[VanillaGorilla]

Hank Aaron was the second player selected in the 2007 draft. Picked by the Cubs, he signed a minor league contract and played with them through the 2023 season. 8 times he led the Cubs to the play-offs, three times to the Pennant, and in 2016 he won a WS in Wrigley. Heck, put everyone from that 2016 team in the HOF for pulling off the impossible.

He left the Cubs to join the Austin Controllers (formerly the Milwaukee Brewers) and won another WS with them in 2026. He joined the San Diego Jewels (formerly the Texas Rangers) in 2027 and won his third WS there.

When he retired in 2033, he was the leader in career hits (3299) and career HRs (932). There is no doubt that he is the greatest hitter in this league's 30 year history. No player is withing 250 of his HR mark. No active player is within 350. This record will be standing for a while.

Aaron is also the career leader in RBI (2440), TB (5737), R (2014), AB (9900), Games (2538) and slg% (.681).

Aaron won the first Triple Crown in league history in 2018 when he batted .337 with 60 HRs and 141 RBI. That season Aaron won his third of three MVPs.

Think hitting .400 with 40 HRs is impressive? Aaron upped the ante of that feat by hitting 70(!) HRs while batting .408 in 2013. He would have won the Triple Crown, but amazingly came in THIRD place in the league batting chase (more on that, later). NPA OPS+ for this season was a mere 242.

6 times Aaron had 200 hits in a season. His 243 in 2013 is the second most (by one) in league history.

14 times he drove in 100+ runs.
18 times he hit 30 HRs.
12 times he hit 40 HRs.
7 times he hit 50 HRs.
3 times he hit 60 HRs.
1 time he hit 70 HRs.


His 70 HR was the most in league history. That mark was broken 12 years later and has only been eclipsed one other time.

He enters the HOF with a career slash line of .333/.395/.681 (5th/25th/1st) and a npa OPS+ of 185...jaw dropping.

He collected 554 career doubles (5th), 44 triples (82nd), and walked 1044 times (17th).

Arron won 5 Gold Gloves, including one at 2B in 2010. He was named to 12 All Star teams.

Aaron enters the HOF holding single season records for OPS (1.320), VORP (163.1), runs (155), TB (505), and WAR (16.2). These marks are all from hs 2013 season.

Aaron won 3 batting titles, won 5 HR titles, led the league in RBI 5 times, and led in hits 3 times.

Black Ink: 89 (76)
Gray Ink: 243 (408)
HOFm: 515 (421)
HOFs: 79 (74)

Gorilla Composite: 10.0 (9.8)

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Mickey Mantle is the oldest of the three hitters to be inducted, 50. He was selected as a 20 year-old in the January 1, 2004 Inaugural Draft by the Padres with the 3rd overall pick.

As previously noted he enters the HOF by virtue of being second to Aaron on the WAR and VORP lists.

Mantle won 5 MVPs, appeared in 10 All Star games, and picked up a Gold Glove during his playing days that ran through 2027.

Mantle enters the Hall 3rd on the All Time HR list with 630. His 1592 career RBI places him 7th on that career list.

Mantle slashed 309/441/626 (41st/1st/9th) during his career which is good for a 186 npa OPS+, a tick better than Aaron.

Along with the top career OBP, Mantle walked more times than any other player in history, 1723.

Mantle topped 60 HRs twice, hitting a career high of 69 (and a career high 164 RBI) in 2012. He rapped 2217 hits in his career, 27th most.

Mantle appeared in 4 post seasons. As a Seattle mariner in 2019, he won the only WS in which he appeared.

In 2015 Mantle hit 62 HRs in only 126 games. His 230 npa OPS+ was his career best for any season in which he played at least 100 games. He slashed 328/460/772 that season.

Mantle's 1603 runs scored is second only to Hank Aaron in league history.

Mantle led the league in HR 5 times and led in walks 6 times.

Black Ink: 57 (62)
Gray Ink: 151 (272)
HOFm: 253 (300)
HOFs: 74 (65)

Gorilla Composite: 6.4 (7.4)

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George Sisler makes it a trifecta of RL HOF batters in the inaugural class. That is cool.

Sisler is a very cool entry. I notice only a small percentage of stuff when the games are played out that I document in these entries. For instance, I didn't realize that Aaron's .408/70 HR season was not a Triple Crown season because .408 didn;t win the batting title until I made his entry.

Who won the batting title in 2013? George Sisler did. Very cool he is joining Aaron in this first class. Sisler hit .428 in 2013. That mark stands as the best BA season in league history. There have been 4 .400 seasons, thus far. That Aaron has the third highest BA in a season in league history and finished third that year in batting is amazing.

Sisler put up a npa OPS+ of 213 in 2013 (that's sorta cool, too) with an OBP of .469 and a SLG of .726.

Sisler was drafted by the Mets as the first overall pick in 2008. He played for them through the 2021 season. He put up a 104 npa OPS+ in 2021 and as a Free Agent priced himself out of the market in 2022 and did not play. He signed a 1 year deal with Houston in 2023 for $734,000. In July of 2023, he suffered a fractured skull and at the age of 35 his career was over.

Sisler enters the Hall by virtue of having the best career BA in league history. He collected 2081 hits while slashing 344/385/527 (1st/44th/79th) for a career npa OPS+ of 145.

He hit 205 HRs and 385 doubles (49th). He stole 382 bases (14th). His 54 career triples place him 38th on the All Time list at the time of his induction.

He led the Mets to two WS wins, including one in his historic 2013 season.

Sisler won ROY in 2009 and the MVP in 2010. He appeared in 4 AS games. He won 3 batting titles and one SB crown.

Sisler enters the HOF at age 45.

Black Ink: 22 (29)
Gray Ink: 191 (198)
HOFm: 176.5 (200)
HOFs: 41 (44)

Gorilla Composite: 3.4 (4.6)