The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame is probably the most respected and thorough collection of legends in any sport. Whether all of the ex-players that get in should or not is up for debate, but their virtual counterparts do not get any credit when the writers get together to vote.

So instead of simply going by real-life accomplishments, this is the MLB Hall of Fame class of 2013, in video game form. The four players up for debate are separated into wings, like in the real Cooperstown.

The Surefire Wing

He retired on Monday, yet it seems like his bust is already in Cooperstown. Greg Maddux amassed 355 wins for the Cubs, Braves, Dodgers, Padres and thousands of others in video games across the world.

The only thing hurting his stock is that his prime was in the early part of the PSOne era, when developers were only starting to tap the potential of video game baseball. If MLB '96 came out right now for the PS3, Maddux would be the guy you would be trading for in your franchise. He did not gun it over the plate like Randy Johnson or intimidate you on the mound like Roger Clemens. Instead, Maddux could locate his fastball and changeup to the point where you were lucky to get solid contact.

His brains could never translate to the virtual diamond but his defense did. He won the Gold Glove 18 times, a record for any position. The offseason is still young so there is still plenty of time for other players to retire. Nevertheless, Greg Maddux is the crown jewel of the Hall of Fame class of 2013.

The Don Mattingly Wing

When you hear the name Mike Mussina, does it make you think Hall of Fame? To many it does not. He is the guy that almost was. He came within a batter or two of a perfect game twice. He won 17 or more games seven times, but only got a 20 win season in his last. This wing of virtual Cooperstown is named after Don Mattingly, a great player in all regards, but one who will probably not make it to the Hall of Fame.

When you really look at the numbers for Mike Mussina, he compares favorably to others currently enshrined. He did not win 300 games, but 270 is still pretty darn good when you consider some of the terrible teams he played on in Baltimore.

His video game talents are also underrated. I used to play High Heat 2003 a ton, usually against my friend who always picked the Yankees. I was never scared of Mike Mussina on the mound; I worried more about the Rocket. Still, when he had his knuckle-curve dancing around the plate, the Moose was not somebody to mess around with. I have lost plenty of games against him, but when it really came down to it, I hardly noticed.

Time will tell when it comes to Mike Mussina and Cooperstown. He is not a lock like Greg Maddux, but he has had a great career.

The Juiced Wing

Here we honor two of the most celebrated players in the history of Major League Baseball. Technically they would be part of the 2012 class since neither played this season (Hmmm I wonder why?). I am talking about Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

First, I will speak on Roger Clemens, who is probably the most feared pitcher in video game baseball history (except for maybe Bolt Lightning and Tim Wakefield). He has been doing it since 1984 and has every piece of hardware on his mantle you can imagine. If there were no Mitchell Report or Brian McNamee scandals, his name would be on the list with Greg Maddux.

Since steroid injections have not found their way into baseball games (hello Blitz: The League), the Rocket and his fastball make him a tough opponent in any situation. Also, the fact that you knew you could go nine innings with him made him just an all-around pain. If he was in a groove early, your opponent would be stupid to take him out.

The broken-bat-throwing mini-game never got off the ground, but he made throwing at people a good time.

Up to the plate, Joe Young. If you have been playing baseball games for less than four years, then you probably have never actually gotten to play as Barry Bonds. Let me tell anyone who has not that you are actually lucky that you will never have to play against him.

In a game of Triple Play 2001 for the PSOne, I was playing against my friend’s San Francisco Giants. I was up 9-4 from the fifth inning on and I thought I had the game in the bag. I take the lead to the ninth and my friend knocks in a few runs against Mariano Rivera. Now it is 9-6 and he has the bases loaded, for Barry Bonds of course. I try to pitch around him and so the count went to 3-1. My ego would not allow me to walk in a run. Well, Barry Bonds crushed my ego to left-center field. Game over.

On the flip side, steroid-era Barry Bonds was the most fun batter to use, ever. You expected him to hit a home run every time, and usually he did. It was almost like using an in-his-prime Reggie Miller in a basketball video game or Devin Hester on kick returns in Madden '09. It almost felt automatic when he was up, and there was something really entertaining about that.

For all the documents incriminating him in the steroid scandal and making him look like a prima donna, Barry Bonds is still the best hitter we will probably ever see.

While Cooperstown will never recognize video game accomplishments, somebody should. Maybe somebody can make busts for these guys in Mario Paint and we can all go home happy.


Should Reggie Stocker be enshrined in Cooperstown instead? Is Mike Mussina good enough for you? Was Roger Clemens really injecting B12? Should Tom Glavine and John Smoltz retire with Maddux? Did these guys really make you angry when you played against them over the years? Sound off below.