lou whitaker is in my hall of famer collection

i've got one more current non-hall of famer that i've added to my hall of famer collection, and it's lou whitaker. here's the card i have as his entry:

that's a 2001 topps archives autograph card. here's the back:

i would expect to see whitaker on the contemporary era committee ballot at the end of 2025 as though he received some support his last time on a committee ballot (2020) when he got halfway to the required number of votes for induction.

we've come a long way since 2001 when he was one and done on the writer's ballot, and since then there has been a growing appreciation of whitaker's career. baseball reference lists his top three similar batters as ryne sandberg, alan trammell, and roberto alomar, all hall of famers. and, like bobby grich, whitaker's career war is higher than sandberg, craig biggio, or alomar. however, unlike grich, his peak seven year war is less than each of those players. still, longevity counts for something, and whitaker amassed 2,369 hits and 244 home runs to go along with 1,386 runs scored over his 18+ seasons. the 1978 american league rookie of the year, whitaker also won some gold gloves and silver slugger awards, but was never a league leader or serious mvp candidate. 

i don't think i ever saw whitaker play in person, but i did appreciate his longevity and partnership with double play partner trammell. i held those two, and paul molitor, in high regard as i entered the card collecting world as they were starting their big league careers. hopefully whitaker will join those guys in cooperstown in 2026!

as a reminder, you can see whitaker and all of the members of my hall of famer collection here.