Don't be surprised if..... (HOF debate!)

[jimivintage]

As many of you probably know, I've been a long time HOF collector, especially RCs (although I've been admittedly inactive with it for most of this year). Every year though, once discussions start about the next class, I get very excited. I still feel like the Baseball HOF is much more prestigious than that of football or basketball (by far, actually).

We HOF RC collectors (hi, Phil, Derek and others!) also think about who that next guy is going to be. I, for one, like to expand my thinking off the field a bit too, and try and determine baseball executives (pioneers, commissioners, league presidents, and others) that could get in.

So, just for fun, who do you see getting in? Reasons, if any? I know these HOF debates can become tireless at times, but I figured throwing in your thoughts on non-players too might change it up a bit. I'm not sure I would even vote for all these guys, so that's why I'm calling this, "Don't be surprised if...." instead.

So, my list for "Don't be surprised if..." these guys make it into the HOF EVENTUALLY are:

- Bud Selig (Yup, love 'em or hate 'em....he's done a lot to help revolutionize baseball.)

- George Steinbrenner (Ugh! Cleveland Indians purists know he came from Cleveland originally and had interest in buying them in the '70s. Wonder how things would have changed for them!)

- Craig Biggio

- Pete Rose/Shoeless Joe Jackson (They might...they really might. Let's see what happens after Selig is done.)

- Barry Bonds (Not sure if I agree or not, but like I said, "Don't be surprised if...")

- Roger Clemens (See Bonds!)

- Omar Vizquel (In my eyes, if guys like Ozzie Smith and Bill Mazeroski are in...)

- Jim Thome

- Randy Johnson

- John Smoltz

- Pedro Martinez

- Mike Piazza

- Bill James (yup, the saber metrics guy. seriously, somehow this guy will get in. Time magazine has even mentioned him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Goes in as a historian/writer/statistician?)

- Terry Francona (too early perhaps....BUT let's pretend he wins a World Series with Cleveland. He takes Boston to 2 WS wins after 80+ years of demise, and then another desperate team to a WS win? Maybe?!?!)

- Mike Scioscia (a stretch here, but he took them to a WS win in 2002, and they're still good even today. What? 30 games over .500 right now? Long tenure at the helm. Probably needs to win another WS though. Dick Williams and Whitey Herzog are in. Why not Mike? Just sayin'!)

- Jim Leyland

I'm sure I've missed some, so maybe I'll edit this list later. I deliberately skipped players currently on MLB rosters on purpose. We can argue Trout, Cabrera, Kershaw, all day long.

Thanks for sticking with me, and observing the long read.

Anyone?