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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-02-2025, 08:31 PM

Major League Baseball had a three player Hall of Fame class for 2027, although former home run king LF Cody Lim was the lone slam dunk with 98.0%. The other two just sneaked by the 66% requirement with RF Ryan Skramesto debuting at 68.7% and 2B Adrian Vega finally making it on his seventh ballot with 67.5%. Like the 2021 class, this group showed how much MLB’s profile had grown worldwide with the inductees being from Malaysia, Norway, and Peru.

3B Jeanpaul Vick barely missed the cut again with 63.2% for his eighth ballot. SP Victor Burke had 59.4% for his penultimate ninth try, CL Sebastian Gomez got 54.7% on his fourth ballot, and CL Jeremy Dau received an even 50% with his sixth go.

Off the ballot after ten failed tries was RF Jameson Hughes, who peaked at 54.3% in 2019 and finished at 46.8%. The Belizean never got less than 1/3 of the vote, but his lack of black ink and big accolades hurt him. Hughes had a 19-year career with one Silver Slugger, 2968 hits, 1565 runs, 448 doubles, 547 home runs, 1699 RBI, 1019 walks, .277/.340/.480 slash, 127 wRC+, and 84.7 WAR. Hughes was also hurt by playing his prime with bad San Antonio teams mostly, only making one playoff trip late in his career for Los Angeles. His steady accumulations were nice, but not high enough to make up for never being viewed as a top five level guy.

Cody Lim – Left Field – Oklahoma City Outlaws – 98.0% First Ballot

Cody Lim was a 6’7’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Sungai Petani, a city of around 544,000 in northwestern Malaysia. Lim was known for his outstanding and steady home run power. Against right-handed pitching, he was an excellent contact hitter and posted a career .998 OPS and 173 wRC+. Lim struggled against lefties with a subpar .662 OPS and 89 wRC+ for his career. His strikeout rate was okay, but he was surprisingly below average at drawing walks despite his power.

Lim’s power was also heavy concentrated on dingers with only 22 doubles and 2 triples per his 162 game average. That same average got you 52 homers though with eight different seasons above 50+. Although power numbers across MLB went up generally in the 21^st Century, Lim was still playing when 50+ homer seasons weren’t that common. He was a highly skilled baserunner and was quite crafty at getting occasional steals, but he was limited by subpar speed at best.

Defensively, Lim played his entire career in left field and was a reliably great gloveman. He even won a Gold Glove in 2007 and could be counted on for positive value defense. Lim was scrappy and had one of the best work ethics in the game, greatly helping his popularity. He did run into some back and knee troubles in his later years, but Lim was still good for a 17-year career.

Lim left Malaysia as a teenager for the United States and ended up playing college baseball for Memphis. In 145 games over three years as a Tiger, Lim had 155 hits, 93 runs, 21 doubles, 46 home runs, 113 RBI, 44 walks, .286/.348/.579 slash, 182 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. In his junior year, Lim helped lead Memphis to a College World Series win over Maryland. That effort and being a tall, powerful lefty certainly put Lim on the radars of most MLB scouts.

At this point, the regional restrictions still applied for the first three rounds of the draft, leaving only players born near a franchise’s region eligible. Lim was obviously the best player available outside of that group and went right at the start of round four. This was the 178^th overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft to Oklahoma City. Lim was a full-time starter immediately for the Outlaws and held that role for 15 years.

Lim thrived immediately by leading the American Association in home runs with 53 and in slugging with .635, earning a Silver Slugger and 2005 Rookie of the Year honors. He led in homers again in 2006 (53), 2007 (60), 2009 (59), and 2010 (57), while posting 50+ in each of his first seven seasons. Lim won Sluggers in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

He never won MVP honors in his storied career, but did take second in 2007 and 2009. 2009 had Lim’s career bests in homers (60), runs (120), hits (193), total bases (406), average (.318), slugging (.670), OPS (1.033), wRC+ (183), and WAR (10.6). It was also Lim’s only season as the WARlord, but he would get 6+ in each of his first ten seasons. In May 2010, Oklahoma City locked him up long-term on an eight-year, $127,400,000 extension.

Lim became very popular for his power, but his stardom was limited by being in a smaller and relatively unsuccessful market like Oklahoma City. From 1987-2006, the Outlaws had nothing but losing seasons. Lim helped get them to just above .500 in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but they only made the playoffs once in his prime; a first round exit in 2009. They were back to the bottom of the standings by the mid 2010s apart from a one-and-done in 2019.

Although he didn’t get to play on the biggest stage in MLB, Lim was a regular on the World Baseball Championship stage. He still went home to represent Malaysia from 2004-21 and pushed them to their first-ever division title in 2009. Over 167 games, Lim had 139 hits, 85 runs, 24 doubles, 47 home runs, 98 RBI, 46 walks, 18 steals, .233/.295/.520 slash, 130 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR.

Lim was less dominant in his 30s, but was still usually good for around 40 homers and 5+ WAR when healthy. Shoulder tendinitis and a strained abdominal kept him out almost half of 2017, but he generally didn’t miss any big chunks. Lim did pop up in the national consciousness again in 2019 with a 53 home run season, his first 50+ effort since 2013. It was his ninth 50+ dinger season, an MLB record that would only get matched once in later years by Neil Hollinger.

At this point, Lim had quietly climbed the home run chart with his 2019 effort making him the fifth member of the 700 club. The last MLB slugger to join was R.J. Clinton back in 1977. The top mark had held more than 80 years, set in the mid 1930s by legendary Cardinals 1B Elijah Cashman with 750. Lim’s big 2019 had gotten him to 722 heading into his age 36 season, putting the prestigious mark in legitimate reach.

However, that record wouldn’t be broken with Oklahoma City, as Lim’s deal expired and he became a free agent. To the disappointment of Outlaws fans, they didn’t re-up him for the chase, although OKC fans had been used to disappointments at this point. For Oklahoma City, Lim had 2181 games, 2350 hits, 1408 runs, 302 doubles, 722 home runs, 1641 RBI, .286/.336/.595 slash, 156 wRC+, and 103.8 WAR. Lim would of course be a beloved hero for Outlaws fans and his #19 uniform would be shortly retired.

Lim signed a three-year, $54,800,000 deal with Washington with the intent of chasing the record. He socked 35 dingers in 2020, passing Cashman to become MLB’s home run king with great fanfare. There was also a tremendous celebration back in Malaysia to see one of their own reach such a cherished milestone. Lim is often cited as the country’s best-ever position player, although he often loses out in the debate for the overall Malaysian GOAT to Zainal bin Aziz, the eight-time Pitcher of the Year and arguably best-ever pitcher for South Asia Baseball.

After a solid 2020, Lim fell hard off a cliff in 2021. He only hit one more homer and had -0.1 WAR in 47 games and 8 starts. Washington did end a lengthy playoff drought, but lost in round two with Lim going 0-2. Realizing he was cooked with nothing more to prove, Lim retired that winter at age 37. With the Admirals, Lim had 188 games, 142 hits, 79 runs, 22 doubles, 36 home runs, 79 RBI, .242/.285/.463 slash, 124 wRC+, and 4.5 WAR.

Lim’s final stats had 2369 games, 2492 hits, 1487 runs, 324 doubles, 33 triples, 758 home runs, 1720 RBI, 614 walks, 1484 strikeouts, 138 steals, .283/.332/.586 slash, 154 wRC+, and 108.3 WAR. His reign as home run king was much briefer than Cashman with Isaac Cox surpassing him in 2025. With an overall league-wide bump in homers from the 2020s onward, Lim was down to the #7 spot by the start of the 2037 campaign.

As of 2037, Lim also ranks 56^th in RBI, 69^th in total bases (5156), and 31^st in WAR among position players. His .918 OPS is 96^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances in MLB and his slugging ranks 31^st. Lim’s struggles facing lefties also kept him outside of the top 100 in hits and runs scored despite his other accolades. The power and his reliably solid defense helped give him a prominent WAR tally even without big accumulations elsewhere.

Lim perhaps is an overlooked all-time great since his prime came with mostly bad Oklahoma City teams. He didn’t have the huge awards you might expect from someone who held the home run king crown, but it was steady and reliable power that etched his name into the record book. Lim forever is important historically for being the first to finally catch Cashman’s celebrated 750 home run mark. He was a clear headliner with a nearly unanimous 98.0% atop Major League Baseball’s 2027 Hall of Fame class.

03-02-2025, 08:31 PM	#2118
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,915	2027 MLB Hall of Fame (Part 1) Major League Baseball had a three player Hall of Fame class for 2027, although former home run king LF Cody Lim was the lone slam dunk with 98.0%. The other two just sneaked by the 66% requirement with RF Ryan Skramesto debuting at 68.7% and 2B Adrian Vega finally making it on his seventh ballot with 67.5%. Like the 2021 class, this group showed how much MLB’s profile had grown worldwide with the inductees being from Malaysia, Norway, and Peru. 3B Jeanpaul Vick barely missed the cut again with 63.2% for his eighth ballot. SP Victor Burke had 59.4% for his penultimate ninth try, CL Sebastian Gomez got 54.7% on his fourth ballot, and CL Jeremy Dau received an even 50% with his sixth go. Off the ballot after ten failed tries was RF Jameson Hughes, who peaked at 54.3% in 2019 and finished at 46.8%. The Belizean never got less than 1/3 of the vote, but his lack of black ink and big accolades hurt him. Hughes had a 19-year career with one Silver Slugger, 2968 hits, 1565 runs, 448 doubles, 547 home runs, 1699 RBI, 1019 walks, .277/.340/.480 slash, 127 wRC+, and 84.7 WAR. Hughes was also hurt by playing his prime with bad San Antonio teams mostly, only making one playoff trip late in his career for Los Angeles. His steady accumulations were nice, but not high enough to make up for never being viewed as a top five level guy. Cody Lim – Left Field – Oklahoma City Outlaws – 98.0% First Ballot Cody Lim was a 6’7’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Sungai Petani, a city of around 544,000 in northwestern Malaysia. Lim was known for his outstanding and steady home run power. Against right-handed pitching, he was an excellent contact hitter and posted a career .998 OPS and 173 wRC+. Lim struggled against lefties with a subpar .662 OPS and 89 wRC+ for his career. His strikeout rate was okay, but he was surprisingly below average at drawing walks despite his power. Lim’s power was also heavy concentrated on dingers with only 22 doubles and 2 triples per his 162 game average. That same average got you 52 homers though with eight different seasons above 50+. Although power numbers across MLB went up generally in the 21^st Century, Lim was still playing when 50+ homer seasons weren’t that common. He was a highly skilled baserunner and was quite crafty at getting occasional steals, but he was limited by subpar speed at best. Defensively, Lim played his entire career in left field and was a reliably great gloveman. He even won a Gold Glove in 2007 and could be counted on for positive value defense. Lim was scrappy and had one of the best work ethics in the game, greatly helping his popularity. He did run into some back and knee troubles in his later years, but Lim was still good for a 17-year career. Lim left Malaysia as a teenager for the United States and ended up playing college baseball for Memphis. In 145 games over three years as a Tiger, Lim had 155 hits, 93 runs, 21 doubles, 46 home runs, 113 RBI, 44 walks, .286/.348/.579 slash, 182 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. In his junior year, Lim helped lead Memphis to a College World Series win over Maryland. That effort and being a tall, powerful lefty certainly put Lim on the radars of most MLB scouts. At this point, the regional restrictions still applied for the first three rounds of the draft, leaving only players born near a franchise’s region eligible. Lim was obviously the best player available outside of that group and went right at the start of round four. This was the 178^th overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft to Oklahoma City. Lim was a full-time starter immediately for the Outlaws and held that role for 15 years. Lim thrived immediately by leading the American Association in home runs with 53 and in slugging with .635, earning a Silver Slugger and 2005 Rookie of the Year honors. He led in homers again in 2006 (53), 2007 (60), 2009 (59), and 2010 (57), while posting 50+ in each of his first seven seasons. Lim won Sluggers in 2007, 2009, and 2010. He never won MVP honors in his storied career, but did take second in 2007 and 2009. 2009 had Lim’s career bests in homers (60), runs (120), hits (193), total bases (406), average (.318), slugging (.670), OPS (1.033), wRC+ (183), and WAR (10.6). It was also Lim’s only season as the WARlord, but he would get 6+ in each of his first ten seasons. In May 2010, Oklahoma City locked him up long-term on an eight-year, $127,400,000 extension. Lim became very popular for his power, but his stardom was limited by being in a smaller and relatively unsuccessful market like Oklahoma City. From 1987-2006, the Outlaws had nothing but losing seasons. Lim helped get them to just above .500 in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but they only made the playoffs once in his prime; a first round exit in 2009. They were back to the bottom of the standings by the mid 2010s apart from a one-and-done in 2019. Although he didn’t get to play on the biggest stage in MLB, Lim was a regular on the World Baseball Championship stage. He still went home to represent Malaysia from 2004-21 and pushed them to their first-ever division title in 2009. Over 167 games, Lim had 139 hits, 85 runs, 24 doubles, 47 home runs, 98 RBI, 46 walks, 18 steals, .233/.295/.520 slash, 130 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR. Lim was less dominant in his 30s, but was still usually good for around 40 homers and 5+ WAR when healthy. Shoulder tendinitis and a strained abdominal kept him out almost half of 2017, but he generally didn’t miss any big chunks. Lim did pop up in the national consciousness again in 2019 with a 53 home run season, his first 50+ effort since 2013. It was his ninth 50+ dinger season, an MLB record that would only get matched once in later years by Neil Hollinger. At this point, Lim had quietly climbed the home run chart with his 2019 effort making him the fifth member of the 700 club. The last MLB slugger to join was R.J. Clinton back in 1977. The top mark had held more than 80 years, set in the mid 1930s by legendary Cardinals 1B Elijah Cashman with 750. Lim’s big 2019 had gotten him to 722 heading into his age 36 season, putting the prestigious mark in legitimate reach. However, that record wouldn’t be broken with Oklahoma City, as Lim’s deal expired and he became a free agent. To the disappointment of Outlaws fans, they didn’t re-up him for the chase, although OKC fans had been used to disappointments at this point. For Oklahoma City, Lim had 2181 games, 2350 hits, 1408 runs, 302 doubles, 722 home runs, 1641 RBI, .286/.336/.595 slash, 156 wRC+, and 103.8 WAR. Lim would of course be a beloved hero for Outlaws fans and his #19 uniform would be shortly retired. Lim signed a three-year, $54,800,000 deal with Washington with the intent of chasing the record. He socked 35 dingers in 2020, passing Cashman to become MLB’s home run king with great fanfare. There was also a tremendous celebration back in Malaysia to see one of their own reach such a cherished milestone. Lim is often cited as the country’s best-ever position player, although he often loses out in the debate for the overall Malaysian GOAT to Zainal bin Aziz, the eight-time Pitcher of the Year and arguably best-ever pitcher for South Asia Baseball. After a solid 2020, Lim fell hard off a cliff in 2021. He only hit one more homer and had -0.1 WAR in 47 games and 8 starts. Washington did end a lengthy playoff drought, but lost in round two with Lim going 0-2. Realizing he was cooked with nothing more to prove, Lim retired that winter at age 37. With the Admirals, Lim had 188 games, 142 hits, 79 runs, 22 doubles, 36 home runs, 79 RBI, .242/.285/.463 slash, 124 wRC+, and 4.5 WAR. Lim’s final stats had 2369 games, 2492 hits, 1487 runs, 324 doubles, 33 triples, 758 home runs, 1720 RBI, 614 walks, 1484 strikeouts, 138 steals, .283/.332/.586 slash, 154 wRC+, and 108.3 WAR. His reign as home run king was much briefer than Cashman with Isaac Cox surpassing him in 2025. With an overall league-wide bump in homers from the 2020s onward, Lim was down to the #7 spot by the start of the 2037 campaign. As of 2037, Lim also ranks 56^th in RBI, 69^th in total bases (5156), and 31^st in WAR among position players. His .918 OPS is 96^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances in MLB and his slugging ranks 31^st. Lim’s struggles facing lefties also kept him outside of the top 100 in hits and runs scored despite his other accolades. The power and his reliably solid defense helped give him a prominent WAR tally even without big accumulations elsewhere. Lim perhaps is an overlooked all-time great since his prime came with mostly bad Oklahoma City teams. He didn’t have the huge awards you might expect from someone who held the home run king crown, but it was steady and reliable power that etched his name into the record book. Lim forever is important historically for being the first to finally catch Cashman’s celebrated 750 home run mark. He was a clear headliner with a nearly unanimous 98.0% atop Major League Baseball’s 2027 Hall of Fame class. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)