The Hall of Fame of any sport is meant to recognize the best players of their time and the enshrinement of an athlete is proof that the dedication to their craft paid off. Not all hall-of-famers are made the same though, some are enshrined on their first ballot and some barely sneak in. 

Inspired by a tweet from Foolish Baseball, let’s look at some under the radar hall of fame candidates.

MLB: 

• Zach Greinke

A player who had asked to be sent down to the lowest minor league level to become a shortstop after making the major leagues, is notably anti-social and has contemplated early retirement several times has had a fantastic career. 

Greinke has several things that will help his case to be enshrined, those include his longevity, dominant single-seasons and general counting stats. Even if it does not actually help him, his personality and all the stories told from his teammates make him a hall-of-famer.

Although he is certainly on the last leg of his career, and there is speculation that he could even retire this off-season, he has had a tremendous career and should be recognized. 

For career-stats, Greinke is 223-141 over the course of 3,247 innings to the tune of a 3.42 ERA. On top of this he has 2,882 strikeouts, if he reaches 3,000 he will be a lock. 

He has only had an ERA+ below league average in a single season, which was his rookie year. Since then, he has been one of the best pitchers in the 21st century. 

His 2009 and 2015 years were historic, in 09’ he won the CY Young with a ERA+ of 205 and tallied 242 strikeouts, in 2015 his ERA was 1.66, but somehow he did not receive any hardware outside a Gold Glove. 

Greinke is pretty much a lock the (This sounds awkward to me-AM) more you look into his career and he is also a hall of fame personality. 

• Kris Bryant 

A 30-year old player who was on the track to make the hall in his first three seasons has fallen off the radar for most by this point. 

In his first three seasons he was a two-time all-star, MVP winner, rookie of the year and had already had 94 home-runs and an OPS of .915. If he had kept that pace for 12-13 years he could have gone down as the Chicago Cub of all-time. 

However, the real world is not a fairytale and his production has steadily declined due to injuries, among other things.

That being said, he has six years remaining on his Rockies’ contract and already has a career wins above replacement of 29.2, using the mile-high city to hopefully boost his home-run totals, he could produce over the next six-plus years and sneak his way onto enough ballots. 

NBA:

• LaMarcus Aldridge 

A fan-favorite of Portland fans, Aldrige sits at just above a 50% chance to make the hall of fame, according to Basketball Insiders. 

Over the course of 16 years and over 1,000 games, he has averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds while having a player efficiency rating of 20.7, with the average PER being 15 he has been well above-average his entire career. 

His counting stats are also nothing to scoff at, as he has surpassed 20,000 points, 8,700 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocks. 

Being on the Brooklyn Nets as a bench piece going forward, if he is able to grab a championship ring while being apart of the playoff rotation, his place in the hall should be solidified.

• DeMar DeRozan 

DeRozan sits at just a 20% chance to make the hall, but he has three to four good years left in the tank. In the current season he reached 20,000 career points while also having over 4,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists. 

As a five-time all-star and three time member of one of the All-NBA teams, he has been one of the better players in the league over the course of his career, while just not being able to be the best.

His one major fault is his lack of playoff success, but with a young and promising Bulls core, anything is possible. 

If he can get up to 25,000 to 27,000 points by the end of his career he should be able to make it. 

NFL: 

• Matt Ryan 

Ryan may have played his final career game as a starter as the Colts chose to move on from the quarterback going forward. 

He may just have done barely enough to make the HOF, which is crazy to think about since he is a six-time All-Pro and a former MVP of the league. 

His Pro Football Reference HOF Monitor rating is at 104.18 which ever so slightly puts him above the average HOF QB of 104.14.

The one downfall of Ryan is that his “Matty Ice” nickname is not that true, seeing as he was on the wrong side of one of the biggest Super Bowl comebacks ever.

However, with over 60,000 passing yards and 376 passing touchdowns, he might make it in, even if he has played his final game as a starter. 

• Matthew Stafford 

After finally conquering the league and winning the Super Bowl in the previous season, Stafford might have locked himself into a future golden jacket. 

Being a member of the horrible Lions teams of the 2010’s and with Calvin Johnson Jr as his receiving weapon, he was able to accumulate impressive counting stats in a short amount of time. 

Despite his counting stats and now being a super-bowl winning QB, his record is still 89-99-1, not really the prettiest mark if one is trying to make the Hall of Fame.