Ranking Don Mattingly and the 10 Best First Basemen Not in Baseball Hall of Fame
The contemporary era committee's recent induction of Jeff Kent into the Baseball Hall of Fame sparked some heated debate surrounding some of the other candidates on the ballot, most notably former New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly.
With 12 votes necessary from the 16-member committee to earn induction, Mattingly fell well short with only six votes, while fellow first baseman Carlos Delgado (nine votes) was actually the highest vote-getter behind Kent among the eight candidates whose cases were up for discussion.
Where do those two former standouts rank among the best first basemen who are not currently in the Hall of Fame?
Ahead we've ranked our top 10, focusing on career statistics, peak production, accolades, postseason success and standing relative to contemporary peers. The focus was solely on-field production, so PED ties and other off-field factors did not impact the rankings.
Retired, Not Yet Eligible
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Miguel Cabrera (eligible in 2029)
Albert Pujols (eligible in 2028)
Anthony Rizzo (eligible in 2030)
Joey Votto (eligible in 2029)
Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols will be first-ballot Hall of Famers, and they could make a serious run at 100 percent voting support as two of the greatest right-handed hitters the game has ever seen.
Considering it took guys like Todd Helton (six years) and Jeff Bagwell (seven years) multiple votes to finally reach the 75 percent threshold, it's not unreasonable to think Joey Votto might spend more than a year on the ballot, but he too is a lock to eventually find his way into Cooperstown.
As for Anthony Rizzo, he is a textbook "Hall of Very Good" case, and falls short of major milestones with 303 home runs, 965 RBI and 40.4 WAR over 14 seasons.
10. John Olerud
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Stats: 129 OPS+, .295/.398/.465, 2,239 H, 255 HR, 1,230 RBI
WAR: 58.1
Accolades: 2x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove
WS Rings: 2
The presence of John Olerud in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system allowed them to pull the trigger on a trade that sent incumbent first baseman Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter, who were both instrumental in their 1992 and 1993 World Series runs.
Olerud hit .363/.473/.599 for a 186 OPS+ for the '93 champions, quietly putting together one of the best seasons of the decade by a first baseman, and under-the-radar contributions would be a hallmark of his career.
He did not have prototypical power for a first baseman, but a .398 on-base percentage helped drive his offensive value, and he tallied more walks (1,275) than strikeouts (1,016) over his 17-year career.
9. Norm Cash
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Stats: 139 OPS+, .271/.374/.488, 1,820 H, 377 HR, 1,104 RBI
WAR: 52.0
Accolades: 5x All-Star
WS Rings: 1
Norm Cash played in the shadow of Al Kaline for much of his career, but he was a consistent middle-of-the-order run producer throughout his 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Roger Maris and his 61-homer performance was the story of the 1961 season, but Cash also hit .361/.487/.662 with 41 home runs and 132 RBI that year, winning the AL batting title and racking up 9.2 WAR in 159 games.
He had at least 20 home runs in 11 different seasons, was a 3-WAR player an impressive nine times, and ranks among the Tigers all-time leaders in home runs (373, second), RBI (1,088, eighth) and position player WAR (51.7, ninth).
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8. Will Clark
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Stats: 137 OPS+, .303/.384/.497, 2,176 H, 284 HR, 1,205 RBI
WAR: 56.5
Accolades: 6x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove
WS Rings: 0
During his first five full seasons in the majors, Will Clark hit .304/.376/.522 for a 153 OPS+ while averaging 27 home runs, 104 RBI and 5.6 WAR as one of the game's brightest stars as the 1980s turned into the 1990s.
He finished in the top-five in NL MVP voting four times during that stretch while helping to lead the Giants to the NL pennant in 1989, and while the second half of his career was not quite as productive, he was a perennial threat to hit .300 with stellar on-base skills.
He went one-and-done on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2006, with a field of candidates that featured nine future inductees, and his case is built more on peak performance and standing relative to his peers than overall body of work.
7. Carlos Delgado
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Stats: 138 OPS+, .280/.383/.546, 2,038 H, 473 HR, 1,512 RBI
WAR: 44.4
Accolades: 2x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger
WS Rings: 0
If not for hip issues late in his career, Carlos Delgado would have cruised to 500 home runs and might already be inducted into Cooperstown. In his final MLB action as a 37-year-old in 2009, he posted a 143 OPS+ with four home runs and 23 RBI in 26 games.
A top prospect in the Blue Jays organization, he finally broke through in the majors in 1996, and the following year he kicked off a run of 10 straight seasons with at least 30 home runs. His 2000 season also provided one of the most impressive offensive stat lines of the last 25 years, as he batted .344/.470/.664 for a 181 OPS+ with 57 doubles, 41 home runs, 137 RBI and 7.3 WAR.
Delgado received nine votes from the 16-voter panel on the most recent contemporary era vote, with 12 votes needed for induction, so there is still some hope he will eventually find his way into Cooperstown.
6. Jason Giambi
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Stats: 139 OPS+, .277/.399/.516, 2,010 H, 440 HR, 1,441 RBI
WAR: 50.5
Accolades: 1x MVP, 5x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger
WS Rings: 0
An admitted HGH and steroid user, Jason Giambi will likely never get the call to Cooperstown, but his on-field production makes him a clear choice as one of the 10 best at his position without a place in those hallowed halls.
Stuck behind Mark McGwire on the Oakland depth chart early in his career, he finally took over as the team's starting first baseman in 1998, and two years later he won AL MVP when he hit .333/.476/.647 for a 187 OPS+ with 43 home runs and 137 RBI.
Over his final three seasons in Oakland and his first two years with the Yankees, he hit .311/.444/.596 for a 171 OPS+ while averaging 39 home runs, 122 RBI and 6.9 WAR. He hung around through his age-43 season, serving in what amounted to a player/coach role in Colorado and Cleveland.
5. Steve Garvey
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Stats: 117 OPS+, .294/.329/.446, 2,599 H, 272 HR, 1,308 RBI
WAR: 38.1
Accolades: 1x MVP, 10x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove
WS Rings: 1
Steve Garvey was the face of the franchise for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1970s, starting at first base for the NL All-Star team six times during the decade while tallying six 200-hit seasons and racking up 32.8 WAR.
He only had one 30-homer season, but still managed to post an OPS+ over 120 an impressive eight different times, and his 2,599 career hits are good for 11th all-time among first basemen.
Further bolstering his resume is the 1974 NL MVP award, as he helped lead the Dodgers to the first of four NL pennants during his time with the team. He was also a key contributor for the 1984 Padres team that reached the World Series, hitting a memorable walk-off home run off Lee Smith in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Cubs.
4. Don Mattingly
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Stats: 127 OPS+, .307/.358/.471, 2,153 H, 222 HR, 1,099 RBI
WAR: 42.4
Accolades: 1x MVP, 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger
WS Rings: 0
During his six-year peak from 1984 through 1989, before back issues derailed his career, Don Mattingly was one of the faces of the sport and a legitimate contender for the title of best player in baseball.
He hit .327/.372/.530 while averaging 43 doubles, 27 home runs, 114 RBI and 5.5 WAR during that stretch, leading the league in hits twice, doubles three times, RBI once and winning the 1984 AL batting title and 1985 AL MVP.
His production plummeted during the 1990 season and over the final six years of his career he batted .286/.345/.405 for a 105 OPS+ before calling it quits after his age-34 campaign in 1995, a year before the Yankees won the World Series.
3. Keith Hernandez
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Stats: 128 OPS+, .296/.384/.436, 2,182 H, 162 HR, 1,071 RBI
WAR: 60.4
Accolades: 1x MVP, 5x All-Star, 11x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger
WS Rings: 2
Keith Hernandez might not have enjoyed quite the same peak-level performance as Don Mattingly, but he has the better all-around Hall of Fame case of the two former New York fixtures that are frequently mentioned among the biggest Cooperstown snubs.
With 11 Gold Glove Awards, he is widely regarded as the best defensive first baseman in MLB history, and he was no slouch with the bat as he actually finished with a higher career OPS+ than the 127 mark that Mattingly posted.
Prior to joining the Mets, Hernandez took home NL MVP with the Cardinals in 1979, winning the batting title while hitting .344/.417/.513 for a 151 OPS+ with 210 hits, 48 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs, 105 RBI and 116 runs scored in a 7.6-WAR performance. That was his career-high among nine seasons with at least 4 WAR.
2. Rafael Palmeiro
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Stats: 132 OPS+, .288/.371/.515, 3,020 H, 569 HR, 1,835 RBI
WAR: 71.9
Accolades: 4x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger
WS Rings: 0
Staring down a congressional committee under oath and proclaiming, "I have never used steroids — period," while wagging his finger, only to then test positive for PEDs just a few months later, will be Rafael Palmeiro's enduring legacy and the reason he will likely never find his way into the Hall of Fame.
Otherwise, he would have a slam dunk case as one of only seven players in MLB history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, alongside Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera.
He ranks in the top 25 all-time in total bases (5,388, 12th), extra-base hits (1,192, eighth), doubles (585, 21st), home runs (569, 13th) and RBI (1,835, 18th), but never topped 12.6 percent support in a four-year stint on the Hall of Fame ballot.
1. Mark McGwire
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Stats: 163 OPS+, .263/.394/.588, 1,626 H, 583 HR, 1,414 RBI
WAR: 62.2
Accolades: 12x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, 1x Gold Glove
WS Rings: 1
For better or worse, Mark McGwire will forever be the face of the Steroid Era, as his home run race with Sammy Sosa captured the nation's attention and helped rescue baseball from the aftermath of the 1994 strike.
His 583 home runs were good for fifth on the all-time list at the time of his retirement, and his 70-homer season in 1998 stands as one of the most dominant single-season performances the sport has ever seen.
His 10.61 at-bats per home run for his career still stands as the all-time record, ahead of Aaron Judge (11.15), Babe Ruth (11.76), Barry Bonds (12.92) and Shohei Ohtani (13.32). If the day comes when the doors to Cooperstown swing open to some of the game's elite performers with PEDs on their resume, he will be one of the first to get the call.
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