 Now, on the ballot, here is the cause for Mattingly to be selected. He was arguably the best player in Major League Baseball for a six year span from 1984 to 1989. He averaged 27 homers and 114 RBI's while putting up a 327 average 372 on base percentage and a 530 slugging percentage batting line in those six campaigns. The 530 slugging percentage led all qualified hitters while Mattingly also paced the majors in extra base hits with 428 and RBI's with 684 during that six year span. Compared to a contemporary of his Harold Baines who was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame last year by the Veterans Committee, the typical average Major League season for both players are similar with a slight edge going to Mattingly. Defensively, he might have been the best first baseman of his generation. Mattingly took home nine Gold Glove awards and the 1985 American League Most Valuable Player Award, a combination that has proven to be Hall of Fame worthy. He is one of just 11 players to win at least nine Gold Gloves and an MVP and eight of those 11 are in the Hall of Fame. The only three from that group yet to be inducted to Cooperstown are Ichiro Suzuki who figures to be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he is eligible in 2025, Keith Hernandez and Mattingly. Eight first basemen in the history of the game have at least a 300 career batting average and have hit at least 200 homers. Five of them are already in the Hall of Fame. The other two are Todd Helton and Joey Vado.