St. Louis Cardinals: Former Players On The 2017 Hall Of Fame Ballot

J.D. Drew, Right Field

Drew played mostly right field for the St. Louis Cardinals, but also tried his hand in center and left during his six years as a part of the team.  This is his first year on the ballot.

Over the course of his career, Drew was the starting right fielder for the 2007 Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series.  The following season, he was named the MVP for the 2008 All-Star game.  He finished sixth in MVP voting during one season, but never finished higher than that.

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Three times during the 14 years he spent patrolling a Major League outfield, he led all right fielders in fielding percentage.  With a bat in his hands, Drew finished his career with a .384 on base percentage.  And in five seasons he passed the 20 home run mark.

These are not exactly Hall-of-Fame-level numbers.  He had a solid career, but he looks like he is poised to possibly stall out a couple years on the ballot before not having enough votes to return.

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Drew with the fifth overall pick of the first round in the 1998 draft.  The upside potential is what drives a lot of fans to remember him as a player.  After working through the farm system, Drew spent his six seasons with the Cardinals and hit just shy of 100 home runs.

With his lone All-Star appearance coming in Boston in 2008, there is not a whole lot of accolades to speak of for Drew’s career.  His HOFm and HOFs are both below the standard and his career WAR is a mediocre 44.9.  While this is higher than Renteria, the reason Drew is lower on the Hall of Fame potential list is because of the lack of contributing moments and accolades.

There is no telling how good Drew could have been, but injuries derailed his career.  On average, Drew would play between 135-140 games a season, and never more than 146.  Without injury, I really think this is a different write-up.  But the way it stands, it doesn’t look good for JD Drew.

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What do you think?  Did I miss anyone in this review?  Do you agree with the assessments here?  Let us know on Twitter and thanks for reading!