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Alberto “Rainmaker” Peron – Right Field – Portland Pacifics – 85.5% First Ballot

Alberto Peron was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from San Miguelito, Panama; a district of around 375,000 within the Panama City metropolitan area. Nicknamed “Rainmaker,” Peron was the third Panamanian to make Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame along with 1B Martin Medina (1972) and SP Duke Mercedes (1934). Peron had remarkable durability as one of baseball’s great ironmen, playing 150+ games in all but the final season of a 21-year career.

In his prime, Peron was a very good contact hitter with reliable home run and gap power. He was never a league leader, but he was incredibly reliable and steady with 38 home runs and 28 doubles per his 162 game average. In 20 seasons as a full-time starter, he got 30+ homers in all but two years and had 40+ six times. Peron’s power and bat was much stronger against right-handed pitching (.916 OPS, 156 wRC+), but he was still decent against lefties (.752 OPS, 111 wRC+).

Peron graded as above average-to-good at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts compared to most MLB bats. He was a very skilled and crafty baserunner, although he was still limited by mediocre speed. Almost all of Peron’s career starts came in right field where he was a reliably adequate defender on the whole. In his earlier years, he was considered a positive value glove man, but the career stats had him just below average. Peron was also one of the smarter guys in the game, helping him become one of the more popular guys of the era.

As a teenager, Peron left Panama for the United States to play college baseball at Clemson. In four years for the Tigers, he had 190 games, 203 hits, 125 runs, 31 doubles, 62 home runs, 136 RBI, .275/.331/.575 slash, 174 wRC+, and 10.5 WAR. As a player born outside of the US and Canada, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the MLB Draft due to the regional restrictions. Still, many teams felt he’d be an immediate contributor.

San Antonio was one of those, selecting Peron with the third pick of the round and 182^nd overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. However, the Oilers couldn’t come to terms with him and he returned for his senior year with Clemson. In 2010, Portland picked Peron 181^st overall, the ninth pick of the fourth round. The Pacifics locked him up successfully and he’d be a reliable starter for the next 11 years.

Peron’s debut was maybe his best season with what would be career highs for OPS (.945), RBI (115), and batting average (.324). He also had 6.8 WAR and 41 home runs, but was third in 2011’s American Association Rookie of the Year voting. This was a loaded group, as his Hall of Fame classmate Fritz Louissi was in it as well with both behind Salt Lake City’s B.J. Pasternack.

His lone Silver Sluggers came in 2012 and 2016 and he was never an MVP finalist. Peron was rarely overwhelmingly dominant, but he was good for 5+ WAR in all 11 of his Portland seasons. He was a redeeming quality in an otherwise forgettable era for the Pacifics, who never made the playoffs in his tenure. They averaged 77.3 wins per season and were above .500 five times, peaking at 90-72 in 2020. After the 2016 season, Peron inked a five-year, $109,600,000 extension to stay with Portland.

Peron was due free agency after the 2021 campaign and pursued that at age 33. With Portland, he finished with 1734 games, 2003 hits, 1048 runs, 323 doubles, 417 home runs, 1149 RBI, 498 walks, .299/.348/.547 slash, 146 wRC+, and 69.5 WAR. Peron remained a very popular figure in Portland and his #12 uniform would eventually be retired. His next step was a five-year, $91 million deal with Raleigh. The Raptors were one of the eight expansion teams set for their sophomore campaigns in 2022.

Peron’s 2023 for Raleigh was arguably his best overall season with a career high 8.0 WAR. His other four seasons were steady, albeit at a lower standard than what he had done in Portland. Raleigh did notably become the first of the expansion teams to make the playoffs. They had a first round exit as a wild card in 2025, then a second round exit in 2026 as a division champ. Peron was 7-34 over his nine playoff starts.

In total for Raleigh, Peron played 780 games with 761 hits, 429 runs, 106 doubles, 170 home runs, 441 RBI .272/.329/.498 slash, 142 wRC+, and 23.1 WAR. While there, he reached the 2500 hit, 500 home run, and 1500 RBI milestones. In these later years, Peron also played for his native Panama in the World Baseball Championship.

Panama had failed to qualify for the event from 2014-20, but were back as a regular after the field expanded for 2021. From 2022-32, Peron played 128 games with 109 hits, 73 runs, 20 doubles, 32 home runs, 72 RBI, .236/.319/.488 slash, 133 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. The Panamanians notably qualified for the playoffs in the 2031 event.

Now 38-years old for 2027, Peron joined Grand Rapids on a two-year, $21,400,000 deal. He reached 600 homers and 1500 runs with the Growlers with 150 games, 116 starts, 139 hits, 75 runs, 30 homers, 75 RBI, .308/.375/.545 slash, 161 wRC+, and 4.7 WAR. Although his production was good, Peron was traded to Seattle in the offseason for a five prospect haul. They had been defeated in the AACS in five consecutive seasons and hoped Peron’s veteran depth could get them across the line.

For the Grizzlies in 2028, Peron played 150 games with 178 hits, 102 runs, 32 doubles, 35 home runs, 95 RBI, .304/.354/.549 slash, 130 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR. He also became the 67^th member of MLB’s 3000 hit club. Seattle’s division title streak grew to six seasons, but they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. Although Peron could still clearly give you steady numbers, this marked the end of his MLB tenure.

Peron continued professionally though in Mexico on a two-year, $33,600,000 deal with Juarez. The Jesters were rebuilding after their 2014-26 playoff streak. Peron again was steady and solid with 316 games, 352 hits, 187 runs, 60 doubles, 67 home runs, 175 RBI, .311/.352/.557 slash, 166 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. After that, he was 42 years old and even with reliable numbers, many teams didn’t want to commit to someone that age.

He wasn’t ready to call it quits and put out fliers across the globe. Peron landed in Arab League Baseball on a one-year, $10,100,000 deal with Algiers. Age finally caught him as he was forgettable with the Arsenal with only 70 games, 32 starts, .774 OPS, and 0.2 WAR. Peron still wanted to play and represented Panama in the 2032 World Baseball Championship. However, he was unsigned all season and finally retired shortly after his 44^th birthday.

In MLB, Peron played 2814 games with 3081 hits, 1654 runs, 478 doubles, 53 triples, 652 home runs, 1760 RBI, 819 walks, 126 steals, .293/.345/.534 slash, 145 wRC+, and 101.5 WAR. As of 2037, Peron ranks 54^th in games, 67^th in runs, 56^th in hits, 26^th in total bases (5621), 69^th in doubles, 34^th in home runs, 40^th in RBI, and 50^th in WAR among position players.

In a strange way, Peron quietly accumulated such impressive numbers. He wasn’t in MVP conversations, wasn’t a league leader, and was on mostly forgettable teams. Peron was a guy who rarely would’ve made any top five or top ten lists in any given year, but he was remarkably steady and consistent. Some voters at the initial suggestion might think he was a Hall of Pretty Good type until seeing the totals, as very few guys got to 3000+ hits, 1500+ runs, 1500+ RBI, and 650+ homers.

For his combined pro career, Peron had 3200 games, 3475 hits, 1860 runs, 548 doubles, 62 triples, 726 home runs, 1954 RBI, 896 walks, 154 steals, .294/.345/.535 slash, 146 wRC+, and 110.9 WAR. Still, Peron isn’t one really viewed as an “inner-circle” type guy even if he just cracks the top 100 in world history in some of the big stats. He received 85.5% of the vote, still plenty for a first ballot nod as part of the five-player 2034 class for Major League Baseball.



Titan Gormley – First Base – Seattle Grizzlies – 80.6% First Ballot

Titan Gormley was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Springdale, Arkansas; a city of 89,000 in the state’s northwest self-declared as the “Poultry Capital of the World.” Gormley was a very well-rounded batter who wasn’t considered outstanding at any one thing. However, he was graded as good-to-great in terms of contact, power, and eye.

In all but the last of Gormley’s 17 MLB seasons, he hit 30+ home runs, but he only breached 40+ thrice. His 162 game average had 37 homers, 31 doubles, and 2 triples. Gormley’s stats were very similar against both right and left-handed pitching. His strikeout rate graded as below average, although he drew more walks than most in MLB. On the downside offensively, Gormley was a terrible baserunner with poor speed.

Despite the baserunning clumsiness, Gormley was a reliably impressive defender as a career first baseman and won three Gold Gloves (2013, 14, 19). Gormley’s durability also near ironman levels with 142+ starts in all of his MLB seasons. He was adaptable and a good teammate, becoming appreciated by peers and fans alike in his long stay in Seattle.

Gormley stayed relatively close to his Arkansas home by playing college baseball at Memphis. In four seasons for the Tigers, he had 195 games, 214 hits, 135 runs, 37 doubles, 62 home runs, 161 RBI, 87 walks, .301/.381/.619 slash, 201 wRC+, and 12.6 WAR. As of 2037, Gormley ranks 34^th in WAR among position players, 26^th and runs, and 24^th in RBI in NCAA history.

He was among the top prospects after his junior year and was picked third overall by Miami in the 2010 MLB Draft. The Mallards were the absolute dregs at this point in MLB and amidst what would be a league-record postseason drought. Gormley didn’t want any of that and negotiations went poorly, spurning Miami for his senior year of college.

The Mallards were determined and picked Gormley again fourth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft. However, the potential relationship was already spoiled and Gormley made it clear that he didn’t want to play for Miami. He refused to sign and eventually was granted free agency, a very rare thing for MLB prospects. Seattle grabbed him on a minor league deal with a major’s option.

Gormley started right away for the Grizzlies and held the role for 17 years. His third season was his best, winning his lone Silver Slugger with career bests for home runs (47), slugging (.596), OPS (.982), wRC+ (168), and WAR (8.4). He wasn’t generally a league leader, but like his Hall of Fame classmate Alberto Peron, Gormley was reliably consistent. In March 2019, Seattle gave him his first extension at five years and $130,600,000.

He did also play sporadically for the United States in the World Baseball Championship, competing in 2016-17, 19-20, and 25-26. In 52 WBC games and 31 starts, Gormley had 37 hits, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 14 home runs, 28 RBI, .325/.395/.781 slash, 235 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR. He earned championship rings with the 2017 and 2020 American squads.

Seattle was largely stuck in the middle tier for the 2010s, but they emerged as a contender in the 2020s. They broke a seven-year playoff drought in 2021 as a wild card, but went one and done. After a miss in 2022, the Grizzlies began a ten-year streak as the Northwest Division champ. Frustratingly, they couldn’t get over the hump for a while. From 2023-27, they got to the American Association Championship Series each year only to be promptly defeated.

Gormley was playing some of his best baseball into his early to mid 30s, even leading the association for the only time with a career-best 131 runs in 2024. Gormley officially became a free agent for the first time that winter, but returned to Seattle after a few weeks on the market with a four-year, $135 million deal. His playoff stats were a mixed bag, although he was particularly impressive in the 2026 run. Over 69 playoff starts, Gormley had 85 hits, 41 runs, 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 40 RBI, .309/.357/.542 slash, 134 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR.

Seattle had a one-and-done in 2028 and Gormley had easily his worst season of his MLB career with .835 OPS, 114 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR. That marked the end of his Grizzlies contract and they didn’t look to renew. He remained on good terms though and would see his #31 uniform eventually retired. Gormley also got an honorary World Series ring when Seattle finally broke through to win it all in 2030.

Gormley wanted to still play, but big league clubs felt he was over the hill. He had to settle for the African Second League in 2029 with Kampala, where he was lackluster with 0.1 WAR and 95 wRC+ over 102 games. Gormley went unsigned almost all of 2030 apart from a few minor league games in September with Tallahassee. He finally retired that winter at age 40.

The final MLB tallies saw 2665 games, 2995 hits, 1681 runs, 503 doubles, 31 triples, 625 home runs, 1758 RBI, 1110 walks, 1904 strikeouts, .295/.364/.534 slash, 140 wRC+, and 90.2 WAR. As of 2037, Gormley ranks 57^th in runs, 75^th in hits, 38^th in total bases (5435), 36^th in doubles, 44^th in homers, 43^rd in RBI, 100^th in walks, and 89^th in WAR among position players.

Like Peron, Gormley wasn’t usually figured into top five or top ten player conversations during his prime. But he was remarkably steady as not many guys could say they had 600+ homers, 1500+ runs, 1500 RBI+, 500+ doubles, and just under 3000 hits. Gormley wasn’t an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but most voters agreed that he firmly belonged. He received 80.6%, the third of five added into Major League Baseball’s HOF for 2034.