Inner Circle HOFers from the post 2000 era
 

Who are the top 5 inductees from the post-2000 HOF classes?

My choices (in no particular order):

Greg Maddux
Rickey Henderson
Mariano Rivera
Ozzie Smith
Cal Ripken

Honorable Mention:

Tony Gwynn
Ken Griffey Jr

Would swap out Ozzie Smith for Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and move up Ken Griffey Jr.
Frank Thomas and Wade Boggs would be honorable mention.

Henderson
Ripken
Maddux
Griffey
R Johnson

Griffey
Henderson
Johnson
Maddux

Then it gets hard. Frank Thomas, Pedro, Gwynn, Boggs, Chipper, Ripken. I'd probably pick Pedro off the top but all have a good case.

Of course, we are missing Clemens and Bonds. If they counted, it's hard to pick which of the first 4 would be knocked off. Rickey or Griffey (his fall off at 31 really hurts) probably.

I would take Rickey out. Probably never be equaled but he spent a lot of time in the league as a replacement level player.

Greg Maddux
Randy Johnson
Griffey Jr.
Gwynn
Pedro

Miguel Cabrera - when he gets in. I realize Griffey fell off as much as Rickey did but he was the face of baseball in a way Rickey never was.

So, my thoughts are that 2014 and 2015 inductions were the best back to back years since 2000. What a group that was inducted! Their closest competition is 1999, which is just one year beyond our cutoff for this thread. But here are my top 5 based on the mythology in my head rather than the numbers. These are the players I am emotionally tied to.

1) Ken Griffey Jr
2) Randy Johnson
3) Derek Jeter
4) Cal Ripken Jr
5) Greg Maddux

Honorable Mention: Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith, Bobby Cox

KGJ was the face of the 90s and is still the biggest card hero of my generation. Cal Ripken Jr was the Iron Man, and the way MLB played that up and his games were broadcast nationally for 2 or 3 games was awesome. I could have chosen any Braves player, but I went with Greg Maddux because their rotation was unbelievable! Randy Johnson was Wild Thing in Seattle, and then calmed down and put up outrageous numbers in Arizona. And finally, Derek Jeter was the face of the Yankees dynasty I came to hate. People can argue whether he was as good as myth makes him, but that late 90s Yankees team was the best dynasty of my lifetime.

Yes, I found this exercise to be challenging because greatness and legacy can be defined in so many ways. If it were purely based on numbers, then Ozzie doesn't make the cut (defensive WAR notwithstanding), and neither does Jeter. But they both defined their franchises.

Mariano Rivera falls in the same bucket. I'd argue that he performed under high pressure situations than anyone on the short list, but is he a better pitcher than Randy Johnson? As a general matter, I think the post 2000 period had some awesome pitchers. (If you include 1999, you even get Tom Seaver.)

Rickey Henderson makes the list in spite of his personality and selfishness, since his career numbers are probably unbeatable.

So for Ozzie Smith, he retired shortly after I came to full consciousness about baseball. 1995 and 1996 were the first years I fully understood the baseball playoffs and watched national broadcasts. So I never became emotionally tied to him.

While Rickey played after my maturity, it was for some teams that were not making the playoffs. So when I finally turned on the TV in October, he was never part of any Bob Costas stories. So again, my emotional ties don't tie to him.

But I saw the Braves and Yankees win win win win win. It was sickening. But not so sickening that I can't respect the rosters they put together. So I picked Jeter to represent the NYY dynasty, and Maddux to represent the Braves. Rivera or Chipper would be back up candidates.

While I didn't list Piazza as an honorable mention, he too had emotional ties since he was Nomo's catcher with LAD. Nomo-mania was also alive in Montana during my youth. I had a Nomo poster on my wall. And then Piazza was in the subway series. I rooted hard for the NYM to defeat the evil empire.

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Top 5 HOF
 

bk- Interesting question, always a challenge when comparing greats. Your
question was for Top 5 who are actually in HOF post 1999, so I'll do my best.
In no particular order:

1) Rickey H
2) Cal
3) Tony Gwynn
4) Randy Johnson
5) Griffey

Some folks have commented on Rickey H's demeanor and his tail off, both of
which ring true. He's not a personal favorite, but when he was in his prime
he was a nightmare for opponents. Griffey is the "weakest" of my 5, just an
opinion. His Seattle years were unreal but the KG we got in Cincy was a
shadow. Gwynn, Ripken, and Johnson need little comment, monster
production over time.

Trent King

In no particular order:

Pedro Martinez
Greg Maddux
Randy Johnson
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Mariano Rivera
Rickey Henderson
.

Sort of surprised and not surprised that nobody mentioned Jim Thome.
Not flashy, and not generally with big market teams.
But for someone believed to be clean during an era when most sluggers were at least a bit suspect, he ended up with 600+ home runs, not a common thing at all.

Thome was a beast but he'll never be an inner HOFer. He wasn't very popular when active and was overshadowed on nearly every roster he played on.

To me, "inner circle" means they were truly the best at their craft, have an enduring, long lasting legacy, or a significant impact on the game. With that being said, my list (In no particular order)

1. Derek Jeter
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
3. Mariano Rivera
4. Randy Johnson
5. Greg Maddux
6. Rickey Henderson

I will update this post later to provide explanations/corrections but that's where I'm standing right now.

When I think of inner circle I think of modern versions of the big boys who dominate other eras of the hobby. Guys like Ruth, Gehrig, Aaron, Mays, Koufax etc.

With that in mind Rickey is a great choice for both talent and his hobby love. Maddux doesn't get a ton of hobby appreciation but his sheer talent makes him relevant in any best of discussion.

Chicks dig strikeout pitchers more but man could he work a strike zone and PITCH as well as anyone. Some of his streaks were insane.

I love Jim Thome because I was a Cleveland fan. But none of my friends ever talked about him. It's hard to be inner circle when no one knows your name.

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Inner circle for Thome, nah. A deserving HOF’er who benefited greatly from the most stacked lineup of his generation in Cleveland. Pretty one dimensional, lots of homers and walks, nothing special in terms of average, zero speed and nothing significant on defense and his teams never won anything. A better version of Adam Dunn.

My rankings
1. Rickey Henderson
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
3. Randy Johnson
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Wade Boggs
6. Cal Ripken Jr.
7. Greg Maddux

If we extend it to future Hofers who are locks. Albert Pujols is #1 and Mike Trout is #3 with enough career left to finish 1 or 2.

Ichiro next year would probably also qualify.

Inner circle for me would be:
Wade Boggs
Greg Maddux
Derek Jeter
Mariano Rivera

Honorable mention
Ken Griffey Jr
Cal Ripken Jr
Randy Johnson