Joe Mauer is a Hall of Famer.
Which current Minnesota pro athletes are most likely to make the Hall of Fame?
Joe Mauer was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first try Tuesday. But which athlete that you are watching right now is most likely to follow the same path?
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 25, 2024 at 12:54PM
Any debate that existed has been resolved by the fact that he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday on his first try.
Former Minnesota athletes who aren’t quite eligible yet will join Mauer in the coming years. Adrian Peterson, for example, is a strong candidate to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And we’ve had a lengthy run of players elected recently from various teams.
But a more interesting question — one I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast — is this: Which current Minnesota athletes have the best chance of someday being enshrined in their sport’s top hall of fame?
This is a highly subjective list, but I’ve decided to break things into a few different categories. Here we go:
- No doubt: Marc-Andre Fleury. Somehow, I forgot about Flower during today’s podcast. Not sure how it happened. But yes, the goalie with three Stanley Cup titles and the second-most wins in NHL history is going to make the Hall of Fame.
- On a clear path, more work to do: Justin Jefferson. The Vikings wide receiver has already received the sorts of awards (All-Pro, Offensive Player of the Year) that make strong cases for the Hall of Fame at the ends of careers. As much as it’s about numbers (Jefferson has those, too), it’s about being the best or one of the best of your era. Jefferson is clearly that so far.
- Veteran with a chance: Rudy Gobert. Basketball Reference gives the Wolves center about a 25% probability of making it as of now. But he has several years left to play and a lot of awards in the bank.
- On the rise, more work to do: Anthony Edwards, Napheesa Collier, Kirill Kaprizov. All three could become Hall of Famers depending on what the next five to 10 years have in store. None are at the level (yet) of Jefferson, but each could chart a path depending on individual and/or team success.
- On the fringes: Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter, Karl-Anthony Towns, Carlos Correa. These are veterans worthy of discussion, but as of now each of them would seem to fall short. They could still change the narrative in the next five years, but all of them are more likely headed to the Hall of Great, not Hall of Fame.
- Wild cards: Brock Faber, Royce Lewis, Minnesota PWHL stars. Faber is a rookie of the year candidate. Lewis looks like he could be a breakout star and leader. But neither have even finished a full season yet. Minnesota’s PWHL roster is littered with top-end talent, but there just aren’t a lot of women’s players in the Hockey Hall of Fame -- yet.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
