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Reevaluating the Hall of Fame merits of Julio Franco

Opening Day is right around the corner which means it is the perfect time to talk about an overlooked Hall of Fame candidate, right?

I know, not many baseball fans are thinking about the Hall of Fame at this point in the calendar year, but the start of the World Baseball Classic – and specifically watching Japan and Korea play in the first round in the Tokyo Dome – made me think about a certain former Atlanta Braves player whose unique baseball career touched both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

While a multitude of players have spent time at the highest professional level in the United States, Japan and/or South Korea, there’s only one eligible player whose combined overall career statistics are Hall of Fame worthy but does not find himself inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in either the Unites States or Japan.