Don’t overlook Abreu and Jones

It’s not a glamour crop of potential Hall of Famers.

But there are still some players on the ballot who were pret-ty, pret-ty good, and two of them are equal no-brainers for me.

(The order is alphabetical, not in order of merit.)

Bobby Abreu, Year 5

The man bounced around for sure (six teams, most notably the Phillies). He was what I call “sneaky good.” His best attribute was simply getting on base, doing so in an era when it wasn’t as valued as it is today. In Abreu’s time, only first-namers Derek, Alex, and Chipper reached base more often.

He had pop in the bat and he could run, finishing with more than 900 extra-base hits and with 400 stolen bases. From 19982006, he had eight seasons with an on-base percentage in excess of .400 and a ninth year at .393.

Adrián Beltré, Year 1

The man had 3,166 hits. The man had 477 home runs. The man could flash some gaudy leather, with five Gold Gloves at third base, the last at age 37. The man has no PED “yeah, buts” to apologize for. The man can therefore start preparing his induction speech.

I doubt that busloads of Red Sox fans will be there to welcome him, but the fact is he really began his journey to Cooperstown with a boffo 2010 season right here in Fenway (.919 OPS, leagueleading 49 doubles).

He was that rarity, a player who was substantially more productive in his 30s than in his 20s. He is the latest in a long list of players who should be unanimous, but of course, he won’t be. Don’t ask me why.

Todd Helton, Year 6

Perhaps this will be the year. He finished with 72.2 percent of the needed 75 percent last year, so I’m hoping the holdouts will abandon their anti-Coors Field stance and enshrine a very deserving candidate. I mean, there is no other reason to keep him out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he spent his entire 17-year career playing for the Colorado Rockies, which means he got to play 81 games a year at cozy Coors Field. Well, he sure made the most of it.

Here are his 162-game average numbers: .316 BA, 27 HR, 101 RBI, 43 2B, .953 OPS, 96 BB, 85 K.

Throw in two seasons of 400 total bases. Not a bad OPS, huh? And did you note that walk/strikeout split?

Andruw Jones, Year 6

Allow me a personal moment here. During the 1996 NLCS between Atlanta and St. Louis, I found myself having a rare private moment with Braves skipper Bobby Cox, who told me that his 19year old rookie center fielder Andruw Jones was the best (defensive) center fielder he’d ever seen. I said, “Whoa? Better than Willie Mays?” He said, “You’ll see.”

I don’t know about the Mays comp, but that was 10 Andruw Jones Gold Gloves ago. I can see voters being put off by his career BA of .254, but I believe in rewarding transcendent defensive players. (I was a staunch Bill Mazeroski advocate, and I even voted for Mark Belanger.) Oh, have I mentioned his 434 home runs?

He was up to a 58.1 vote last year, so I’m not alone. Hang in there, good people of Curacao. Your man might make it yet.

Joe Mauer, Year 1

Is he the ultimate “Local Boy Makes Good” or what? He was a national high school baseball and football player of the year (plus first-team all-state basketball) for Cretin-Derham High in St. Paul. And he played his entire big league career for the hometown Twins.

It was a front-loaded career because of injury. In his first 10 years, he became the only catcher in major league history to win three batting titles. He won five Silver Slugger awards. He won three Gold Gloves. He was a six-time All-Star. He had a rousing 1.031 OPS in his MVP season of 2009.

At his peak, there weren’t many catchers in history you’d take over Joe Mauer. I can’t wait to hear the reasons for not putting a check next to his name.