 2.9% votes for the Hall of Fame
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You can’t use the biggest HOF snub ever as the baseline
 
Illustrious Potentate said:
Rafael Palmeiro won a Gold Glove as a DH and Derek Jeter has multiple Gold Gloves. Most useless award in pro sports
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Or Greg Maddux winning 18 of them. Dude was great defensively, but it got a little ridiculous. Gold Glove awards are mostly awarded off of flair or name recognition because defensive stats aren't as flashy or as recognizable as batting average, rbis, and homers.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Tatis get consideration for a gold glove when he leads the league in errors. Fuck. Ozuna won a gold glove.
 
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