Cap questions

It's still a couple of months away from Rickey Henderson's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but timeliness is for newspapers. Here, I get to write whatever I want whenever I want.

And, like many fans, I am interested in what cap a player will wear on his plaque when he's in the Hall of Fame. Henderson's plaque will feature him wearing an A's cap, as it should be. He played for many teams, but his most memorable moments were with the A's, for the most part.

In this era of players switching teams every four years, the Hall's task of deciding who wears what cap is more difficult than it once was. To illustrate, I've selected some current players who might be appearing in the Hall some day and will determine what cap I think they should wear. I've included several choices for each player so you can play along.

I know I've left some players out, as I simply pulled some of this year's cards. So if you want to debate whether Mike Piazza should go in as a Dodger or Met (hint: pick L.A.), you'll have to do it on your own time.

Here we go:

Should Trevor Hoffman go in the Hall with the:

a) Florida Marlins?
b) San Diego Padres?
c) Milwaukee Brewers?

Answer: Super easy one to start. Padres all the way. All but two years of his career have been with the Padres.

Should Ken Griffey Jr. go in the Hall with the:

a) Seattle Mariners?
b) Cincinnati Reds?
c) Chicago White Sox?

Answer: I think this is fairly simple. Griffey attained fame as a Seattle Mariner. Almost all of his notable moments are with the Mariners. And his return to Seattle this year has been hailed as the perfect end to a career.

Should Joe Torre go in the Hall with the:

a) Atlanta Braves?
b) Los Angeles Dodgers?
c) New York Mets?
d) New York Yankees?
e) St. Louis Cardinals?

Answer: Torre will be in the Hall for his managerial achievements, and only his job for the Yankees was Hall worthy. So, even though I consider him a Cardinal, he will go in as a Yankee.

Should Frank Thomas go in the Hall with the:

a) Oakland A's?
b) Toronto Blue Jays?
c) Chicago White Sox?

Answer: First, check out the elbow guard on Thomas in that card. Wow, I can't stop staring at that. It's bigger than his shoulders. Anyway, Thomas is a White Sox player. Anything else is just wrong.

Should Manny Ramirez (provided PEDs doesn't keep him out) go in with the:

a) Los Angeles Dodgers?
b) Cleveland Indians?
c) Boston Red Sox?

Answer: First of the PED guys. If you think of Manny Being Manny and all that it entails, you think of him as a Red Sox player. The MBM phenomenon grew out of his days with the Red Sox. So as much as Boston fans now despise Ramirez (I may have a story for later on that someday), if he ever gets in the Hall, he'll be wearing that "B."

Should Omar Vizquel go in the Hall with the:

a) San Francisco Giants?
b) Cleveland Indians?
c) Seattle Mariners?

Answer: He could make the Hall don't you think? He began his career in Seattle and likely will end it in San Francisco, but he's a Cleveland Indian.

Should Ivan Rodriguez go in the Hall with the:

a) Houston Astros?
b) Florida Marlins?
c) Texas Rangers?
d) Detroit Tigers?
e) New York Yankees?

Answer: Some memorable moments with the Marlins and Tigers, but he's definitely a Texas Ranger.

Should Alex Rodriguez go in the Hall with the:

a) Texas Rangers?
b) Seattle Mariners?
c) New York Yankees?

Answer: Again, PEDs may play a role. As much as I hate it when the Yankees claim ownership of any player who wore a Yankee uniform (Paul O'Neill DID win a World Series with the Reds, you know), I'm pretty sure he'll be in there as a Yankee. Especially if he breaks the all-time HR record.

Should Vladimir Guerrero go in the Hall with the:

a) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of North America of the Western Hemisphere of Planet Earth?
b) Montreal Expos?

Answer: Guerrero's still got a little more time to go, but if he keeps going, I think he'll make the Hall and go in as an Angel.

Should Randy Johnson go in the Hall with the:

a) Houston Astros?
b) Arizona Diamondbacks?
c) Montreal Expos?
d) Seattle Mariners?
e) New York Yankees?

Answer: Wouldn't it be cool if the Hall threw everyone a curve and put an Expos cap on him? This one is a toughie. He did a lot to raise up a Seattle Mariner franchise, but I think he did even more for the Diamondbacks. So I say he's a Diamondback.

Should Greg Maddux go in the Hall with the:

a) Atlanta Braves?
b) Chicago Cubs?
c) Los Angeles Dodgers?
d) San Diego Padres?

Answer: The Cubs and Braves fans can slug it out over this one. If I had to pick, I'd pick the Braves. He won a world title with them (his stats were crazy that year).

Should Gary Sheffield go in the Hall with the:

a) Atlanta Braves?
b) Milwaukee Brewers?
c) Los Angeles Dodgers?
d) Florida Marlins?
e) San Diego Padres?
f) Detroit Tigers?
g) New York Mets?
h) New York Yankees?

Answer: Should I list all of his Little League teams, too? Remember the days when a much-traveled player meant a modestly talented player? Again, PEDs may be a factor here. This is also difficult, but given that he never stayed in one spot for very long, you have to look at what he achieved in each place. Doesn't get any better than winning a championship. So Sheffield goes in with the Marlins.

Should Mike Mussina go in the Hall with the:

a) Baltimore Orioles?
b) New York Yankees?

Answer: Last one. And for me, it's the toughest of all. My heart says the Orioles. My gut says the Yankees. He seemed much more dominant with the Orioles, but who knows. It'll be interesting if/when it happens.

So what do you think?