We are diligently working away at Notinhalloffame on revising our Baseball and Football lists to reflect the winter’s respective classes.

As such, we are pleased to announce that we have revised 41-60 on the NIHOF Baseball list.

Those ranked are:

#41. Allie Reynolds
#42. Will Clark
#43. Sherry Magee
#44. Jeff Kent
#45. Al Oliver
#46. Bucky Walters
#47. Dave Concepcion
#48. Ron Guidry
#49. Billy Pierce
#50. Larry Doyle
#51. Omar Vizquel
#52. Reggie Smith
#53. Rusty Staub
#54. Albert Belle
#55. Bret Saberhagen
#56. Bernie Williams
#57. Johan Santana
#58. Felix Hernandez
#59. Marty Marion
#60. Paul Hines

The current (and under construction) list is here. 

Look for more updates soon!

Thank you all for your support of Notinhalloffame.

We are diligently working away at Notinhalloffame on revising our Baseball and Football lists to reflect the winter’s respective classes.

As such, we are pleased to announce that we have revised 61-80 on the NIHOF Baseball list.

Those ranked are:

#61. Thurman Munson
#62. Roy Face
#63. Carl Mays
#64. Maury Wills
#65. Barry Bonds
#66. Heinie Groh
#67. George Van Haltren
#68. Mark Buehrle
#69. Harry Stovey
#70. Cole Hamels
#71. Orel Hershiser
#72. Bobby Abreu
#73. Dustin Pedroia
#74. Charlie Buffinton 
#75. Darrell Evans
#76. Vada Pinson
#77. Rick Reuschel
#78. Jerry Koosman
#79. Willie Randolph
#80. Bartolo Colon

The current (and under construction) list is here.

Look for more updates soon!

Thank you all for your support of Notinhalloffame.com.

We are diligently working away at Notinhalloffame on revising our Baseball and Football lists to reflect the winter’s respective classes.

As such, we are pleased to announce that we have revised 21-40 on the NIHOF Baseball list.

Those ranked are:

#21. Gary Sheffield
#22. Andruw Jones
#23. Ross Barnes
#24. Steve Garvey
#25. Ken Boyer
#26. Tony Mullane
#27. Bill Freehan
#28. Dale Murphy
#29. Don Mattingly
#30. Bobby Grich
#31. Chase Utley
#32. Sammy Sosa
#33. Stan Hack
#34. David Cone
#35. Graig Nettles
#36. Kevin Brown
#37. Jim Edmonds
#38. Bob Caruthers
#39. Andy Pettitte
#40. Dave Stieb

The current (and under construction) list is here. 

Look for more updates soon!

Thank you all for your support of Notinhalloffame.

We are diligently working away at Notinhalloffame on revising our Baseball and Football lists to reflect the winter’s respective classes.

As such, we are pleased to announce that we have revised 1-20 on the NIHOF Baseball list.

Those ranked are:

#1. Barry Bonds
#2. Roger Clemens
#3. Pete Rose
#4. Alex Rodriguez
#5. Shoeless Joe Jackson
#6. Lou Whitaker
#7. Jim McCormick
#8. Bill Dahlen
#9. Dwight Evans
#10. Curt Schilling 
#11. Manny Ramirez
#12. Kenny Lofton
#13. Carlos Beltran
#14. Tommy John
#15. Roger Maris
#16. Wes Ferrell
#17. Mark McGwire
#18. Keith Hernandez
#19. Rafael Palmeiro
#20. Luis Tiant

The current (and under construction) list is here.

Look for more updates soon!

Thank you all for your support of Notinhalloffame.

In 2024, three players were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers of Association of America (BBWAA). They were 3rd baseman Adrian Beltré, 1st baseman Todd Helton, and catcher Joe Mauer. 

The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballots are in, and the new inductees will be announced on January 21st. There were 28 candidates on the ballot this year, with 14 of those on the ballot for the first time. The other 14 had been on the ballot in 2024. For some, this is their final ballot before becoming ineligible for nomination.

Players need to have 75% to meet the threshold for induction into the Hall of Fame. Not every player has the same journey toward making it into the Hall of Fame. For example, on the 2025 ballot, we have Billy Wagner and Ichiro Suzuki. Wagner is on his 10th and final ballot and has crawled his way towards 75%, having only received 10.5% on his first ballot. Suzuki, on the other hand, is likely to be a unanimous vote for the Hall of Fame (only the second in history) on his very first ballot.

The odds on Ichiro Suzuki making it into the Hall of Fame are very good. For many other players, it’s much harder to tell how the voting has gone. Betting on who is making it into the Hall of Fame has become a niche market for baseball fans. Betting on baseball has always been hugely popular and occasionally very controversial.

The easiest way to bet on baseball markets is to use an online sportsbook, and finding sports iGaming apps is now easier than ever. Online sports betting has been steadily gaining ground in the United States since the Supreme Court overruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018. Since then, each state has had the power to determine its own sports betting laws, and most have chosen to legalize sports betting online, in person, or both.

While not everyone thinks people should be able to bet on things outside the games, like drafts, inductions, college games, and signings, most baseball fans are comfortable with betting on the MLB. No matter how you feel about the topic, it is interesting to consider which players have made it into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and which ones have been overlooked.

Today, we’re going to talk about some of baseball’s forgotten heroes who deserve a spot in Cooperstown. Some were overlooked from the start and never made it onto the ballots, others made it through the voting process but never seemed to have enough sway to get above that 75% threshold. While it may technically be too late for these players to make it in, there’s always a chance that the Hall of Fame could consider these special circumstances and bend the rules just a little bit.

Alex Rodriguez

Shortstop Alex Rodriguez is a player that many thought would make it into the Hall of Fame in his first eligible year. Instead, he only received 34.8% of the vote. This likely has nothing to do with his record as a player and more to do with his very public transgressions and his use of performance-enhancing drugs during part of his career. 

“A-Rod” spent the first years of his career with the Seattle Mariners (1994–2000), before moving to the Texas Rangers for a brief stint (2001–2003). He is best remembered for his time spent playing for the New York Yankees (2004–2013, 2015–2016). He is considered one of the greatest players of all time, and that is shown through the records he has broken and the consistent awards he has won. This includes being named to the All-Star team 14 times, 3x AL MVP, 2x Gold Glove, 10x Silver Slugger, and many more. 

Unfortunately, Rodriquez also used performance-enhancing drugs during his time with the Texas Rangers. While this does cast a shadow on his successes, Rodriguez still deserves to be in the Hall of Fame because of his sheer talent.

Barry Bonds 

Barry Bonds falls into a similar category as Rodriguez. He is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport but his legacy is tainted by his steroid usage. The left fielder played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986–1992) and the San Francisco Giants (1993–2007). He was an all-around great player who made his presence felt no matter where he was. 

Bonds still holds many of the MLB’s hitting records. These include most career home runs (762), most single season home runs (73), most walks, and most intentional walks in basically every category. On the other hand, he was one of the central players in the MLB steroid scandal. 

Bonds’ eligibility for the Hall of Fame has passed. He is one player who should be considered under special circumstances in recognition of all that he did for the sport.

Johan Santana

The case of John Santana is a frustrating one. He came to the MLB late after languishing with various minor league teams for years. When he finally made it to the major league with the Minnesota Twins, he showed that he was one of the best starting pitchers in the game. After several seasons with the Twins, he was traded to the New York Mets (2008–2010, 2013) where he continued to display a huge amount of talent. He is one of the only pitchers to have pitched a solo no-hitter.

Unfortunately, he was injury-prone. He was injured for three consecutive seasons of his career. This severely limited the amount of time he could play and ultimately destroyed his chances of making it to the Hall of Fame. 

If it’s any consolation for Santana and his many fans, his talents on the mound have been recognized in his home country of Venezuela. In 2022, he was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame with 81% of the vote.

One of our favorite days here at notinhalloffame.com has come with the Baseball Hall of Fame’s announcement of the Class of 2025.

The Baseball Writers of America have submitted their votes for the Modern Ballot, and this summer Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner have been elected to Cooperstown.

They will join Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected by the Veterans Committee.

To enter the Baseball Hall, a candidate must obtain 75 percent of the vote.

Ichiro Suzuki, Outfield:  SEA 2001-12 & 2018-19, NYY 2012-14 & MIA 2015-17.  99.7% on his 1st ballot.  Already cemented his name in Japan, winning three Pacific League MVPs, seven Batting Titles, seven Golden Gloves, seven Best Nine Award and a Japanese Series Title with the Orix BlueWave.   Suzuki signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, and he became an instant sensation in North America.  In his first season in MLB, he won the American Rookie of the Year and MVP in his first season, and would overall go to ten All-Star Games, won ten Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and two Batting Titles.  Statistically, he compiled 3,089 Hits with a lifetime .311 Batting Average.  He was also inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.

C.C. Sabathia, Pitcher:  CLE 2001-08, MIL 2008 & NYY 2009-19.  86.8% on his 1st ballot.  Like Suzuki, Sabathia enters on his first ballot.  Winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2007 with Cleveland, Sabathia achieved greater fame with the New York Yankees where he had three consecutive top-five Cy Young finishes (2008-10) and helped the Bronx Bombers win it all in 2009.  Sabathia went to six All-Star Games, had a record of 251-161 and 2,093 Strikeouts.  He is already in the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.

Billy Wagner, Pitcher:  HOU 1995-2003, PHI 2004-05, NYM 2006-09. BOS 2009 & ATL 2010.  82.5% on his 9th ballot.  Wagner gets in on his ninth ballot, jumping from 73.8% last year.  It is a seismic jump for the reliever, who had less than 20% in his first four years, but the momentum has been there the last three years.  Wagner, who is already in the Houston Astros Hall of Fame, was a seven-time All-Star and had 422 Saves.

Those that did not make the cut were:

Carlos Beltrán, Outfield:  KC 1998-2004, HOU 2004 & 2017, NYM 2005-11, SFG 2011, NYY 2014-16 & TEX 2016.  70.3% on his 3rd ballot.  Beltran, who has the statistical requirements to make the Hall, looks to still be punished by some voters for his role in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal.  Hr did have a considerable improvement from last year’s 57.1%.

Andruw Jones, Outfield:  ATL 1996-2007, LAD 2008, TEX 2009, CHW 2010 & NYY 2011-12.  66.2% on his 8th ballot.  The ten-time All-Star grew his tally from 61.6%, and though he only has two years left, he is trending in the right direction.

Chase Utley, Second Base:  PHI 2003-15 & LAD 2015-18.  39.8% on his 2nd ballot.  Utley’s support grew from 28.9% and looks like he will enter the Hall in a few years time.

Alex Rodriguez, Shortstop and Third Base:  SEA 1994-2000, TEX 2001-03 & NYY 2004-14.  37.1% on his 4th ballot.  Nobody has a better on-field resume than A-Rod, who is a three-time MVP, but he was suspended twice for PEDs.  His vote Toal did rise from last year’s 34.8, but he began the process at 34.3%.  Rodriguez is just treading water at this point.

Manny Ramírez, Outfield:  CLE 1993-2000, BOS 2001-08, LAD 2008-10, CHW 2010 & TBD 2010.  34.3% on his 9th ballot.  Ramirez is in the same boat as Rodriguez as he too was twice suspended for PEDs, and though this is highest tally to date, there is no reason to think that he can the 41.7% needed to enter in 2026.

Andy Pettitte, Pitcher:  NYY 1995-2003, 2007-10 & 2012-13 & HOU 2004-06.  27.9% on his 7th ballot.  Pettitte’s candidacy looked dead in the water, as he dropped to 13.5% last year, and he more than doubled that in 2025. 

Felix Hernandez, Pitcher:  SEA 2005-19.  20.6% on his 1st ballot.  King Felix makes a solid debut, and though he is behind Pettitte, his first tally is much better than Andys.

Bobby Abreu, Outfield:  HOU 1996-97, PHI 1998-2005, NYY 2006-09, LAA 2009-12, LAD 2012 & NYM 2014. 19.5% on his 6th ballot.  Abreu jumped from last year’s 19.5% but needs to average double digit increases to get into the Hall.

Jimmy Rollins, Shortstop:  PHI 2000-14, LAD 2015 & CHW 2016. 18.0% on his 4th ballot.  Rollins continues his growth of support, but has yet to see a 4% jump.

Omar Vizquel, Shortstop:  SEA 1989-93, CLE 1994-2004, SFG 2005-08, TEX 2009, CHW 2010-11 & TOR 2012. 17.8% on his 8th ballot.  Omar might have 17.8% of the vote but has zero chance to get in.  During the 2021 voting process, it was revealed that he was a domestic abuser, and since then he seen his support go from over 50% to less than 20.  Nobody has fallen like this before, and there is no reason to think he can regain that support.

Dustin Pedroia, Second Base:  BOS 2006-19.  11.9% on his 1st ballot.  The former MVP may have barely broke 10 percent, but others have started at the similar spot and entered the Hall.  Look at Billy Wagner!

Mark Buehrle, Pitcher:  CHW 2000-11, MIA 2012 & TOR 2013-15. 11.4% on his 5th ballot.  We have reached the half-way point for Buehrle, and 11.4 is the highest percentage he has received to date, but this is not a number that will cut it.

Francisco Rodríguez, Pitcher:  ANA/LAA 2002-08, NYM 2009-11, MIL 2011-13 & 2014-15, BAL 2013 & DET 2016-17. 10.2% on his third ballot.  K-Rod’s 10.2 is higher than last year’s 7.8, but is lower than his ballot debut of 10.8.

David Wright, Third Base:  NYM 2004-18:  8.1% on his 2nd ballot.  Wright saw a small increase from his 6.2% last year.

Torii Hunter, Outfield:  MIN 1997-2007 & 2015, LAA 2008-12 & DET 2013-14.  5.1% on his 5th ballot.  Hunter is clinging for life as one less vote would have eliminated him permanently.  HIs highest total was 9.5%, which was his first year on the ballot.

Those that failed to receive the 5% needed to stay on the ballot:

Ian Kinsler, Second Base.  TEX 2006-13, DET 2014-17, LAA 2018, BOS 2018 & SDP 2019.  2.5% on his 1st ballot.

Russell Martin, Catcher.  LAD 2006-10 & 2019, NYY 2011-12, PIT 2013-14 & TOR 2016-18.  2.3% on his 1st ballot.

Brian McCann, Catcher.  ATL 2005-12 & 2019.  NYY 2014-16 & HOU 2017-18. 1.8% on his 1st ballot.

Troy Tulowitzki, Second Base.  COL 2006-15, TOR 2015-17 & NYY 2019.  1.0% on his 1st ballot.

Curtis Granderson, Outfield.  DET 2004-09, NYY 2010-13, NYM 2014-17, LAD 2017, TOR 2018, MIL 2018 & MIA 2019.  0.8% on his 1st ballot.

Adam Jones, Outfield.  SEA 2006-07, BAL 2008-18 & ARI 2019.  0.8% on his 1st ballot.

Carlos González, Outfield.  OAK 2008, COL 2009-18, CLE 2019 & CHC 2019.  0.5% on the 1st ballot.

Hanley Ramirez, Shortstop, First Base and Third Base.  BOS 2005 & 2015-18, FLA/MI 2006-12, LAD 2012-14 & CLE 2019.  0.0% on the 1st ballot.

Fernando Rodney, Pitcher.  DET 2002-09, LAA 2010-11, TBR 2012-13, SEA 2014-15, CHC 2015, SDP 2016, ARI 2016, MIN 2018, OAK 2018-19 & WAS 2019.  0.0% on the 1st ballot.

Ben Zobrist, Second Base, Outfield and Shortstop.  TBR 2006-14, OAK 2015, KCR 2015 & CHC 2016-19. 0.0% on his 1st ballot

We will now begin revising the Notinhalloffame Baseball list.

After a decade of "ballot logjam," has voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame finally returned to normal? We will know when results from the ballots cast by the qualified members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA, or "the writers") are announced on January 21, 2025, although based on voting trends over the last decade, the bulk of the results are predictable and, by now, unsurprising.

What does a "return to normal" mean? Of the 14 first-time candidates on the BBWAA 2025 ballot, only two, CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki, stand out as likely Hall of Famers, and neither are a lock for first-ballot induction. Of the 14 returning candidates, none of the "normal" candidates are automatic Hall of Famers, else they would have been elected already. Thus, there is no "ballot logjam," meaning that there are not more than ten sure-fire Hall of Famers who exceed the maximum of ten votes allowed per ballot.

The Hall of Fame Season (as we like to call November to early February) is in full swing with the significant announcement that Dick Allen and Dave Parker has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Classic Baseball Era Committee.  That specific group looked at the period from Baseball’s beginning to 1980.

Parker received 14 votes, and Allen received 13.  Twelve votes were needed (75%) were required to enter Cooperstown.

Dave Parker:  Parker led Pittsburgh to a World Series Championship in 1979 and won a second ring a decade later with Oakland.  A six-time All-Star with three Silver Sluggers, Parker won the 1978 National League MVP.  He had 339 career Home Runs and 1,493 RBIs.  Previously, Parker’s best finish on his previous three Veteran’s Ballots was 43.8% in 2020.  Parker is 73 years old.

Dick Allen:   Allen finally got in on his sixth try on a Veteran’s ballot after falling short by one vote the last two attempts (2015 & 2022).  Allen was the 1972 American League MVP (with Chicago). Over a 15-year career, he hit 351 Home Runs with 1,119 RBIs. He was also a seven-time All-Star, two-time OBP leader, three-time Slugging Champion, and four-time leader in OPS.

Tommy John received seven votes, and the other five nominees (Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, and Luis Tiant) failed to receive at least five votes and their finish was not published.

Parker and Allen will be joined by the former players who will advance on the Baseball Writer’s Modern Ballot.

Created in April 2022, the Classic Baseball Era Committee debuts to deliberate eight candidates for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. All eight candidates' careers began before 1980. Two are associated with the Negro Leagues, assimilated into Major League Baseball in December 2020, while the other six are some very familiar names indeed, and it is highly likely that at least one of them will be announced by the committee on December 8, 2024, for formal induction in July 2025.

The six non-Negro Leagues candidates are practically near-contemporaries whose playing careers span the 1950s through the 1980s: Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Luis Tiant. The two Negro Leagues candidates are John Donaldson and Vic Harris, with Donaldson, whose tenure in the officially-recognized Negro Leagues lasted for the first half of the 1920s, also considered a manager and a pioneer of sorts; by contrast, Harris's playing and managing career spanned virtually the entire Negro Leagues period from 1920 to 1948.

The Classic Baseball Era, which consists of the period to 1980 (including the Negro Leagues), has announced its eight Finalists for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

The nominees are:

Dick Allen:  Here is Allen again, and fans and family of the late slugger must be tired of waiting.  Allen was on the Writer’s Ballot for 15 years, peaking at 18.9% in 1996, his fourteenth year.  As for the Veterans ballot, this is his sixth try, with him falling short by one vote in his last two tries (2015 and 2022). 

Allen was the 1972 American League MVP (with Chicago). Over a 15-year career, he hit 351 Home Runs with 1,119 RBIs. He was also a seven-time All-Star, two-time OBP leader, three-time Slugging Champion, and four-time leader in OPS.

Ken Boyer:  Boyer was also on the Writer’s Ballot for 15 years, with his apex coming in 1988 (his ninth ballot) with 25.5 percent of the vote.  Like Allen, he has been on six Veterans ballots but has never come close to achieving the 75% required. 

An 11-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, Boyer won the 1964 National League MVP and led his Cardinals to a World Series Championship that year.  He had 2,143 hits, 282 home runs, and 1141 RBIs.

John Donaldson:  Donaldson received 50% of the vote on the 2022 Veterans ballot, boding well for his chances this year.

While Donaldson played in the Negro Leagues in the first half of the 1920s with the Kansas City Monarchs, his best years were in the pre-Negro Leagues era.  Overall, the Pitcher is believed to have a record of 424-169-15, 5,221 Strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.37.

Steve Garvey:  Garvey lasted 15 years on the writer’s ballot, with his peak coming in year three at 42.6 percent.  He appeared on four Veteran’s Ballots, with a 37.5% finish on the 2020 version.

Garvey won the 1974 National League MVP, was a 10-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series.  He had 2,599 Hits, 272 Home Runs and 1,308 RBIs.

Vic Harris:  Harris netted 62.5% on his first Veteran’s Ballot in 2022, two votes shy of what he needed for induction.

Harris was a seven-time Negro League All-Star and a long-time Manager who boasted a winning record of 547-278.  He overall won none Negro League Pennants and three Negro League World Series Championships.

Tommy John:  John was on the Writer’s Ballot for 15 years, with his final year reaching his peak of 31.7%.  He has been on the Veteran’s Ballot four times before but never received enough votes to register.

A four-time All-Star. John had a career record of 288-231 with 2,245 Strikeouts and was a Cy Young runner-up twice.

Dave Parker:  Parker was on 15 Writer’s Ballots and finished as high as 24.5% in his second year.  He has been on three Veteran’s Ballots and had 43.8% on his 2020 attempt.

Parker led Pittsburgh to a World Series Championship in 1979 and won a second ring a decade later with Oakland.  A six-time All-Star with three Silver Sluggers, Parker won the 1978 National League MVP.  He had 339 career Home Runs and 1,493 RBIs.

Luis Tiant:  Tiant was on 15 Writer’s Ballots, peaking with 17.2 in his 14^th attempt.  He has been on six Veterans ballots, but only received 25 percent once, and in his last three attempts, did not get enough votes to register.

The recently deceased Pitcher is an iconic figure in Boston, helping them win the 1975 American League Pennant, though his best year in baseball was in Cleveland (1968: 21-9, 1.60 ERA & 264 SO).  Tiant was a three-time All-Star with a career record of 229-172 and 2,416 Strikeouts.

The results will be announced on December 8 at 7:30 PM.

On the heels of learning that Dikembe Mutombo, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, passed away, Pete Rose, Baseball’s all-time leader in Hits, passed away today. He was 83.

Rose was one of the most popular players of his day due to his tenacious play and gritty determination.  Rose broke in with the Cincinnati Reds, winning the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year, and he emerged as one of the top batters in baseball history.  Rose’s resume includes:

3 World Series Championships
1 MVP
1 World Series MVP
17 All-Stars
1 Silver Slugger
2 Gold Gloves
3 Batting Titles

Also playing for Philadelphia and Montreal, Rose returned to Cincinnati as a Player/Manager, where he broke Ty Cobb's hit record in front of his own crowd at Riverfront Stadium.  A few years later, Rose was banned from the game he loved when he was caught betting on baseball.  He was never reinstated.

The qualities that made him so popular on the diamond also made him unpopular with executives and gatekeepers to baseball-related organizations.  The Baseball Hall of Fame, while a separate entity from MLB, upheld that ban and did not place him on their ballots.  As such, he never made it to Cooperstown.

On a personal note, I had the privilege of interviewing Pete Rose in Las Vegas twelve years ago.  He was kind, gracious, and giddy talking about baseball.  It helped make my site worthy, and I will always be in his debt.

We at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to Pete Rose’s fans, family, and friends.

Two weeks ago, Barry Bonds was inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame along with Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen.  Naturally, reports would ask him about the Baseball Hall of Fame afterward.  Bonds tone was a lot different than it had been in previous years:

“I don’t have to worry about those things no more.  I want to hang around my grandchildren and children.  Those hopes?  I don’t have them anymore.”

Bonds, who failed to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame via the writer’s ballot, appeared on his first senior's ballot, where he received so little support that his vote total was not publicized.  This indicates that the respective senior’s committee holds him in less regard than the writers did, thus leaving him worse off than before.

Bonds seems at peace with that.

He remains #1 on our Notinhalloffame Baseball list of those to consider for the Baseball Hall, and it looks like he will stay there for a long time.

As always, at Notinhalloffame.com, we are moving forward. Our Baseball Futures Section now includes those eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2028.

The entire list of candidates in 2028 is here, but individually, they are:

Albert Pujols:  A lock for the Baseball Hall as a potential unanimous pick, Pujols won two World Series Rings with the St. Louis Cardinals, won three MVPs, six Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, and was an 11-time All-Star.  He left the game with 703 Home Runs, 2,218 RBIs, and 3,384 Hits with a lifetime .544 Slugging Percentage.

Alcides Escobar:  A Shortstop who won a World Series Title with the Kansas City Royals, Escobar was a one-time All-Star.  He is also a former ALCS MVP and had nearly 1,500 Hits.

Andrelton Simmons:  Simmons was an excellent defensive Shortstop who won four Gold Gloves a Platinum Glove, and was a three-time league leader in Defensive bWAR.

Anibal Sanchez:  Sanchez had his best years with the Detroit Tigers but won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in his last season.  The Venezuelan Pitcher had a lifetime record of 116-119 and 1,774 Strikeouts.

Chris Archer:  Archer was a two-time All-Star as a Pitcher who fanned 1,454 batters.

David Price:  A Cy Young winner with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012, Price was also a five-time All-Star who later won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox.  He had an overall record of 157-82 with 2,076 Strikeouts.

Dee Strange-Gordon:  Strange-Gordon won three Stolen Base Titles, was twice named an All-Star, and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.  DSG also captured the NL Batting Title in 2012.

Greg Holland:  A three-time All-Star on Kansas City’s 2015 World Series Championship, Holland was The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 2013 and the Mariano Rivera Award winner in 2014.  He had 220 career Saves.

Jed Lowrie:  Lowrie went to one All-Star Game and had 1,185 career Hits.

Joe Smith:  The long-time middle reliever appeared in over 800 Games and had 176 Games Finished.

Justin Upton:  Upton was a four-time All-Star, compiling 1,754 Hits, 325 Home Runs, and 1,003 RBIs.

Kurt Suzuki:  Suzuki went to one All-Star Game, and the Catcher would win a World Series with Washington in 2019.  He had 1,421 Hits.

Lorenzo Cain:  Cain was a two-time All-Star, winning a Gold Glove and a World Series Title with the Royals in 2015.

Mark Melancon:  Melancon twice led his league in Saves and was named by The Sporting News as their NL Pitcher of the Year in 2015.  He is also a four-time All-Star.

Oliver Perez:  Peres pitched for 20 seasons in the Majors and was the NL leader in 2004 in SO/9.

Robinson Cano:  Cano had a long career where he won a World Series with the Yankees, was an eight-time All-Star, and won five Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.  He also had 2,639 career Hits.

Sean Doolittle:  A relief pitcher who twice was an All-Star, Doolittle retired as a champion with the Nationals in 2019.  He had 112 Saves.

Sergio Romo:  Best known for his three World Series rings with the San Francisco Giants, Romo was a one-time All-Star who appeared in 821 Games.

Steve Cishek:  Cishek had a long career coming out of the bullpen where he appeared in 737 Games.

Steven Strasburg:  Strasburg was the World Series MVP for Washington when they won their first World Series.  The oft-injured hurler went to three All-Stars and had a record of 113-62.

Tyler Clippard:  Clippard was a 16-year veteran who was a two-time All-Star Relief Pitcher.

Yadier Molina:  Molina played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals, where the Catcher won two World Series Titles, nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, one Silver Slugger, and was a ten-time All-Star.

Zack Britton:  Britton won the 2016 Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 2016 as well as the Rivera Reliever Award.  The two-time All-Star had 154 career Saves.

You know what we want you to do!

Your votes and opinions are crucial in shaping the future of these candidates. We value your input and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

As always, we thank you for your support.

We have added a new section on the Notinhalloffame.com site with the 2027 Baseball Futures.  These are the players who will first be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2027, though there is no guarantee that they will make the ballot.  It is likely that many will not make it.  We encourage you to vote and give your opinions on their respective HOF credentials.

The names are:

Alex Avila:  Avila was an All-Star Catcher once while playing with the Detroit Tigers.

Andrew Miller: A two-time All-Star as a Relief Pitcher, Miller won the 2015 Rivera Relief Award and won the ALCS MVP as a member of the Cleveland Indians.  He twice finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting.

Asdrubal Cabrera: Cabrera went to back-to-back All-Stars as a Cleveland Indian in 2011 and 2012, and was a Silver Slugger later in the first of those two years.  He later won a World Series with Washington (2019).

Brett Gardner:  A New York Yankee for the entirety of his Major League career, Gardner was an All-Star once, a Gold Glove winner once and once led the American League in Defensive bWAR.  He was one of the better defensive outfielders of his era and offensively provided 1,470 Hits.

Buster Posey:  Arguably the best Catcher in the National League throughout the 2010s, Posey played his entire career with the San Francisco Giants where he won three World Series Rings, an MVP, the Rookie of the Year, five Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger.  The seven-time All-Star also won a Batting Title and had a lifetime Batting Average of .302 with 1,500 Hits.

Dellin Betances:  Betances was twice named the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year and was a four-time All-Star as a reliever. 

Derek Holland:  Holland played for eight teams and had an 82-83 lifetime record.  His best years were with Texas.

Dexter Fowler: Fowler helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series and the Outfielder was also an All-Star once.

Ervin Santana:  A two-time All-Star, Santana twice finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting.  He accumulated 1,978 Strikeouts with a record of 151 and 128.

J.A. Happ: Happ won a World Series Championship early in his career with Philadelphia (2009), and the Pitcher was an All-Star later in 2018.  He won 133 Games over his career.

Jake Arrieta: Arrieta is best known for his run with the Chicago Cubs, where he pitched them to a World Series Championship in 2016. He was also an All-Star that year and won the Cy Young the year before. The hurler had a career record of 115-93 with 1,443 Strikeouts.

Jay Bruce:  A power-hitting Outfielder, Bruce was a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger and 319 career Home Runs.

Joakim Soria:  A two-time All-Star as a Relief Pitcher with Kansas City, Soria had 229 career Saves.

John Axford:  In 2011, Axford (as a Milwaukee Brewer) won the Rolaids Reliever of the Year and led the NL in Saves. 

Jon Jay:  Jay played 12 years in the Majors, most notably with St. Louis, where he won a World Series in 2011.

Jon Lester:  A five-time All-Star, Lester won three World Series Rings (two with Boston and one with Chicago Cubs).  He finished in the top four In Cy Young voting four times and secured an even 200 Wins with 2,488 Strikeouts.

Jonathan Lucroy:  Lucroy was twice an All-Star at Catcher, both of which was as a Brewer.

Jordan Zimmerman:  A solid control Pitcher, Zimmerman was twice named to the All-Star Game.

Josh Reddick:  Reddick won a World Series with Houston in 2016 and was a two-time Wilson Defensive player and one-time Gold Glove in Oakland.

Kyle Seager: Seager played all 11 of his MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners, where he was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and American League leader in Total Zone Runs in 2014.  He had 1,395 Hits and 242 Home Runs.

Neftali Feliz  Feliz was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2010 where he was an All-Star, but injuries turned him into a journeyman.

Pablo Sandoval: Sandoval helped the San Francisco Giants win three World Series Championships (2010, 2012, and 2014) and won the World Series MVP and Babe Ruth Award in 2012. He is also a two-time All-Star.

Ryan Zimmerman:  Zimmerman is the all-time leader in Nationals history in Hits (1,846), Home Runs (284) and RBIs (1,061), and was a member of Washington’s 2019 World Series Championship team.  He is also a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger and also won one Gold Glove and one Wilson Defensive Award.

Scott Kazmir:  Kazmir went to three All-Star Games, two with Tampa and one with the Dodgers.  He had 108 Wins with 1,618 Strikeouts.

Starlin Castro:  Castro went to four All-Star Games and had over 1,700 Hits, but had it not been for domestic violence allegations that booted him from the league, he would have had much more.

Todd Frazier:  Frazier was a two-time All-Star when he played for Cincinnati.  He had 218 Home Runs.

Tony Watson:  Watson was an All-Star in 2014, and he led the NL in Games Pitched that year.

Wade Davis:  Davis was a three-time All-Star who won the Babe Ruth Award and a World Series Ring with Kansas City in 2015.

Will Harris:  Unlikely to make the ballot, Harris is a one-time All-Star and World Series winner with Houston, so his career is more than complete.

Wilson Ramos:  Ramos was a two-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger Catcher.

You can find the entire list of 2027 eligible baseball players here.

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

The Hall of Fame season is in full swing as the Baseball Hall of Fame vote has been tabulated and we have three new inductees who were voted in by the writers.  Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer will become enshrined in the most prestigious sports hall of fame this summer, and we are thrilled that we have a large class.  They will join Jim Leyland, who was inducted by the Veteran’s Committee.

The inductees:

Adrian Beltre: 95.1% on his first ballot.  The Third Baseman was considered by everyone to be a first ballot lock, and today the Dominican made that projection come true.  He brings to Cooperstown a resume that had 3,166 Hits, 487 Home Runs, 1,707 RBIs, five Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves.  Playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle, Boston and Texas, Beltre was never an MVP but finished in the top ten five times.  Amazingly, Beltre did not really look like a Hall of Fame possibility until he was past 30, as his second half eclipsed his first.

Todd Helton: 79.7% on his fifth ballot.   Helton jumped from 52.0 from last year, and came a long way from the 16.5% from year one.  He enjoyed the entirety of his career with the Colorado Rockies, where he smacked 369 Home Runs with 2,519 Hits and 1,405 RBIs.  Finishing his career as a member of the lifetime 3/4/5 club (.316/.414/.539), went to five All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers and owns a Batting Title.  He joins Larry Walker in joining Cooperstown while donning the “CR”. 

Joe Mauer:  76.1% on his first ballot.  Mauer’s election gives us two first ballot inductees, but unlike Beltre, Mauer’s Cooperstown career was spent with one team, Minnesota.  One of the best hitting Catchers of all-time, Mauer won the MVP in 2009 in the season he won his third Batting Title.  Mauer was. Six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove winner.  He recorded 2,123 Hits with a lifetime .306 Batting Average.  He is a minor surprise to make it as a first ballot entry.

Failing to make the Baseball Hall of Fame were:

Billy Wagner: 73.8% on his eighth ballot.  Wagner fell five votes shy of the Hall, but momentum is certainly on his side, even though there are only two years left of eligibility.  This is phenomenal progress for a player who was under 20% in his first four years.  With 422 career Saves (6^th all-time), Wagner was a seven-time All-Star with a lifetime ERA of 2.31 and WHIP of 0.998. 

Gary Sheffield: 63.9% on his tenth and final ballot.   It is off to the Veteran’s Committee for Sheffield, and while that worked for Fred McGriff, this might not be the case for Sheffield who was suspected of PED use.  Sheffield’s numbers are overall better than McGriff, with 509 Home Runs, 1,676 RBIs, 253 Stolen Bases and a Slash Line of .292/.393/.514.  Chalk “Shef” as a member of the all Non-Cooperstown team.

Andruw Jones: 61.6% on his seventh ballot.  Jones has a unique resume with 434 Home Runs and 19 Gold Gloves, and when you throw in five All-Stars and a Major League Player of the Year Award, this is a player who feels like he should be in already.  He only moved up 3.5% from last year, but Jones has come a long way from his first two years where he was just hanging on with over 7%. 

Carlos Beltran: 57.1% on his second ballot.  Had it not been for the sign-stealing scandal in his final, and World Series winning year, Beltran would have probably been a first ballot inductee.  He has the stats for it with 2,625 Hits, 435 Home Runs, 1,578 RBIs and 312 Stolen Bases, and the accoladed (nine All-Stars, two Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves, but this is a message by the voting body.  He moved up 10.5% from last year, and he will get in eventually.

Alex Rodriguez:  34.8% on his third ballot.  Nobody had a better resume on this ballot than A-Rod.  Three MVPs, 10 Silver Sluggers, 696 Home Runs, 3,115 Hits, 2,021 Runs and 2,086 RBIs dwarves what many Cooperstown inductee have, but so does one other stat:  two PED suspensions.  You would think that Rodriguez’s work on Fox might show that he is forgiven, but clearly, he isn’t.  His total went down from 35.7 in 2023, and why should we think anything will change for him moving forward?

Manny Ramirez:  32.5% on his eighth ballot.  Like Rodriguez, Ramirez should be in the Hall.  Owning a lifetime Slash Line of .312/.411/.585, 555 Home Runs, 1,831 RBIs, 12 All-Stars and nine Silver Sluggers, Ramirez was the catalyst of Boston’s two World Series Championships in the 2000s.  However, again like A-Rod, Man-Ram was also popped for PEDs twice.  He also dropped from last year, descending .7%. 

Chase Utley: 28.8 on his first ballot.  A six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, Utley’s strength lies on his sabermetrics (64.5 bWAR) and a 28.8 debut is a lot better than what Helton got.  This is not a bat start.

Omar Vizquel:  17.7% on his seventh ballot.  Ob boy.  Vizquel was on track for the Hall.  Voters loved his defense (11 Gold Gloves), and though he was a light hitter, he stayed around so long that he accumulated 2,877 Hits.  He had 37.0 percent on his first ballot, and reached 52.6 in year three.  However, he dropped to 49.1, as while votes were submitted, domestic allegations emerged.  As they were credible, he plummeted to 23.9 in 2022, and has trended downward with 19.5 in 2023 and his now new low of 17.7.  Here is another number.  0.0.  Those are his Hall of Fame chances.

Jimmy Rollins:  14.8% on his third ballot.  Inching up from 12.9 %, Rollins is a former MVP and World Series winner with Philadelphia and had 2,455 Hits with 231 Home Runs.  The Shortstop also went to three All-Star Games and won four Gold Gloves.

Bobby Abreu:  14.8% on his fifth ballot.  Abreu reminds surprisingly low as his 60.2 bWAR puts him in line with others in the Hall.  Throw in 2,460 Hits, 288 HR, and a lifetime OBP of .395, he has the credentials, but he was only an All-Star twice and never sought attention.  Abreu fell 0.6% from last year.

Andy Pettitte:  13.5% on his sixth ballot.  Pettitte had a career record of 256 and 153 with 2,448 Strikeouts, three All-Stars and five World Series rings.  The latter credential, and his performance in them should put him much higher, but Pettitte is an admitted PED user.  That is probably enough for a lot of voters to pass on him. 

Mark Buehrle:  8.3% on his fourth ballot. The five-time All-Star and World Series Champion with the Chicago White Sox had 214 Wins but only had one year where he received Cy Young votes.  The Pitcher dropped from 10.8%, and is treading water at this point.

Francisco Rodriguez:  7.8% on his second ballot.  Rodriguez has 437 Saves, five All-Stars and is best known for exploding out of the gate leading the Angels to their first World Series Championship.  He had a disappointing drop from 10.8 on year two.

Torii Hunter:  7.3% on his fourth ballot.  Hunter hangs on for life, but has never broke double-digits, and is down from year one’s number of 9.5%.  He was a five-time All-Star, nine-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger with a 50.7 bWAR, 353 Home Runs and 1,391 RBIs. 

David Wright: 6.2% on his 1^st ballot.  Wright loves to fight another day, but it won’t get easier going forward.  The career Met went to seven All-Star Games and won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, but faces a tall order to enter the Hall.  We do think he should be honored by New York as soon as possible.

Falling off of the ballot:

Jose Bautista:  1.6% on his first, only and last ballot.  Bautista entered the Blue Jays Ring of Excellence last year, but this Hall will elude the former slugger.  He blasted 344 Home Runs, won three Silver Sluggers and went to five All-Star Games.

Victor Martinez:  1.6% on his first, only and last ballot.  Martinez exits on his first try after a five All-Stars, two Silver Sluggers and 295 Home Runs.

Bartolo Colon:  1.3% on his first, only and last ballot.  The big man had a disappointing showing considering he won 247 Games and a Cy Young, but as popular as he was, he was suspended for PEDs.  That still seems weird, doesn’t it?

Matt Holliday:  1.0% on his first, only and last ballot.  The Outfielder won a World Series with St. Louis in 2011, and was a seven-time All-Star.  He also won a Batting Title, NLCS MVP and four Silver Sluggers.

Adrian Gonzalez:  0.8% on his first, only and last ballot.  Gonzalez had a good career with five All-Stars, four Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and 317 Home Runs.

Brandon Phillips:  0.3% on his first, only and last ballot.  Phillips received a single vote after a nice career that saw him belt 211 Home Runs with 2,029 Hits.

Jose Reyes:  0.0% on his first, only and last ballot.  Reyes had a good career, but it had its share of controversies that likely cost him from receiving a vote.  When we get around to the dream team of players who were shutout does Reyes belong on it?  2,138 Hits, a Batting Title and 517 SB tells us he might.

James Shields:  0.0% on his first, only and last ballot.  While he received no votes, he belonged on the ballot with a respectable 145 Wins and 2,234 Strikeouts.

We will now begin work on revising the Notinhallofame.com Baseball List of those to consider for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Look for that later next month.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame season continues with the Baseball Hall’s announcement that Jim Leyland has been named to the Hall via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers/Executives/Umpires.   The former Manager received 15 of 16 voted for the ballot, making him the only person selected from this group.

Leyland is a three-time Manager of the Year (1990, 1992 & 2006), and led the Florida Marlins to their improbable 1997 World Series title.  With a career record of 1,769-1,728 and helmed the United States to victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Missing out was Lou Piniella who received 11 votes and Bill White who had 10.  Also on the ballot were Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Ed Montague, Hank Peters and Joe West.

We here at Notinhllloffame.com would like to congratulate Jim Leyland for his impending honor.

Halls of Fames struggle with transparency, but the Baseball Hall does a very good job telling you who are the voters and what the results were.

We now know the 16-person group who comprise the Contemporary Committee. 

The voters will comprise of five Hall of Fame players (Jeff Bagwell, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Ted Simmons and Jim Thome), Hall of Fame Manager, Joe Torre, and Hall of Fame Commissioner Bud Selig.  Also included are Executives Sandy Alderson, Bill DeWitt, Michael Hill, Ken Kendrick, Andy MacPhail and Phyliss Merhige and media members/historians, Sean Forman, Jack O’Connell and Jesus Ortiz.

The group will be voting on Managers, Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland and Lou Piniella, Umpires Joe West and Ed Montague, Executive Bill White and Executive Hank Peters.

To enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, a candidate needs at least 75% for election.  Should the Committee induct any of the candidates they will be elected inducted on July 21, 2024.

As we are deep into the Baseball Hall of Fame season, one of the inductees is hopeful to get the logo on his plaque changed from the Montreal Expos to the Chicago Cubs.

Andre Dawson, who was inducted into the Hall in 2010, was enshrined with the Expos cap, but stated all along that he wanted to go in as a Cub.  He is still hopeful of changing it to the iconic Cubs “C”, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, and he has sent letters to the chairman of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors in another effort.  Dawson has long since said that he wanted to go in as a Cub, the team he won his only MVP (1987), despite the longer and more successful statistical tenure with Montreal.

The Hall of Fame rarely makes changes to plaques, and as the Cooperstown-based institution has not corresponded with Dawson, it is unlikely that we will see any changes in bronze.

Days from the January 24, 2023, announcement by the National Baseball Hall of Fame of candidates who may have been elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), the burning question is not who those candidates, if any, will be. Instead, the burning question is: What morality are BBWAA voters going to legislate for the Hall of Saints this year?

For more than a decade, the controversy over performance-enhancing drugs (PED) has consumed discussion about who should or should not be elected to the Hall, capped by the late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan's now-infamous 2017 missive to voters about keeping the PED Penitents out of Cooperstown. But although the PED predicament remains—among the returning candidates on the 2023 BBWAA ballot are Manny Ramirez and Álex Rodriguez—voters are now finding other performance flaws in candidates to deny them entrance to the Hallowed Hall.