Predicting each MLB team’s next Hall of Fame inductee: Clayton Kershaw, Ichiro, Carlos Beltrán and more

As we slog through MLB’s owner-imposed lockout — which still seems wholly unnecessary — and approach the revealing of the 2022 BBWAA Hall of Fame vote this coming Tuesday, let’s have a little fun. OK, so some might not consider this exercise fun. The beauty of the Internet is you aren’t forced to read it, so moving forward this is only for those who do believe it’s fun. 

We’ll pause while the Fun Police clear out and craft their creative and hilarious “slow news day” tweets. 

OK, now that the intro is out of the way, quick housekeeping. 

We’re attempting to predict the next Hall of Fame inductee for each of the 30 current teams. This doesn’t mean the player once appeared for that team. We aren’t going with Albert Pujols for the Dodgers, for example. No, the player must meet one of the following criteria: 

• He’ll be wearing the team’s logo on his cap in the Hall of Fame plaque, which means he’s connected to that team more strongly than any other; or
• The team we discuss has a strong enough connection to be part of the reason for the player ending up with a blank cap, even if his value was lopsided toward one team or another. Think of Greg Maddux with a blank cap, due to his Cubs and Braves connections, even if he had a lot more career value with the Braves, overall. Still, Cubs fans celebrated the induction as he was one of theirs. That’s the key here. 

Mild spoiler: There aren’t many easy and obvious answers here. Regardless, let’s suit up and take a swing.