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Best players to debut on the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Best players to debut on the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

The crop of players to make their debut on the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is impressive and includes some surefire Hall of Famers. Here's a rundown of the 19 names first appearing on the ballot this year.

 
1 of 19

Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter
Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Injuries often disrupted Carpenter's career, but he had an impressive run with the Cardinals. During his nine seasons in St. Louis, Carpenter won the 2005 NL Cy Young and finished top three in the voting twice more. He finished his career with 144 wins and a 3.76 ERA over 2,219.1 innings.

 
2 of 19

Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon
Cy Cyr / Getty Images

Damon failed to reach 3,000 hits in his 18-year career, finishing in 2012 at 2,769. The outfielder still had a very productive career, hitting .284 with a .352 on-base percentage and 408 steals.

 
3 of 19

Livan Hernandez

Livan Hernandez
Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

Hernandez was only 178-177 with a 4.44 ERA during his 17-year career, but not many pitchers were more durable. He managed to make at least 30 starts in 13 straight seasons and led the NL in innings in three straight seasons from 2003-05. During that time he also made his only two All-Star appearances and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting during the Marlins' 1997 World Series run.

 
4 of 19

Orlando Hudson

Orlando Hudson
Mitchell Layton / Getty Images

More acclaimed for his second base defense than his offense, Hudson won four Gold Gloves and made two All-Star appearances during his 11-year career. He still held his own at the plate with a career .273 batting average and .341 on-base percentage.

 
5 of 19

Aubrey Huff

Aubrey Huff
Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images

Huff is one of the greatest Tampa Bay Devil Rays ever, breaking out in 2002 en route to a very productive offensive career. He hit more than 30 home runs twice and finished his career with an .806 OPS over 13 seasons between Tampa Bay, Houston, Baltimore, Detroit and San Francisco. Huff regularly played third, first and the outfield corners.

 
Jason Isringhausen
Elsa / Getty Images

A top starting pitcher prospect early in his career with the Mets, Isringhausen transitioned to the bullpen full-time after getting traded to Oakland in 1999. He became a dominant closer, tallying at least 30 saves in seven of eight seasons from 2000-07 and making two All-Star appearances. His MLB career lasted 16 seasons, seven coming with the Cardinals.

 
7 of 19

Andruw Jones

Andruw Jones
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

Jones was a great power hitter and a maestro defensively early in his career. He won 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1998-2007 in Atlanta, also making five All-Star appearances during that time. The center fielder's best season came in 2005 when he led the NL in home runs (51) and RBIs (128), finishing second in the MVP voting. Jones finished his career with 434 home runs and an .823 OPS.

 
8 of 19

Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Very likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Jones spent his entire 19-year career in Atlanta. He hit .303/.401/.529 for his career with 468 home runs. The third baseman won the 1999 NL MVP by hitting .319-45-110 and finished his career with one batting title, two Silver Sluggers, eight All-Star appearances and one World Series title.

 
9 of 19

Carlos Lee

Carlos Lee
Tony Medina / Getty Images

Lee was a highly productive and reliable hitter during his 14-year career as a left fielder and first baseman, hitting .285 with 358 career home runs. He had more than 30 home runs in five straight seasons from 2003-07, won two Silver Sluggers and made three All-Star appearances.

 
10 of 19

Brad Lidge

Brad Lidge
Mitchell Layton / Getty Images

Lidge had an excellent career as a closer, but it was relatively brief due to injuries. He finished his 11-year career with 225 saves and a 3.54 ERA, fanning 799 batters in only 603.1 innings. The two-time All-Star had two seasons with more than 40 saves and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting with the Phillies in 2008 en route to a World Series victory.

 
11 of 19

Hideki Matsui

Hideki Matsui
Rich Pilling / Getty Images

Godzilla played 10 seasons in the U.S. after arriving from Japan in 2003 with the Yankees. He made the All-Star Game in his first two seasons and hit more than 20 home runs five times during his career. After playing seven seasons with the Yankees, Matsui played for the Angels, A's and Rays over his final three seasons, retiring with an .822 OPS.

 
12 of 19

Kevin Millwood

Kevin Millwood
Tony Ranze / AFP / Getty Images

Millwood was often the forgotten man in Atlanta when the team also had Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in the starting rotation, but he had some outstanding seasons. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 1999, going 18-7 with a 2.68 ERA in 228 innings. Millwood also won an ERA title with Cleveland in 2005. He finished his 16-year career with 169 wins and a 4.11 ERA.

 
13 of 19

Jamie Moyer

Jamie Moyer
The Sporting News / Getty Images

If Hall of Fame voters value longevity, there aren't many better candidates than Moyer. He pitched in the majors for 25 seasons, throwing more than 4,000 innings. The lefty finished top six in AL Cy Young voting three times, winning 20 games twice. He finished his career with 269 wins and a 4.25 ERA, finally retiring in 2012 after his age 49 season.

 
14 of 19

Scott Rolen

Scott Rolen
G.N. Lowrance / Getty Images

Rolen's career was disrupted by a few injuries but highly impressive nonetheless. The third baseman won eight Gold Gloves, made seven All-Star appearances, won one Silver Slugger and was the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year with Philadelphia. He retired with an .855 career OPS and 316 home runs, playing 17 seasons between Philly, St. Louis, Toronto and Cincinnati.

 
15 of 19

Johan Santana

Johan Santana
Chuck Rydlewski / Getty Images

Santana's career was all too brief due to injuries, but he was the best pitcher in baseball for a short time, winning the AL Cy Young in 2004 and 2006. The lefty won three ERA titles and made four All-Star appearances. He also owns the only no-hitter in Mets history. Santana finished his career with 139 wins and a 3.20 ERA over 12 seasons between the Twins and Mets.

 
16 of 19

Jim Thome

Jim Thome
Ronald C. Modra / Sports Imagery / Getty Images

Thome was one of the best power hitters and on-base guys of his era. He hit 40-plus home runs six times, leading the NL in home runs in 2003. He also led the league in walks three times and slugging and OPS in 2002. Thome's numbers are certainly Hall of Fame worthy with 612 home runs, a .402 on-base percentage and .956 OPS

 
17 of 19

Omar Vizquel

Omar Vizquel
Brian Bahr / AFP / Getty Images

Vizquel is one of the best defensive shortstops in history, winning 11 Gold Gloves during his 24-year career. Almost all of Vizquel's Gold Gloves came with Cleveland, and he also made three All-Star appearances with the Indians. Unfortunately, Vizquel's lack of hitting might prevent him from becoming a Hall of Famer, batting above .300 just once and finishing his career as a .272 hitter with a sub-.700 OPS.

 
18 of 19

Kerry Wood

Kerry Wood
Brian D. Kersey / Getty Images

Wood looked like a Hall of Famer in the making after winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 1998 with the Cubs. However, he sat out the following season due to Tommy John surgery, and injuries were a running theme for his career. Wood was eventually moved to the bullpen by the Cubs in 2007, finishing his career as a late-inning reliever. He ended his playing days with a 3.67 ERA and 1,582 strikeouts over 1,380 innings.

 
19 of 19

Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Zambrano
Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Some Cubs fans don't remember Zambrano very fondly, but he did have some productive seasons. The big starting pitcher threw more than 200 innings in five straight seasons and led the NL in wins (16) in 2006. He made three All-Star appearances and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting three times. His career ended after one season with the Marlins, finishing with a 3.66 ERA over 12 seasons. Zambrano also held his own at the plate with 24 career home runs and three Silver Sluggers.

Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto.

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