Players who are definitely in the Hall:
Wade Boggs 
Roger Clemens
Dennis Eckersley
Tony Gwynn
Rickey Henderson
Greg Maddux
Paul Molitor
Eddie Murray
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Ryne Sandberg
Lee Smith
Barry Bonds
Ken Griffey, Jr.
These choices are based on ideas presented by Bill James in his
book on the baseball Hall of Fame. At this point there are only a dozen or so
players who are "locks" for the Hall at this point. It seems to me that the only ones for whom you can make a case against first
ballot entry are Sandberg and Smith. Boggs is closing in on 3000 hits,
while Thomas's numbers over the last several seasons are overwhelming.
Players who have a good chance of making it:
Roberto Alomar
David Cone
Orel Hershiser
Randy Johnson
Frank Thomas
Kenny Lofton
Dennis Martinez
Mark McGwire
Randy Myers
Mo Vaughn
Martinez is a borderline candidate for the Hall at best. He has over 240 career
wins, but so do such non-immortals as Jim Kaat and Bert Blyleven. I think
that public sentiment might push him over the top, but he's
just not that special. Cone, Lofton, Hershise, Myers and Vaughn are
a bit more borderline, but they've all had decent careers.
Johnson may be the most questionable member if he group, but he seems close to being a Hall of Famer
because of several spectacular years, like Sandy Koufax was. Alomar is very
nearly a lock for the Hall. He falls just short on Bill James's scoring
system, but he is commonly thought of as the best second baseman in the game right
now, and has a number of good years still ahead of him.
Long shot candidates:
Barry Bonilla
Kevin Brown
Jose Canseco
Brett Butler
Joe Carter
Vince Coleman
Cecil Fielder
John Franco
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Jack McDowell
Rafael Palmiero
Tony Pena
Tim Raines
Darryl Strawberry
Willie McGee
Some of these players certainly won't make it. Coleman, Raines,
McGee and Black Jack were all dominant players in their prime, but
never strung together enough strong seasons to merit serious consideration.
Still, two or three more excellent seasons and they're strong candidates, at least.
Not Hall of Famers yet - working towards it:
Mike Mussina
Andy Pettitte
Manny Ramirez
Ivan Rodriguez
Gary Sheffield
Jim Thome
Dave Justice
Jeff Bagwell
Mike Piazza
Alex Rodriguez
Curt Schilling
This is the toughest area to predict because it's hard to tell the diffrence
between a guy on a good run and an especially great player. Schilling, for instance,
has had a nice career but seems to be rising to a higher level in the last several years. Ramirez
is a wonderful power hitter, but can he keep it up?
And what about McGwire and Dennis Martinez? Good question.