Which Rockie has the Best Chance at the Hall of Fame?

With the Hall of Fame voting coming to a close in January (Congrats to Ichiro, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen and Dave Parker) it wasn’t a great year for Rockies fans. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez have left many of us with happy memories and the former’s surprising NL Pennant win in 2007. Even though their individual accolades were amazing to us, it didn’t reflect on Hall of Fame ballots this year. Collectively they received 6 total votes. With less than 5% of the vote Tulo and CarGo will be dropped from future Hall of Fame ballots. This raises the question, if these guys can’t get in, who is next in line for the Hall from the Mile High City?

The Obvious

Yes, the break up was hideous between the Rockies and Nolan and he seems destined for another ugly break up with the Cardinals, but the numbers don’t lie. Nolan is an absolute freak of nature at third base. He burst onto the scene as a 22 year old rookie in 2013 playing 133 games and winning his first Gold Glove. His career maintained the same defensive prowess where he won 10 straight National League Gold Gloves including 6 straight platinum gloves. Since his debut season he ranks 1st in defensive runs saved with 166. The next closest, Matt Chapman with 103. The 7 time All Star’s bat is also a driving factor behind his future Hall case. So far in his career he has hit 341 Home Runs with 1,132 RBIs and has a career OPS of .857. Some pundits would like to argue that the “Coors Effect” helped boost his numbers but in his first two seasons in St. Louis, he slashed .255/.312/.494 and .293/.358/.533 respectively, both lines being better than his last season at Coors Field. He is entering his age 34 season and even though his offensive numbers have taken a slight dip the last two seasons, he is the Rockies’ best chance to gain Hall of Fame consideration.

Has Something Left to Prove

Kris Bryant is a former 4 time All-Star, National League MVP, World Series Champion and former Rookie of the Year in 2015. He hit 160 home runs with 465 RBIs with an OPS of .886. This earned him a WAR of 27.7. This of course was all with the Cubs and going into his contract year with them, he was traded at the deadline to the Giants in what was considered a Cubs “fire sale” that also saw Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo changing teams mid season. In Spring Training of 2022 he signed a 7 year deal with the Rockies worth $182,000,000 fully guaranteed. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played anywhere close to that number value in Thin Air, only appearing in 159 games out of a possible 486. His body of work with the Cubs is astounding, but has been anything since with the Rockies. Plagued by injuries Bryant isn’t getting any younger. Entering his age 33 season he needs to bounce back to his Cubs form in order to not disappear from ballots when he is eligible.

As many of us Rockies fans remember, Trevor Story came out HOT to start his career, hitting 7 home runs in his debut week. He ended his Rockies tenure with 158 homers, 450 RBIs an OPS of .863 and a WAR of 26.8. The Rockies did submit a qualifying offer to the two-time Silver Slugger when Story became a free agent but ultimately he signed a 6 year, $140,000,000 deal with the Boston Red Sox. Looking at their number side by side, Story isn’t much different than the previously mentioned Kris Bryant. He has been plagued with injuries with first three seasons with the Red Sox including an elbow and shoulder injury after a strong opening to his 2024 campaign. His future seems a little brighter as he is expected to be the cornerstone of a strong Red Sox middle infield with the recent signing of Alex Bregman. Just like Bryant, if he remains healthy, and finds his offensive prowess again, no doubt he will be considered for the Hall.

Probably not…but we want it to Happen

Yes, Chuck Nazty needs to be in the Hall of Fame to cheer up all of us Rockies fans. His number definitely will never be worn again in the Purple Pinstripes but his Hall of Fame case is a little less promising than seeing his number hanging next to Todd’s, Larry’s and Jackie’s. He played 14 great seasons for the Rockies and never donned a different uniform. His best season came in 2017 where he slashed .331/.399/.601 with 37 homers and 104 RBIs. In his career he had a 6 for 6 day at the plate, hit for the cycle and even had a Home Run in the 2019 All Star Game. Unfortunately, his numbers in the box and on the field don’t match up to the likes of his Hall of Fame peers. His Hall of Fame standard rating is 25 according to Baseball Reference where the average of a Hall of Fame outfielder is double at 50. Let’s hold off hope for now, and root for his role in the front office and his eventual jersey retirement celebration.

Don’t Forget this Guy

We have to remember Matt Kemp was a Colorado Rockie to end his career. He appeared in 43 games during the shortened 2020 season for the Rockies and hit 6 homers with 21 RBIs. Kemp spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has similar standard numbers to Charlie Blackmon. He is eligible for his first ballot in 2026 and it’ll be interesting to see if the short lived Rockie will be able to gain enough votes for eternal glory.