© Kelley L Cox | 2021 Jun 6
NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, 3x World Series Champion, 4x Silver Slugger winner and as of Thursday, 7x All-Star.
Those are Buster Posey’s bonafides, and they are certainly impressive. Impressive enough to get him into the Hall of Fame? That’s perhaps not as clear.
Nobody knows more about what makes a Hall of Famer than legendary baseball writer Tim Kurkjian. Kurkjian was asked by Papa & Lund on Friday if Posey’s career were to end today, would he make it into Cooperstown? Kurkjian didn’t think so, but thinks it is very likely he will when all is said and done.
“I would say he needs more to make it to the Hall of Fame,” Kurkjian said. “I mean, those numbers that you talk about, like only Yogi Berra has matched some of those numbers as far as championships, and MVPs, and a catcher and all of this. But I think he needs a little more time. Once he gets a little more time in, and catches for a couple more years, if he can of course, I think he will be a Hall of Famer. Joe Mauer is in a similar boat.”
Posey might be 34, but he also seems completely healthy for the first time in years. If he can stay that way for a few more, Kurkjian thinks his odds will vastly improve.
“It’s very tricky with catchers, but he’s hitting .330 now and has a .978 OPS. He looks like he’s got his power back to right and right-centerfield which he didn’t have in 2019. I think there’s every thought that he’s going to end up in the Hall of Fame, I just think he needs a little more padding to get there.”
Listen to the full interview below.