This will be the third season of Hall of Fame voting, and the first two (rightfully, in this writer's opinion) failed to elect anyone into the hallowed hall. This season could change that, as a very viable candidate exists this time around in the form of Gregg Black.
Black is an auto-nominee due to his 3 MVP awards in the first four seasons of the league. In addition to the MVPs, he won 5 Silver Slugger Awards and was a 5-time All-Star, all with Nashville (now Charlotte). He was traded 5 times in the three seasons after that, winning 2 World Series Championships with Atlanta. His Season 1 performance, where he hit .385-50-161 with a .513 OBP and an .808 SLG, is inarguably the best single season performance by any hitter. He is the world's all-time leader in both slugging percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging), holds 4 single season records (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS), and has 10 franchise records.
Trenton GM gumbercules said that Black's only question mark- his short Bigs career- wouldn't deter him from voting for Black. "I know eventually his numbers won't hold up- his stats will be passed by some players who aren't HOF worthy. But in my mind he is absolutely a Hall of Famer- he was the best position player of his time and he was absolutely dominant for those first five years. For me that's enough."
Just as a reminder, here are the specifications for auto-nomination (only one is required):
Position Players: 7+ Silver Sluggers, 10+ Gold Gloves, 3+ MVPs, 500+ HRs, 3000+ hits.
Pitchers: 3+ Fireman of the Year Awards, 3+ Cy Youngs, 300+ wins, 3000+ K's, 500+ Saves.
Both: 7+ All-Star appearances
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