Who is the best Oakland A’s player not in the Hall of Fame? Final vote

Vida, Big Mac, Huddy, or Street?

The Oakland A’s have over a half-century of history, and several players representing them in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But there have been many more stars beyond the select group that’s enshrined in Cooperstown, which leads us to the question: Who is the team’s best player not in the HOF?

The Athletics Nation community voted on four sets of candidates, 16 players in all, with many more honorable mentions along the way. We’re down to four contestants on the final ballot. Click the link on each name to revisit the full discussion about that player.

• Vida Blue, from the 70s three-peat champions
• Mark McGwire, from the Bash Brothers era
• Tim Hudson, from the Moneyball years
• Huston Street, from the team’s closers

There’s Vida Blue, a lefty starter with 45-50 career WAR, three World Series rings, a Cy Young and MVP, a 108 ERA+, and 209 wins. Or Tim Hudson, with better overall stats (49-56 WAR, 120 ERA+, 222 wins), but less postseason glory with only one ring and also no award hardware. Or Huston Street, one of the better closers in history, with a 141 ERA+ and 324 saves (19th all-time). Or Mark McGwire, who might be in already with his 62-66 WAR, 583 homers, championship ring, and iconic national fame, if not for the cloud of steroids.

As a reminder, we’re voting on the entirety of each player’s career, not just the portion they spent with the A’s. They needed to be prominent Oakland figures to get into the conversation, but we’re judging them on their work throughout the majors. Let’s vogt!