Detroit Tigers: A look ahead to the 2019 Hall of Fame Ballot

Octavio Dotel

When Edwin Jackson took the mound for the A’s against the Detroit Tigers earlier this year, it was his 13th big league team. That broke a record that had previously been held by Dotel, who played for 12 teams across 15 big league seasons. He finished his career out with two seasons in the Motor City, where his 62.2 innings were the fifth most he pitched for any one team.

Dotel was a perfectly fine middle reliever, who racked up 109 saves as an occasional closer. He finished his career appearing in 758 games, good for 67th all-time. He posted a 3.78 ERA and a 10.8 K/9, finishing as one of the more prolific strikeout pitchers of his era.

Still, in order to make the Hall of Fame as a relief pitcher you have to be one of the top 3-5 of all-time, and Dotel is nowhere near that level. Although any player with over 10 years of big league experience is eligible to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot, it’s up to the Hall’s jurisdiction who actually makes it. Dotel is a fringe candidate to even make the ballot, and it would be a surprise if he got even one vote for the Hall of Fame.

The Tigers will not have a player on the BBWAA ballot inducted into Cooperstown in 2019. There are however quite a few Detroit Tigers who are either active or recently retired who could find themselves in Cooperstown in the near future.