A couple of weeks ago, Jason Giambi decided to hang it up, and announce his retirement from baseball after 2o seasons in the majors. He announced his decision in a statement first given to the New York Daily News.
Giambi only played in thirty-six games with the Indians in 2014, hitting .133/.257/.267 with a .524 OPS, and a 51 OPS+.
For his career, Giambi hit .277 with 440 home runs, 1,441 RBI’s, a .399 on-base percentage, and a .516 slugging percentage. The 44-year-old played for four teams in his career: the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, and the Indians.
This is what Giambi said in his statement:
“I want to thank the fans for being a part of this incredible journey,” Giambi said in his statement. “I especially want to thank the fans that gave me a second chance to let me show you the human being you see today.”
The first basemen/DH’s legacy took a hit in the early 2000’s for his involvement in the BALCO performance-enhancing drugs investigation. BALCO surrounded a United States federal government investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative. This lab supplied anabolic steroids to professional athletes.
Giambi will be eligible for the Hall of Fame soon, so the question becomes, is there a case to be made for his induction into Cooperstown?
In this article, I will examine the case for him being in the Hall of Fame, the case against him being in the Hall of Fame, and I will give you a final verdict.
Of course this post is meant to start a discussion, and create debate, so if you disagree with me feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Enos Slaughter is in the HOF though
So is Bill Dickey, and Ichiro is a gimme when he’s eligible. Also, Bo Jackson didn’t have anything close to 8,000 plate appearances or a remotely similar slash line. And Giambi did have 2,000 hits–2,010, to be exact. Who edits the sloppy crap?
Carlos Delgado was off the ballot after his first appearance, and they had virtually identical careers. Delgado didn’t reach Giambi’s peaks (but also didn’t get busted for PEDs), but he had a far more consistent career and retired with absolutely no down-tick in production.
If Delgado didn’t even get 5%, it is hard to justify Giambi getting more than that. That said, Giambi played for the Yankees. Delgado played for the Jays. Those two factors clearly influence voters, given the history of former Jays dropping off the ballot with hardly a hint of consideration by voters.