Every year about this time, the debate starts about which current players are Hall of Fame candidates. Writers debate the merits of active players to see how they measure up against the current class of inductees as well as already enshrined players. One name at the top of the list for debate is Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro. Many people feel that he is a lock while many others feel that he put up his big numbers in a tainted era. There is no denying that Palmeiro has great career numbers. He is two hits shy of becoming just the fourth member of the 500 homers, 3,000 hit club. He will join Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, and some guy named Hank Aaron in this very exclusive club. Palmeiro has slugged 566 homeruns, which places him ninth all-time. That puts him ahead of Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig, just to name a few. He has driven in 1,825 runs, which is good enough for 16th place all-time. Palmeiro is just 35 RBIs behind tenth place Mel Ott. There is a very good shot by the end of the season that he will be in the top ten all-time of home runs and runs driven in. And why are we debating the merits of credentials for the Hall of Fame? Palmeiro is in his 20th major league season and has played just 22 postseason games. That is an average of a little more that one per season. His career postseason numbers are not very impressive either, .244 average with four homers and eight runs driven in. He is not the first player to have great regular season numbers and lay a big egg in the postseason. You have to look no further than Ted Williams to see that great players don?t always play great in the postseason. But there is a larger issue here; Palmeiro has never carried his team to the postseason. There is also a sentiment that Palmeiro was never the best player on his own team. When he was with Texas in the early 90?s, the best player on the team was Juan Gonzalez. In 1992 and 1993, Gonzalez slugged 43 and 46 homers respectively while Palmeiro managed only 22 and 37 for those two seasons. Palmeiro then signed with Baltimore following the 1993 season. He would make his first postseason appearance in 1996 as the Orioles won the American League Wild Card. He did hit 39 homers that year but was overshadowed by the career year of Brady Anderson who finished with 50 long bombs. The Orioles won their division series against the Cleveland Indians but lost in the ALCS to the eventual World Champion New York Yankees. Remember Jeffrey Maier. The following year, the Orioles won the AL East behind Palmeiro?s 38 homers and 110 RBIs. The Orioles made it to the ALCS only to lose in six games to the Indians after beating the Seattle Mariners in four games. Palmeiro struggled in the 1997 postseason driving in only two runs while hitting just one homer in 10 games. After resigning with the Rangers, he made one more postseason appearance in 1999 and the Yankees swept his Rangers. 1999 was his best statistical year. He hit 47 homers and drove in 148 runs. He was part of a lineup that included Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Todd Zeile. The Rangers dominated the AL West but struggled to hit in the playoffs. Palmeiro also has been selected to just four All-Star games (1988, 1991, 1998 and 1999), which is another indication that his peers don?t think too highly of him. He has finished in the top 10 of MVP voting just three times (1993 8th, 1996 6th, and 1999 5th) as well. But is Palmeiro Hall of Fame worthy? In my opinion, yes. If you are going to base his career solely on postseason success, he is not a Hall of Famer but that would eliminate a lot of the greatest players of all-time as well. There was also some speculation that he might have taken steroids but the only drug I remember him taking was a little blue pill. Palmeiro is one of the better sluggers of all-time. He averaged 39 homers per year for an 11-year stretch from 1993 to 2003. He is soon to be in the company of Mays, Aaron, and Murray in the 500 HR, 3,000 hit club. That is very impressive and needs to be noted with a Hall of Fame induction. So for Palmeiro, it is now time to determine which cap will be on his plague in Cooperstown, Orioles or Rangers.