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Baseball Hall of Fame: Who will be next player from an SEC school to join Todd Helton in Cooperstown?

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

The SEC was represented in Cooperstown for this past weekend’s festivities as Tennessee great Todd Helton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

A Knoxville native, Helton’s Hall of Fame display case includes a Tennessee football helmet from his days on Rocky Top. A two-sport athlete, Helton was famously teammates with another Hall of Famer: Peyton Manning.

Who will be the next Hall of Famer with SEC ties?

SEC names on the HOF radar

One thing to remember about the Hall is that it’s really, really hard to get inducted.

Playing for the Colorado Rockies from 1997-2013, Helton put together a solid Hall resume: .316 career batting average, 2,519 hits, 369 home runs and 1,406 RBIs. He was the 2000 MLB batting champion, a 5-time All-Star, 4-time Silver Slugger and 3-time Gold Glove winner.

Helton retired in 2013. Players are eligible once they are five years removed from playing. It took Helton six ballots to be inducted. As guys like Dale Murphy remind us, not every great career makes it into Cooperstown.

The next notable name with SEC ties is Ian Kinsler. Before his lengthy MLB career, Kinsler played college baseball at Central Arizona College, Arizona State and Mizzou. Kinsler’s Mizzou year (2003) predates MU’s SEC membership, but the SEC itself touted Kinsler when he was an active MLB player.

Kinsler’s career numbers include a .269 average, 257 home runs and 909 RBIs. He was a 4-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glove winner. The strongest case for Kinsler is his 54.1 career WAR, but he feels like a longshot candidate to make the Hall. He’ll be eligible for the 2025 ballot.

David Price’s name will also come up in the Hall discussion. A former Golden Spikes winner at Vanderbilt (2007), Price was in the MLB from 2008-2022. He finished with a 3.32 ERA and 2,076 strikeouts. The 2012 season headlines Price’s awards and honors as the AL Cy Young, AL wins leader and AL ERA leader. He was a 5-time All-Star, the 2014 MLB strikeout leader and 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year.

While Price had a decorated career, he’s not currently seen as a likely Hall inductee.

Former Auburn standout Josh Donaldson will be eligible in 2029. Hall voters had a long stretch of being notoriously tough on third basement. From 2005-2022, Wade Boggs and Chipper Jones were the only third basemen to be inducted. The last two classes, however, have included Scott Rolen and Adrián Beltré, so Donaldson may be worth a mention even as a super longshot.

As for his pro career, Donaldson finished with a .261 batting average, 1,310 hits, 279 home runs and 816 RBIs. He was a 3-time All-Star, 2-time Silver Slugger and the 2015 AL MVP. The MVP award carries weight, but it won’t be enough to overcome the relatively low number of hits.

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Scherzer a sure thing, but when?

The SEC might be waiting a while to claim another Hall of Famer; and the next most likely candidate will cause SEC purists to grumble. Max Scherzer, who pitched at Mizzou before its SEC membership, is considered a Hall lock. But he’s not even on the clock yet.

Scherzer’s career numbers are highlighted by a 3.14 ERA and 3,390 strikeouts. He’s an 8-time all-star and a 3-time Cy Young Award winner. He was also the NL strikeout leader 3 times and pitched two no-hitters in 2015.

While Scherzer cleared the 10 seasons requirement many years ago, he hasn’t started the five-year clock. Scherzer is an active member of the Texas Rangers. The 39-year-old has made 6 starts this season, posting a 3.99 ERA in 29.1 innings.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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