10 years later, MLB still needs to fix their massive blunder with Cardinals legend

Most years, Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame ballot has many worthy candidates that voters have to narrow down to 10 or fewer. In 2016, that list was especially difficult, as the ballot had 13 players who would eventually get the call to Cooperstown. This helped lead to one of the biggest snubs in Hall of Fame history, as legendary St. Louis Cardinals' center fielder Jim Edmonds fell off the ballot in his first year of eligibility.

In order to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot, a player must receive at least 5% of the vote from the BBWAA writers who have ballots, and Edmonds received just 2.5% of the vote that year. Edmonds' one-and-done appearance on the ballot needs to be rectified by the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.

Jim Edmonds Hall of Fame snub needs to be changed in the near future

Edmonds is a clear Hall of Famer. One of the greatest defensive center fielders of all time, Edmonds paired his eight Gold Gloves with an elite bat in his prime, finishing with a career .903 OPS and finishing 14th in fWAR (64.5) among center fielders all time. Edmonds is top ten among all center fielders in home runs and ISO, and top 20 in SLG and RBI. His wRC+ (132) is actually higher than Ken Griffey Jr.'s, and his WAR is higher than many Hall of Famers.

Edmonds was not just a good stats player, either. Edmonds played in 64 career postseason games, slashing .274/.361/.513 with 13 HR and 43 RBI, and his 124 wRC+ was close to his regular-season average. Anyone who followed Edmonds' career knows he has multiple iconic postseason moments, and he did capture a World Series championship in 2006.

Edmonds was also unfortunate to have his career year during the 2004 season, arguably one of the most crowded MVP races in MLB history. That year alone, five different National League players posted fWARs north of 8.0, and he split the vote with teammates Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen, finishing fifth in the race. In most other years, Edmonds would have been a slam-dunk choice for Most Valuable Player.

10 years have now passed since Edmonds missed the cut for the Hall of Fame, and now it is time to give him his due. Cooperstown has two other paths toward Hall of Fame election - the Veterans Committee and the Eras Committee. One of these two needs to place Edmonds up for a vote again, and they need to get him into Cooperstown before his former teammates, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, are up for election many years after Edmonds' time on the ballot.