Will Any Former Rangers Be First-Ballot Hall of Famers in 2022?

The 2022 Hall of Fame ballot has officially been released.

Thirteen new faces grace the ballot for the first time, and 6 of them are former Rangers but will any of them make it in on their first year?

Of the first-year players on the ballot, the 6 former Rangers include Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Joe Nathan, A.J Pierzynski, Prince Fielder, and Tim Lincecum. He was technically on the Rangers, although he never appeared on the active Major League roster.

The short answer to the question is no but let’s break it down by each candidate.

Alex Rodriguez

In December of 2000, the Rangers started the decade with a bang by signing Alex Rodriguez to a 10 year, 252 million dollar contract, which was unheard of at the time.

Rodriguez had 3 solid years with the Rangers and many more with the Yankees and Mariners. Unfortunately for him, with his multiple PED violations, he won’t be a Hall of Famer, especially this year.

Prince Fielder

Fielder played for the Rangers from 2014-2016 until he was forced to medically retire due to a neck injury.

Fiedler was an All-Star in 2015 with the Rangers and finished 15th in MVP voting. Even though this is the case, Prince’s legacy just is not a Hall of Fame one.

Joe Nathan

The former Rangers closer is one of the most underrated players in baseball history. Nathan closed for the Rangers for two years, collecting 80 saves.

Nathan was a fantastic pitcher but not a Hall of Fame-level pitcher.

Mark Teixeira

Teixeira spent his first 4 and a half seasons with Texas and was a really good player but not a Hall of Fame type player.

A.J Pierzynski

AJ was an excellent catcher who played a long time and had some solid years in Texas, but he is nowhere close to the best 1% of MLB players.

Tim Lincecum

Although never playing for the Rangers, Tim put together a really good career with the Giants.

I think it might be enough to sneak in one of his last years on the ballot but not this year; he won’t even be close.

Overall, all of these guys are amazing players who posted impressive careers but not Hall of Fame careers. The Hall of Fame is only in the top 1% of Major League Players.

To put it into perspective, that is the equivalent of 7 players out of every opening day roster in 2022. Just making it onto the ballot is a huge accomplishment.