2026 Hall of Fame Election

From BR Bullpen

The results of the 2026 Hall of Fame Election were announced on January 20, 2026 with Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones gaining election. Before that, on December 7, 2025, the Veterans Committee announced the election of Jeff Kent as a result of its vote covering the Contemporary Era.

BBWAA Voting[edit]

Eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted on a ballot comprising holdover candidates from the 2025 Hall of Fame Election and players who played their last major league game in 2020. The final composition of the ballot, including 27 names, was made public on November 17th.

Two candidates cleared the required 75% threshold and were elected as a result: Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones. There were a total of 425 ballots cast, with 319 votes needed for election.

Ony one first-year candidate, Cole Hamels, cleared the 5% bar necessary to remain on the ballot, doing so easily. As a result, all returning down-ballot candidates not tainted by association with steroids or other scandals saw their voting total increase, many of them quite significantly. Chase Utley, Andy Pettitte and Felix Hernandez were among those making the most significant gains, placing them in a good position for eventual election. Complete election results are listed below.

Player Votes Percentage Year on the Ballot Result
Carlos Beltran 358 84.2 4th ELECTED
Andruw Jones 333 78.4 9th ELECTED
Chase Utley 251 59.1 3rd
Andy Pettitte 206 48.5 8th
Felix Hernandez 196 46.1 2nd
Alex Rodriguez 170 40.0 5th
Manny Ramirez 165 38.8 10th Dropped
Bobby Abreu 131 30.8 7th
Jimmy Rollins 108 25.4 5th
Cole Hamels 101 23.8 1st
Dustin Pedroia 88 20.7 2nd
Mark Buehrle 85 20.0 6th
Omar Vizquel 78 18.4 9th
David Wright 63 14.8 3rd
Francisco Rodriguez 50 11.8 4th
Torii Hunter 37 8.7 6th
Ryan Braun 15 3.5 1st Dropped
Edwin Encarnacion 6 1.4 1st Dropped
Shin-Soo Choo 3 0.7 1st Dropped
Matt Kemp 2 0.5 1st Dropped
Hunter Pence 2 0.5 1st Dropped
Rick Porcello 2 0.5 1st Dropped
Alex Gordon 1 0.2 1st Dropped
Nick Markakis 1 0.2 1st Dropped
Gio Gonzalez 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Howie Kendrick 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Daniel Murphy 0 0.0 1st Dropped

Veterans Committee[edit]

The Veterans Committee examined candidates from the Contemporary Era, covering the period after 1980. The 16 electors forming the committee met at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, FL on December 7, 2025, to discuss candidates on the ballot and cast their votes. Candidates needed to receive 75% of the vote (i.e. 12 votes) to be elected, and the results were announced immediately following the meeting.

The ballot included eight names. The eight candidates were as follows: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. The committee was composed of 16 members as follows: seven Hall of Famers - Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Perez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount; six executives - Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan; and three historians and researchers - Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark.

Kent was the sole candidate elected, receiving 14 of 16 votes, with 12 needed for election. Delgado was next with 9 votes and Murphy and Mattingly with 6 each. All others received fewer than five votes, with their exact total not being revealed. It was the first time on the ballot for Kent, whose failure to be elected by the BBWAA was a bit puzzling, given his overall numbers that made him one of the best-hitting second basemen in history.

Other Awards[edit]

Paul Hoynes, the long-time baseball beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer was named the winner of the Platinum Pen Award for excellence in baseball writing. Joe Buck, the play-by-play broadcaster for Fox Sports' national baseball telecasts, won the Ford Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting.

Induction[edit]

The induction ceremony will take place in Cooperstown, NY on July 26, 2026.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Mark Bowman: "From Mays' inspiration to Cooperstown, Jones is at long last a HOFer", mlb.com, January 20, 2026. [1]
  • Anthony Castrovince: "Beltrán, Andruw earn much-coveted Hall call", mlb.com, January 20, 2026. [2]
  • Anthony DiComo: "Beltrán becomes 6th Puerto Rican elected to Hall of Fame", mlb.com, January 20, 2026. [3]
  • Bryan Hoch: "Kent, all-time HR leader at 2B, earns Hall election on Contemporary Era ballot", mlb.com, December 7, 2025. [4]
  • Brian Murphy: "7 storylines to follow on the 2026 HOF ballot", mlb.com, January 22, 2025. [5]
  • Brian Murphy: "Hall of Fame unveils 8-player Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot: Voting results will be announced on MLB Network on Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET", mlb.com, November 3, 2025. [6]
  • Brian Murphy: "HOF reveals 16 voters for Contemporary Era ballot; results announced Sunday", mlb.com, December 2, 2025. [7]
  • Andrew Simon: "Hall of Fame releases ballot for 2026 election", mlb.com, November 17, 2025. [8]

Related Sites[edit]


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