The Hall of Fame Case: Rich Aurilia

Sure, there will be plenty who vote for the likes of Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz on their National Baseball Hall of Fame player ballots. Even players like Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado have a shot at the Class of 2015. But there are players on the ballot who require a little more voter-cajoling. Players who may not have the on-field resume, but deserve an impassioned Hall of Fame case nonetheless. Players like …

Rich Aurilia. Richie (as nobody's probably ever called him) played 15 seasons in the bigs -- tallying 186 home runs, 1,576 hits and a .275/.328/.433 slash line. Here are five reasons why you should consider voting him into the Hall of Fame.

In 2001, Aurilia had one of the best seasons by a shortstop, ever.

He led the league with 206 hits while slashing at a .324/.369/.572 clip. He won a Silver Slugger, made the National League All-Star team and finished 12th in the MVP vote. He also hit 37 long home runs:

He provided protection for great power hitters such as Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and perhaps the mashiest baseball-masher of our time, WILY MO PENA:

He makes faces like this:

His son's name is Chaz. Like "Richie," "Chaz" is a HOF-caliber name. Chaz has friends in high places.

He may be the best baseball player/chef in the history of the game:

Thoughts? Questions? Hungry? Good.