The unconventional Hall of Fame case for SF Giants legend Hunter Pence

SF Giants legend Hunter Pence is going to be on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2026. While he is a Hall of Famer in the hearts of Giants fans, is there any sort of legitimate case to make for him to be in the Hall of Fame? Not really, but let's do it anyway.

Pence played for 14 MLB seasons and finished his career with a slash line of .279/.334/.461 with a .794 OPS and 242 career home runs as well and 942 runs driven in. Those are very solid numbers, but they likely do not amount to a Hall of Fame resume.

Making the case for SF Giants legend Hunter Pence to be in the Hall of Fame

He was an All-Star four times and received Rookie of the Year votes as well as Most Valuable Player votes in his career, but never won either award.

However, with the baseball Hall of Fame's stubborn, and at this point comical, refusal to allow Barry Bonds into Cooperstown, maybe the Giants should be owed a fun Hall of Fame induction as a form of reparations since Bonds clearly belongs among the game's greats.

If the Hall of Fame instituted that rule, in which a team with an obvious player who belongs in the Hall of Fame like Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, or Bonds who was connected to the steroid era, was owed one Hall of Fame player whose numbers are not quite there but who was beloved and was a big part of the game while they played, that may go a long way towards restoring some amount of legitimacy to that clearly flawed institution.

Pence certainly left his mark on the game, even beyond the Giants. He inspired fans all over baseball to create signs poking fun at him and the way he wore his socks and played the game. He was the sort of player than even the opponent had to respect for how hard he hustled and how good a dude he was.

He brought inspirational speeches into baseball, earning the nickname The Reverend and helping the Giants come back with their backs against the wall in both the NLDS and NLCS in 2012.

Pence has even continued to pass on his love of the game after retirement, speaking to young Giants players to help motivate them and prepare them for professional baseball.

He is already in the Hall of Pretty Good, but unless the Hall of Fame ever loosened up and maybe at least opened a "Fun Branch" of the Hall of Fame for the game's most loved players, it seems Pence will not be enshrined in Cooperstown.

That will never change the fact that he is a legend in San Francisco though and he will always be an integral part of Giants history.