Author: thewomack@gmail.com (Graham Womack)

The greatest coaching mind of his generation has been exiled. At 68, Leo Mazzone’s chances of getting back into baseball are slim. But it’s not too late for the Hall of Fame to rediscover him.

Even if this were a serious injury that could keep him out a year or longer, Trout wouldn’t have that much to worry about regarding his Hall of Fame chances.

There was a time when a number of influential people called for Eddie Grant’s enshrinement in Cooperstown.

Mike Trout has finished first or second in MVP voting every season but 2011 and is already better sabermetrically than several Hall of Famers. Barring catastrophe, his enshrinement is only a matter of time. The same can’t be said for Bryce Harper, at least not yet.

A number of long-forgotten baseball pioneers remain unrecognized by Cooperstown.

To some extent, Fred Lynn’s career is one of the great what-ifs in baseball history.

Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith has met a number of good shortstops in recent years.

Luis Tiant, 76, could be eligible again for Hall of Fame consideration this fall via the Modern Baseball Committee, which considers players, managers, umpires and executives who made their greatest contribution to the game between 1970 and 1987.

Even with more than 2,700 career hits, Al Oliver received just 4.3 percent of the Hall of Fame vote in 1991, his only year on the ballot. The seven-time All-Star deserved more consideration.

These are players who might have been Hall of Famers if not for some calamity or challenge they couldn’t avoid.