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Tuesday, January 7
Updated: January 8, 11:08 AM ET
 
Top 10 players not in the Hall

From SportsCenter

Eddie Murray and Gary Carter received the happy news that they are headed to Cooperstown, but that left many others still waiting for the call. Here is SportsCenter's top 10 players not in the Hall of Fame. Catch the highlights during tonight's 6 ET show.

10. Two-time National League MVP Dale Murphy was a seven-time All-Star who won five Gold Gloves and hit 20-plus home runs 12 times. Except for Murphy's .265 career average, his numbers nearly mirror those of Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider.

9. You might know Joe Torre best as a four-time World Series winner as Yankees manager, but he was also a nine-time All-Star who hit nearly .300 over 18 seasons. Torre spent the majority of his career as a catcher and his 2,300 hits and 252 home runs are comparable to Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench's totals.

8. ... Not many hitters were more feared than Jim Rice. He hit .300 or better seven times, eclipsed 20 homers 11 times, and 100 RBI eight times. Rice won the AL MVP in 1978 and finished in the top five on five other occasions.

7. Bert Blyleven won 287 games and struck out over 3700 batters in 22 seasons. His strikeout total is fifth-best behind Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson -- two first-ballot Hall of Famers and two who are almost sure to be. The eight pitchers who follow Blyleven on the strikeout list are all Hall members.

6. Like Torre, Ron Santo may get the call from Cooperstown in February if he is voted in by the Veterans Committee. When Santo retired he was arguably the second-best third baseman in history behind Eddie Mathews. Santo was a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner.

One more opinion
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer offers his opinion on the top 10 players not in the Hall of Fame:

1. Ryne Sandberg
2. Ron Santo
3. Bert Blyleven
4. Goose Gossage
5. Minnie Minoso
6. Ted Simmons
7. Alan Trammell
8. Dale Murphy
9. Darrell Evans
10. Bobby Grich

5. No starting pitcher owned the decade of the '80s like Jack Morris. Morris led all pitchers in the '80s with 162 wins and 133 complete games. Morris won three World Series rings, with the '84 Tigers, '91 Twins, and '92 Blue Jays ... and is best known for his Game 7 10-inning shutout of the Braves to win the '91 Series.

4. Over 22 seasons with 10 different teams Rich "Goose" Gossage cut an intimidating figure on the mound. A nine-time All-Star, Gossage won 124 games and saved 310 more. The Goose ranks 13th on the all-time saves list.

3. Another great closer, Bruce Sutter finished his career with 300 saves. Four times Sutter eclipsed both 30 saves and 100 innings, a feat that has been reached only once since Sutter retired in 1988. Sutter was also one of the pioneers of the split-fingered fastball.

2. In 1987 Andre Dawson broke out of 11 years of obscurity in Montreal by swatting 49 homers with the Cubs. Despite his team's losing record, Dawson was named National League MVP. Dawson is one of just four players in history to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases. The other three: Hall of Famer Willie Mays, Future Hall of Famer Barry Bonds, and Barry's dad, Bobby.

1. Ryne Sandberg was undoubtedly the most dominating second baseman of the 1980s. Sandberg was a member of 10 straight All-Star teams and won nine straight Gold Gloves. Sandberg ranks first all-time for home runs by a second baseman with 277, and has a higher career batting average than Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan.




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