Hall of Fame ballots are due this weekend, and I've narrowed down the list to about 20 candidates who merit consideration:

C-Gary Carter
2b-Ryne Sandberg
ss-Dave Concepcion, Alan Trammell
1b- Don Mattingly, Keith Hernandez , Steve Garvey, Eddie Murray
of- Dale Murphy, Jim Rice , Dave Parker, Andre Dawson
rp- Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, Rich Gossage
sp- Jack Morris, Fernando Valenzuela, Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Bert Blyleven

Let’s look at our middle infielders first.

Ryne Sandberg
2386 hits
282 HR
1061 RBI
344 SB
285/344/452
1984 MVP, 9 Gold Gloves, 10 All-Star games, 1990 HR champ (40)

Sandberg’s got good, but not great numbers. So his ticket to Cooperstown is tied into his defense in combination with his bat, and the fact 2nd basemen don’t hit like right fielders. He’s got better numbers than, say, Bobby Doerr, but he’s not Joe Morgan. Rod Carew got in without Sandberg’s power, but he had the magical 3000 hits. His most similar player is Lou Whitaker who had 244 HR, 1084 RBI, 2369 hits, and a 276 average. And he didn’t even make it past one ballot. Is Sandberg that much better than Sweet Lou? Sandberg would be a borderline Hall of Famer, but he does fit in the group already enshrined. He’s not as good as his reputation, but he’s still Cooperstown material. YES