We are in December, which we at Notinhalloffame call “Hall of Fame Season,” and one of its premier events is the announcement of the 2026 Baseball Writers of America Ballot.  Announced today is that Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones have received the necessrry 75% of the vote to enter the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.

Let’s take a deep dive into the results:

INDUCTED:

Carlos Beltran: 84.2 %, enters on his fourth ballot.   Beltran had the resume that should have put him close to the borderline of a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, but his significant role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal led many voters (we believe) to make him pay penance.  That wait is now over.   Beltran blasted 435 Home Runs, 1,587 RBI, and holds distinguished accolades such as nine All-Stars, two Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves, along with the 2017 World Series, the 1999 Rookie of the Year, and the 2013 Clemente.  Notinhalloffame.com congratulates Carlos Beltran for earning this honor. 

Andruw Jones:  78.4%, enters his ninth ballot.  Jones progressed nicely, especially after he had a lower than 8% in his first two years.  The five-time All-Star won ten Gold Gloves, smacked 434 Home Runs, 1,289 RBIs, and was the 2005 NL MVP runner-up.  Jones’ induction marks the first time a player from Curacao has entered the Hall.  Notinhalloffame.com congratulates Andruw Jones for earning this honor. 

Beltran and Jones will join Veterans Inductee Jeff Kent in the Class of 2026.

Failing to make the 75%.

Chase Utley:  59.1% on his third ballot.  This was a huge jump for Utley, who had 39.8% last year and, based on his trajectory, could enter next year.  Utley is a six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger at Second Base who owns a World Series Ring (Philadelphia 2008).  He has 259 Home Runs, 1,885 Hits, and a bWAR over 60.  

Andy Pettitte:  48.5% on his eighth ballot.  We said in our preview that Pettitte would need a significant jump to find himself in the Hall of Fame hunt, and he got it with a colossal jump from 27.9% last year.  Remember that Pitcher never had more than 17% in his first six seasons, and for the first time since he debuted on the ballot in 2019, he now has a puncher’s chance.  He had a 256-153 record, 2,448 SO, a 60.2 bWA, and has World Series Rings.  Is Pettitte the one that Hall of Fame voters have forgiven for PED use?  Perhaps, as though he admitted use, he was not suspended as his use predated the 2005 MLB ban of HGH.   Nobody handled an admission of PED use better, and thus no admitted (or positively tested post 2004) player has a better shot.

Felix Hernandez:  46.1% on his second ballot.  The support of “King Felix” has exploded with a jump of over 25% on his sophomore year on the ballot, and this bodes well for the former Cy Young winner.  The lifetime Mariner had a lifetime record of 169-136 with 2,524 Strikeouts.  Hernandez was also a five-time All-Star and twice led the AL in ERA.  It should only be a matter of time for Felix, and we have to wonder if that could revert back to helping players like Johan Santana.

Alex Rodriguez:  40% on his fifth ballot.  No player on the ballot has a better resume than A-Rod, but he has two PED suspensions on a resume with three MVPs, 10 Silver Sluggers, and two Gold Gloves.  Boasting 3,115 Hits, 696 Home Runs, and 2,086 RBIs, Rodriguez can make a claim as one of the ten best players ever, but his Hall of Fame voting has no momentum from year to year.  Sure, he made it to 40%, but it was a minimal jump from his 37.1% from last year.  

Manny Ramirez:  38.3% on his tenth and final ballot.  Ramirez is in the same expensive boat as Rodriguez, as he also has the stats (555 Home Runs, 1,831 RBIs) and the awards (12 All-Stars, nine Silver Sluggers, and two World Series rings) that eclipse many Hall of Famers.  However, again, like A-Rod, Ramirez also has two PED suspensions and has treaded water on the ballot since he debuted.  He now joins the Veterans’ pool, and if Bonds and Clemens can’t sniff the Hall on that ballot, what chance does Manny have?  Manny will continue to be Manny, but it will take place outside of Cooperstown.

Bobby Abreu:   30.8% on his seventh ballot.  This was the jump that Abreu needed, as he had 19.5% last year, and considering he barely made it to survival on year one (5.5% in 2020), this breathes life into what looked like a dormant HOF campaign.  He is a two-time All-Star with 2,470 Hits, 288 Home Runs, and a bWAR of just over 60.  

Jimmy Rollins:  25.4% on his fifth ballot.  Rollins jumped from 18% last year, but at the halfway mark of his eligibiltiy there is still a long way to go.  The three-time All-Star is a former World Series winner with the Phillies, won four Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger, and has 231 Home Runs and 2,455 Hits.  

Cole Hamels:  23.8% on his first ballot.  Posting a record of 163-122, Hamels was the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP in the Phillies' 2008 Title.   He is a four-time All-Star and boasts 2,560 Strikeouts, and this is a very good debut on the ballot for the Pitcher.

Dustin Pedroia:   20.7% on his second ballot.  Pedroia needed to climb over 20% to put forth a decent HOF path, and he just scraped over that in this ballot.  Pedroia helped the Red Sox win two World Series Championships and, individually, was an MVP with four Gold Gloves, four All-Stars, and a Silver Slugger, and compiled 1,805 Hits.  We have seen players with far less vote support in year two make the Hall, and they don’t have the rings and MVP that Pedroia has.

Mark Buehrle:  20.0% on his sixth ballot.  Beuhrle finally made some progress on the ballot, reaching 20% after bobbing up and down from the 10% spot.  Buehrle had a career record of 214-160 with 1,870 Strikeouts and was a five-time All-Star who won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox.  

Omar Vizquel:  18.4% on his ninth ballot.  Vizquel looked to be headed toward the Baseball Hall of Fame, but the defensively gifted Shortstop was accused of domestic violence, and his support plummeted to his lowest mark last year (17.7) from 52.6% in 2020.  11 Gold Gloves and over 2,800 Hits won’t matter.  This case is dead as dead can be.

David Wright:  14.8% on his second ballot.  Wright did climb six percent from his Hall of Fame debut, but there is a lot more work to do.  Playing for the New York Mets for his entire career, Wright played at Third Base, where he was a seven-time All-Star and won two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.  

Francisco Rodriguez:  11.8% on his fourth ballot.  Despite Rodriguez having similar numbers to Billy Wagner, he is treading water on the ballot.  K-Rod was a World Series Champion with the Angels, and recorded 457 Saves with six All-Star Games and two Rolaids Relief Awards.  

Torii Hunter:  8.7% on his sixth ballot.  Hunter remains in jeopardy of falling off the ballot, having never made double digits in the vote.  Hunter collected 2,452 Hits, smacked 353 Home Runs, and went to five All-Stars, winning nine Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.  

Failed to make 5%, and were eliminated from contention.

Ryan Braun:  3.5% on his first ballot.  Playing his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers, Braun won the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year and 2011 NL MVP, was also a six-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner.  Braun, who had 1,963 Hits and 352 Home Runs, has a candidacy marred by a 2013 PED suspension and his even worse initial attempt to frame the tester.  

Edwin Encarnacion:  1.4% on his first ballot.  Encarnacion blasted 424 Home Runs over his career with three All-Star selections in tow.  

Shin-Soo Choo:  0.7% on his first ballot.  A one-time All-Star, Choo had 1,671 Hits with 218 Home Runs.  

Matt Kemp:  0.5% on his first ballot.  The NL MVP runner-up in 2011, when he won the Home Run Title, Kemp won two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and went to three All-Star Games.  He belted 287 Home Runs with 1,808 Hits. 

Hunter Pence:  0.5% on his first ballot.   Pence won two World Series rings with the San Francisco Giants and was selected to four All-Star games.  He compiled 1,791 Hits with 244 dingers.

Rick Porcello:  0.5% on his first ballot.   Porcello won the 2016 AL Cy Young and two years later helped the Red Sox win the World Series.  He had a 150-125 record with 1,561 Strikeouts.  

Alex Gordon:  0.2% on his first ballot.   Gordon won a World Series Championship with Kansas City in 2015, and he earned three All-Star and eight Gold Glove Awards.  He had 1,643 Hits and 190 Home Runs. 

Nick Markakis:  0.5% on his first ballot.   Markakis accumulated 2,388 Hits with 189 Home Runs and was also a one-time All-Star, who won a Silver Slugger and three Gold Gloves.  

Howie Kendrick:  0% on the first ballot. An All-Star once, Kendrick had 1,747 Hits with a lifetime .294 Batting Average.  Late in his career, he won a World Series with Washington in 2019.  

Gio Gonzalez:  0% on the first ballot.  A two-time All-Star, Gonzalez went 131-101 with 1,860 Strikeouts.  

Daniel Murphy:  0% on the first ballot.  An All-Star three times, Murphy won two Silver Sluggers, the 2019 NLCS MVP, and had 1,572 Hits with a .296 Batting Average. 

Next month, we will revise our Notinhalloffame Baseball list, incorporating your votes and including those eligible in 2027.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate those who have made the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

This year yielded a bumper crop of five players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, three elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) and two by the Classic Baseball Era iteration of the veterans committee (VC). Don't expect that for next year.

Among the first-time eligibles, and for the first time in years, there are no clear Hall of Famers on the 2026 BBWAA ballot, performance-enhancing drug (PED) taint or not. Among the returnees, it is a mop-up operation as one, maybe two, may get the call to the Hall, one will fall off the ballot while a few may do so, a few will continue to build gradual support, and the rest will discover, or continue to realize, that they've been friendzoned by the voters: I like you but not in that way.

We love to add more sub-sections at Notinhalloffame.com, and if you have been looking at our recent posts, you can see that our current focus is on our Futures Section, which look at eventual candidates who have retired from their respective sport, but are not yet Hall of Fame eligible.  Today, we unveil the latest add-on, the 2026 Baseball Futures of the players who qualify for Cooperstown in 2026.

Here are the players in our 2026 Baseball Futures Section:

Alex Gordon:  Playing his entire career with the Royals, Gordon won three Gold Gloves, was a three-time All-Star and was a member of the 2015 World Series Championship Team.

Chris Davis:  Davis was a power hitter who won two American League Home Run Titles as a member of the Orioles.

Cole Hamels:  Hamels helped lead Philadelphia to a World Series win in 2008, and he was the NLCS and World Series MVP that year.  A four-year All-Star, Hamels had four top ten Cy Young finishes and 2,560 Strikeouts.

Daniel Murphy:  Murphy was the runner-up for the 2016 National League MVP in 2016, and was a three-time All-Star.  He also won two Silver Sluggers and twice led the NL in Doubles.

Edinson Volquez:  Volquez was a long time Starting Pitcher who went to one All-Star Game and won a World Series with Kansas City in 2015.

Edwin Encarnacion:  Finding his stride as a Designated Hitter with Toronto, Encarnacion earned three All-Star appearances, and had 429 Home Runs.

Gio Gonzalez:  Gonzalez went to two All-Star Games and had an overall record of 131-101 and 1,860 Strikeouts.

Howie Kendrick:  Kendrick played most of his career with the Angels where he was an All-Star in 2011, but he would later win an NLCS MVP and World Series Ring with Washington in 2019.

Hunter Pence:  Pence was a four-time All-Star who won two World Series Rings with the San Francisco Giants.

Jason Kipnis:  Kipnis is best known for his time with Cleveland where was a two-time All-Star and won one a Wilson Defensive Player Award.

Jeff Samardzija:  Samardzija was an All-Star Pitcher in 2014 and also led the NL in Strikeouts in 2017.

Kelvin Herrera:  Herrera went to two All-Star Games as a Relief Pitcher and would win a World Series with Kansas City in 2015.

Matt Kemp:  Kemp went to three All-Star Games, and won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.  He was the runner-up for the NL MVP in 2011 when he was a Dodger.

Matt Wieters:  Wieters was a four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner as the Catcher for the Orioles.

Nick Markakis:  Splitting his career between Baltimore and Atlanta, Markakis won three Gloves, one Silver Slugger and went to one All-Star Game.

Rick Porcello:  The Starting Pitcher won the American League Cy Young Award in 2016 and the World Series two years later. 

Ryan Braun:  Braun played his entire career with Milwaukee where he won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2008 and the AL MVP in 2011.  He is also a five-time Silver Slugger, six-time All-Star and he twice led the league in OPS and Slugging Percentage.

Shin-Soo Choo:  Choo is one of the first everyday players from South Korea and was an All-Star in 2018.

You know what we want you to do!  Cast your votes, and offer your opinions on this group and all other entries on Notinhalloffame.com.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support.

A master of the changeup, Cole Hamels was in the hunt for an extended period of time as one of the top southpaws in Baseball.

Hamels was taken in the First Round of the 2002 Draft (17^th Overall) by Philadelphia, and he worked his way to the rotation in 2006 with a decent rookie year (9-8, 4.08 ERA).  The southpaw went to his first All-Star Game as a sophomore (15-5. 3.39 ERA) while also securing his first of four top-ten Cy Young finishes.  There was no All-Star for Hamels in 2008, but that was likely his most fulfilling season in Baseball.  Hamels had another good year, acing the Phils to the World Series, where he won both the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.  It looked like he was destined for stardom, but perhaps it was just meant to be "very good."

The Phillies made the 2009 World Series, but Hamels struggled.  Hamels was still a solid player, but with the addition of Roy Halladay in 2010, he was no longer considered the top hurler.  He rebounded in 2011, going to his second All-Star Game, and in 2012, he had his best individual campaign with career-highs in Wins (17) and Strikeouts (216).  Hamels was again an All-Star and a top-ten finish for the Cy Young.  

He had his last strong year in Baseball, earning a fourth and final All-Star year in 2016 (15-5, 200 SO), but by the following year, he was beset with shoulder problems.  He dropped to the middle tier of Pitchers over the next two seasons, and with Philadelphia dropping out of contention, he was dealt to the Texas Rangers during the 2015 Season.  After two ineffective years, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, but his decline was in full swing.  He signed with Atlanta in 2020, but injuries held him to one Game.

Leaving Baseball after 2020, Hamels had a lifetime record of 163-122, 2,560 Strikeouts with a bWAR of 59.0.  That is good, but is he Hall of Fame worthy?  A win for Hamels might be surviving the first year on the ballot.

A master of the change up and the four seam fastball, Cole Hamels will always be remembered for his role as the staff ace in the 2008 World Series win.  In that post season, Hamels went 4-0 where he fanned 30 batters and was named the NLCS and World Series MVP.