Coming in at #92 is Eddie Murray. Murray earned the nickname Steady Eddie for being one of the most consistent hitters in baseball history.  Murray’s career is notable in that he didn’t have a peak. It was steady production for 20 straight seasons. Murray is the only player in history with 20 consecutive seasons of at least 70 RBIs and 20 doubles. He’s 11^th all-time in total bases and RBIs, and 13^th all-time in hits. He joins Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Willie Mays as the only five players in history with at least 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, and 1900 RBIs. Ever the tradesman with the bat in his hands, Murray produced an excellent 11.8 strikeout percentage and is the all-time leader in sacrifice flies. Murray led the American League in OPS+ in 1984 and finished in the top-10 nine times, including three second-place finishes. He led the American League in RBIs in 1981 and finished in the top-10 11 times. He finished in the top-5 in MVP voting six times including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1982 and 1983. He produced a .825 career postseason OPS in 186 career plate appearances while leading the Orioles to a World Series title in 1981.

Slamming the door shut at #95 is legendary Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley. While Eck was an accomplished starting pitcher for the first half of his career—he was a 20-game winner for Boston in 1978, led the AL in ERA+ in 1979, and was selected to two All-Star games—he was a “light’s out, don’t let the door hit you on the way out” closer for the second half. He would redefine what an elite season looked like for a closer when he made the move to the bullpen for Oakland in 1987. After a successful first season as a full-time closer, Eck would catch fire in 1988, leading the American League in saves and finishing 2^nd in the Cy Young voting. Eck’s two most dominant seasons and the two most dominant back-to-back seasons by a closer in major league baseball history came in 1989 and 1990 when he posted microscopic whips of .607 and .614. His 1990 ERA of .61 is almost hard to believe and translates to an out-of-this-world ERA+ of 603. Eck’s late-inning dominance helped lead Oakland to the 1990 World Series title and three consecutive World Series appearances.  Eck would put a stamp on his Hall of Fame career by winning the Cy Young and AL MVP in 1992, becoming only the 4^th reliever in history to do so. Eck is the only pitcher in baseball history with at least 390 saves and 190 wins, and no player in Major League Baseball history has more 45-save seasons.

Joining the list at #96 is on-base machine Joey Votto. Although hitting home runs is the most important skill in baseball, getting on base isn’t far behind and few have been better than Votto at doing just that. Votto has led the National League in on-base percentage seven times. Only Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Rogers Hornsby have led the league more often, and they just happen to be four of the top-20 players ever. Votto is the active leader in on-base percentage and is second among active players in career walks trailing only Albert Pujols. Votto won the NL MVP in 2010 while also finishing 2nd in 2017 and 3rd in 2015. Votto will not end up reaching the celebrated statistical milestones that have become synonymous with Hall-of-Fame resumes, but it is hard to imagine a player leading the league in on-base percentage seven times and not being one of the 100 greatest players. Hopefully, Hall of Fame voters will show more respect to Votto than they did to Johan Santana’s similarly underappreciated profile.