Examining the Credentials of the Current and Future Candidates for the Hall of Fame
This evening, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The 425 voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) elected Beltran with 84.2% of the vote, and Jones with 78.4%. Beltran and Jones will be joined on stage this July […]
Tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET, live on the MLB Network and mlb.com, Josh Rawitch, the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, will announce the results of the 2026 Hall of Fame voting from the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). Based on the early reported voting (tallied on Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall […]
Cole Hamels, the MVP of the 2008 National League Championship Series and World Series, is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Hamels, who last pitched in Major League Baseball in 2020, is the headliner of the twelve first-time candidates on the 2026 BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot for the […]
Chase Utley, who had a distinguished 16-year Major League Baseball career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles, is currently on the Hall of Fame ballot for the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) for the third time. Utley made six All-Star teams during his years on the diamond and won a World Series ring […]
Félix Hernández, the longtime starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, is on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) Hall of Fame ballot for the second time. King Félix, as he is known to the Mariners’ faithful, spent 14 years in Seattle. He won 169 games, made six All-Star teams, and was the 2010 Cy […]
On this year’s 2026 Hall of Fame ballot, the case of longtime starting pitcher Andy Pettitte is one of the most interesting and complex. On the “yes” side, you have a 256-game winner who contributed to 5 World Championships and eight pennants. On the “no” side, you have a pitcher with a career ERA of […]
If you’re a mild Hall of Fame enthusiast, you might have read something like this in the postscript of the January 2019 BBWAA election of four players: “The ballot is much less clogged in the next two years, with Derek Jeter the only obvious Hall of Famer becoming eligible in 2020 and no obvious candidates […]
For over 12 years, second baseman Dustin Pedroia was the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, however, as the club won a team-record 108 games and ultimately the World Series, Pedroia was limited to playing the role of cheerleader and coach. Pedroia, who had surgery on his left knee after the […]
Torii Hunter was simply fun to watch when he was roaming center field. He was the quintessential “fly-chaser” who would relish a collision with the outfield wall as if he was still playing free safety in high school, colliding with an opposing running back or receiver. The Arkansas native won 9 Gold Gloves in his […]
In sixteen days, the final member (or members) of the 2026 class for the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced. Last month, Jeff Kent, the most prolific home run hitter as a second baseman in baseball history, was elected to the Hall by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. On January 20th, the voting […]
On Tuesday, January 20th, Josh Rawitch, the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, will announce the results of the 2026 ballot by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). An estimated 421 writers have cast ballots, checking up to ten names out of 27 candidates for the Hall of Fame. If […]
David Wright, one of the greatest players in the 64-year history of the New York Mets, is currently on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). Wright is on the ballot for the third time, having just barely cleared the 5% minimum threshold by getting 8.1% of the […]
Longtime Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was a fun player to watch. The 5’7″ switch-hitter could hit equally well from both sides of the plate. He could run; Rollins was an excellent base-stealer and legged out more triples than any player in the game during his prime. He was a sure-handed defensive player, a part […]
Francisco Rodriguez is one of those rare Major League Baseball players who was instantly transformed from someone who was unknown to all but the most hard-core of baseball fans to a household name. Rodriguez, at the age of 20, made his MLB debut with the Anaheim Angels on September 18, 2002. After pitching in just […]
Of all of the candidates on the 2026 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, there is none more mercurial or enigmatic than Manny Ramirez, the supremely talented right-handed hitter who hit .312 with 555 home runs in 19 Major League Baseball seasons. Ramirez was a superb hitter, one whose statistical resume is undoubtedly worthy of a […]
Ryan Braun looked like a Hall of Famer early in his career. In his first six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was the National League’s Rookie of the Year, the league’s Most Valuable Player, had two other top-three MVP finishes, made five straight All-Star teams, and earned five straight Silver Slugger Awards as the […]
Gary Sheffield, one of the most feared sluggers in baseball for 22 years, would already be a Hall of Famer if he had not been known to have dabbled with performance-enhancing drugs late in his career. Sheffield is one of eight candidates on the Hall of Fame’s Era Committee’s Contemporary Players ballot. He’s on the […]
He was known as “The Hit Man” and “Donnie Baseball.” New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, one of the very best players in baseball in the mid-1980s, is once again a candidate on the Era Committee Hall of Fame ballot. This ballot (the “Contemporary Baseball Ballot”), which features eight men whose primary contributions occurred […]
If he had played in a different era, Carlos Delgado might already be in the Hall of Fame. At 6’3″ and 215 pounds, the left-handed-hitting Delgado evoked memories of Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, and his predecessor in Toronto, Fred McGriff. His 473 career home runs, while 27 shy of the “magic” number of 500, would […]
Next Sunday, at baseball’s winter meetings in Orlando, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two of the greatest players in the history of baseball, will be back on the Hall of Fame ballot. Bonds and Clemens are two of the eight candidates on the Era Committee’s Contemporary Baseball ballot, which is a “second chance” opportunity for […]
Unless you’re 50 years of age or older, it’s hard to appreciate the phenomenon of Fernando Valenzuela. The left-handed starting pitcher from Mexico became an instant star in the spring of 1981 when, as a 20-year-old rookie, he became the ace for the Los Angeles Dodgers and sparked “Fernandomania” throughout the sport of baseball, especially […]