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The Hall of Fame Case: Jim Edmonds

The Hall of Fame Case: Jim Edmonds

The likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell shouldn't have too much trouble racking up National Baseball Hall of Fame votes, but there are plenty of other players on the 2016 ballot who require a little more voter-cajoling. Players that may not have the on-field resume, but deserve an impassioned Hall of Fame case nonetheless. Players like …

James Patrick Edmonds, otherwise known as "Jim" or "Jimmy Baseball." Edmonds was a seventh-round selection of the Angels in the 1988 MLB Draft. He first made it to MLB as a September callup in 1993 and went on to enjoy a 17-year career in the bigs for the Angels, Cardinals, Padres, Cubs, Brewers and Reds. 

Edmonds finished eighth in 1994 AL Rookie of the Year voting and received MVP votes in five seasons, but that's not why he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He should be forever enshrined in Cooperstown because ...

You think about him every time you see a certain kind of catch.

You know how you know that Jim Edmonds was really, really good at baseball? The man is forever associated with a specific kind of play, that's how. And it's not a run-to-the-spot-and-wait-for-the-can-of-corn kind of catch either. It's of the turn-your-back-to-home-plate-and-sprint-toward-the-wall-before-laying-out-onto-the-warning-track persuasion.

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Not many players are so strongly associated with one defensive play over all others. Willie Mays was, and he's in the Hall of Fame. There's also Derek Jeter, who's probably already working on his induction speech for 2020.

He inspired a new generation of outfielders.

The Mariners recently acquired outfield prospect Boog Powell from the Rays in a six-player trade that christened MLB's offseason. In addition to his awesome name, the back of Powell's baseball card will also prominently display his uniform digits. He wears No. 15 in honor of Edmonds, his favorite player growing up.

Between that and the Edmonds impressions Mike Trout Adam Eaton  and a flurry of other current MLB outfielders have been busting out over the last year or so, it's safe to say that his impact has extended far beyond his actual range in the field.

The 2004 NLCS.

You could spend a lifetime reading boxscores and analyzing game tapes looking to find the most exciting week of baseball in MLB history and you'll end up in the middle of October 2004. While the Red Sox were completing arguably the most unlikely comeback in the history of sports, the Cardinals and Astros slugged it out for a full seven games in the NLCS, thanks in Edmonds, who showed up in more ways than one.

Edmonds tallied seven hits in the series, none bigger than his walk-off home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 when the Cardinals faced elimination. 

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The very next night, Edmonds made one of his patented diving catches to help stymie an Astros rally in the second, helping to keep his team within striking distance.

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The Cardinals came back and won, 5-3.

His pitching career that never was.

Though he predominantly played center field, Edmonds was a versatile ballplayer. He played dozens of games in left field, dozens of games in right, and even moonlit as a first baseman when the situation called for it. But once -- in 1991 for the Palm Springs Angels of the High-A California League -- Edmonds was asked ... to take the mound?

Edmonds pitched two scoreless innings, surrendered a lone hit and struck out two batters in his only professional pitching appearance, which begs the question: "What might have happened if he'd been allowed to continue his stellar professional pitching career?" Maybe he'd have been a Hall of Fame closer and we'll never even know it.

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