2026 Obligatory Hall Of Fame Post

 

On January 20th, we'll find out who gets to join Jeff Kent in next summer's Hall of Fame festivities. I enjoy this time of year, especially as voters reveal their ballots. I actually like reading about these votes, and the thought process each writer makes in choosing who they think is worthy. I wish more writers gave us a inside look at their choices. It's fascinating.

For the past few years, I wrote about who I felt deserved to get elected. I decided to do that again this year as well. Pardon me while I copy and paste from part of my original post from 2018:

I obviously do not have an official vote, but I too have thought about who is worthy and who would make my unofficial ballot. Before I list my choices, a few clarifications into my voting process:

• I'm a "Big Hall" type of guy - I believe that the Hall's main purpose is to reflect the history of the game. I'm not going to cross a guy off just because he's not an inner circle type.
  
• As far as PED users go, I generally don't have a strong opinion. Again, the Hall should reflect this era of the game. To be honest, I have genuine reservations as to how much PED usage affects a player's overall stats. That being said, those guys are placed in the back of the line. As much as I may feel Manny Ramirez deserves to get in, if there are at least 10 other worthy candidates, he won't make my ballot.

I'm going to categorize players into 3 groups - definitely worthy, probably worthy, and maybe worthy. (Real scientific, I know...)

 

I've since added a 4th group, Not Worthy, to at least give a nod of appreciation to those "one and done" ballplayers you won't likely see on next year's ballot. I've also unfortunately forced myself to make a decision on a player who has been a part of the Astros cheating scandal.

 

Definitely Worthy

 

These are the guys I don't have to think hard about. Statistically, they belong, and that's all there is to it. Sadly, I think this is the first year since I've done these that all of the guys in this tier have cheated, meaning they're all at the back of the line despite their stats. 

Carlos Beltrán - The "character clause" gets interesting with Beltran on the ballot. He was the primary leader/scapegoat of the Astros' cheating scandal, due in part to being the only player from that team whose career concluded between that World Series victory and the report getting released. He was never officially punished, so how do the voters view this transgression? For now, I'm lumping Beltran with the PED users as guys who will get my non-official vote, but not if there are any worthy candidates ahead of him. 

Manny Ramirez - Great player, dumb asshole. He would be a Hall of Fame lock if it weren't for the  PED suspensions and off-field bullshit. This is his last year on the ballot

 

Alex Rodriguez - Great player, egotistical asshole. He would be a Hall of Fame lock if it weren't for the  PED suspensions and the ways he tried to weasel around all of it. 

 

 

2008 Upper Deck #229 Manny Ramirez

Probably Worthy

These players have strong cases, but not airtight. There are usually some reservations. However, if they get elected, I won't have a problem with it.

Torii Hunter - Statistically, he's not among the elite, but he strikes me as the kind of player whose 9 Gold Gloves, highlight reel catches, and overall love of the game will get him in someday through a veterans' committee.

Andruw Jones - A decade of being one of the most dynamic and electrifying players in baseball might be enough to overcome a legendary drop-off in production.

Dustin Pedroia - The heart and soul of multiple World Series Champion teams, Pedey gave everything he had on the field. He's one of those players you can't help but wonder what they could have done if their career had not been cut short from an on the field injury.

 

2009 Topps - Ring Of Honor
#RH-56 Dustin Pedroia

 

Chase Utley - Stat-based voters love him, but outside of those elite peak years he was pretty pedestrian. Still, those peak years were amazing...

Maybe Worthy

These guys have their supporters, and may have a long stay on the ballots because of them, but I'm not convinced they belong.

Bobby Abreu - Walks are not exciting. He may have been elite at getting on base, but he was never someone I saw play and thought "Now that's a Hall of Famer!" Never had a Top-10 MVP season, which was something controversial choice Harold Baines did twice!

Mark Beuhrle - He was a consistently solid starter, but that's not really Hall worthy. Only 1 season where he got a Cy Young vote.

 

Ryan Braun -  He was never the same once he got busted for PEDs. His pathetic attempts to blame the blood sample collector doesn't help either.

 

Cole Hamels -  I'll be the first to admit that I'm struggling with the concept that we need to view modern pitchers in a more forgiving light than their predecessors thanks to modern day bullpen usage. I like Hamels, and there's a part of me that wants to give him a little boost, but compared to guys like Kershaw, Verlander, and Scherzer he just doesn't stand up...

 

Felix Hernandez - He kind of strikes me as the pitching counterpart to Andruw Jones: Started off strongly, then just fell off a performance cliff.

2016 Topps #283 Felix Hernandez

Andy Petitte - An average pitcher who had the benefit of pitching for one of the most dominate baseball dynasties in recent history. The PED stain cancels out the postseason success in my book.

Jimmy Rollins - An underrated player, the former MVP is 6th all-time in games played at shortstop.

Francisco Rodríguez - 4th all-time in saves and the single season leader, but he just wasn't the same when he left the Angels.

 

Omar Vizquel - Without even getting into what a horrible human being he is, he was never a real candidate for me. Outside the Gold Gloves, he was an mediocre ballplayer at best.

David Wright - I initially thought Wright wasn't worthy, but if I wonder what Pedroia's candidacy would have looked like without the injuries, than I can do no less for one of the Mets' all-time greats. 

Not Worthy

 

In my opinion, none of these guys have a strong enough case to be elected. 

 

Shin-Soo Choo, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Gonzalez, Alex Gordon, Matt Kemp, Howie Kendrick, Nick Markakis, Daniel Murphy, Hunter Pence, Rick Porcello

These names gave us a lot of great individual seasons and highlight reel moments, but just didn't have the longevity of greatness required.

My Ballot

Here's my unofficial 7 player ballot:

1. Carlos Beltrán
2. Torii Hunter
3. Andruw Jones
4. Dustin Pedroia
5. Manny Ramirez
6. Alex Rodriguez
7. Chase Utley

Ramirez and Rodriguez are held back due to their PED connections, while Beltran gets the same treatment for his involvement in the Astros scandal. It doesn't matter though because there are only 4 guys from the Probably Worthy list. This is the first time since I've done these posts where I had less than 10 people combined in the Definitely Worthy and Probably Worthy tiers. Talk about a weak ballot!

Beltran and Jones look like they'll make it, with Hernandez being the biggest beneficiary of the weaker ballot. We know the final results soon enough!