Kenny Lofton: Hall of Famer?

A week ago, America's greatest living writer Joe Posnanski (with all apologies to Michael Chabon, despite being nominally a sportswriter, Posnanski covers a lot broader turf), in explaining his Hall of Fame vote for Tim Raines, analyzed the greatest leadoff hitters -- in that they met certain criteria (lineup position was not actually among these). The takeaway from it was that Raines was a clear hall of famer. But that wasn't the end of it. Rather, as a final note, Posnanski added: The other thing about that "great leadoff hitters" list? Yeah, Kenny Lofton was probably a better player than you remembered."

Now Rob Neyer is on the Kenny Lofton bandwagon. Well, maybe, like Posnanski, he doesn't say Lofton is a Hall of Famer, but he certainly implies it's a question worthy of consideration. Neyer states, "I believe Barry Larkin gets in next year. That leaves seven holdovers in 2013 ... who will be joined by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Craig Biggio, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, and the terribly underrated Kenny Lofton."

And I guess I'm just taken aback by it.

I love Kenny Lofton. Love the guy unabashedly.