It’s been a while, hasn’t it…
Today at 6 pm ET on MLB Network, we will find out who joins the likes of Babe Ruth, Bob Gibson, and others in the inner wing of Cooperstown this July. Many of the controversial cases from the last decade and a half received the call or have fallen off the ballot, while newcomers such as Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun, and Hunter Pence look to establish their cases. Among all, we will see if this is the year Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran — a Hall of Famer already if not for leading the 2017 antics — earn their rightful calls.
As in years past, our Diamond Digest staff mimicked the process and filled out their own ballots. However, in a process followed since 2024, they are asked to fill out two separate ballots. The first one mimics the actual Hall of Fame Ballot mailed to and filled out by about 424 writers each year, while the second follows similar rules, but is for induction into the Diamond Digest Hall of Fame. This leads to a noticeable discrepancy between the two ballots, a testament to the goal of the DD Hall of Fame: showing the different mindsets between the future (and current, in some cases) analytical minds of the game and those who actually call the shots.
Both ballots, starting with the BBWAA Ballot, are summarized below:
Mock BBWAA Ballot
If the Diamond Digest Hall of Fame were based on the 2026 BBWAA ballot, we would have elected Felix Hernandez, Carlos Beltran, and Alex Rodriguez. Andruw Jones, who is on track to be a part of the 2026 HOF class, would fall just short of induction, and Chase Utley and Bobby Abreu would make substantial progress towards eventual enshrinement. Notably, we would follow the likely verdict of the BBWAA for Manny Ramirez‘s case: close, but not enough for a final 10th-year push. Falling below the 5% threshold to remain on the ballot: Ryan Braun, Shin-Soo Choo, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Gonzalez, Alex Gordon, Howie Kendrick, Nick Markakis, Hunter Pence, and notable Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello.
Some of our writers were asked to give explanations on why they voted for the players they did, shown below:
The 10-player limit remains annoying; Cole Hamels, Dustin Pedroia and David Wright also have interesting cases.
Bailey Digh (voted for Abreu, Beltrán, Buehrle, Hernández, Andruw Jones, Pettitte, M. Ramírez, A. Rodríguez, Rollins, and Utley)
I don’t think anyone else is deserving, I don’t think players who used PED’s should be in.
Conner Pier (voted for Andruw Jones and Daniel Murphy)
Abreu, Jones, and Pettitte feel like long overdue inductions, although my personal bias may play into that. Hamels, Hernandez, and Beltran feel like the only players who are even close to deserving a vote from the current crop of new possible inductees.
Drew Klugman (voted for Abreu, Beltrán, Hamels, Hernández, Andruw Jones, and Pettitte)
Matt Kemp was robbed.
Arrick Joel (voted for Abreu, Buehrle, Hernández, Kemp, Pedroia, M. Ramírez, A. Rodríguez, Rollins, Utley, and Wright)
Diamond Digest Ballot
As you can see, our ballot vastly differs from the real ballot, as many names have already been elected (Jones, Ramirez, A. Rodriguez, etc.) or never dropped off our ballot (Granderson, Martin, McCann, Zobrist, etc.). Because our ballot is not nearly as cramped as the BBWAA ballot, writers votes varied between small ballots (for the first time since we began tracking ballots, multiple members submitted ballots with less than three players) and big ballots, if only to attempt to get their childhood Hall of Very Good players just a little bit more time than they otherwise would get (I am personally responsible for keeping Curtis Granderson on the ballot).
With those caveats, it’s not that much of a shocker that, for the first time, no players were elected into the DD Hall of Fame.
Notably, Mark Buerhle falls just two votes short in what has been an eventful tenure on the ballot. He reached as high as 67.5% in 2023 and fell dramatically to 34.6% in 2024 before this year’s performance. Barring another fall, he is in line to get the call next year. Meanwhile, Francisco Rodriguez and the framing darlings — Russell Martin and Brian McCann— performances fall from last year, while holdovers Tim Hudson and Joe Nathan continue to build on their cases. Gio Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Braun, Shin-Soo Choo, Edwin Encarnacion, Adrian Gonzalez, Alex Gordon, Hunter Pence, and still notable Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello fall off the ballot.
Cole Hamels was the only newcomer with substantial support on both ballots, which made this ballot even more important for the returners. With Buster Posey appearing for the first time in 2027 and Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, and Yadier Molina to follow in 2028, the shallow ballot days are coming to an end soon.
Tonight, we will find out whether or not the BBWAA agrees with us. Based on the Hall of Fame Tracker built by the wonderful Ryan Thibodaux and staff on Bluesky, Beltran’s redemption tour and Jones’ meteoric rise look to be complete, while Hernandez looks like he will have massive gains and be on track within the decade. There will most certainly be enough discourse
Thanks again to everyone who voted! Next year, we will bring back the fan vote, so stay tuned for that, and we are looking forward to doing it again next year!
Make sure to tune in for the announcement tonight and follow us on Twitter/X (@Diamond_Digest), Instagram (@diamond.digest), TikTok (@diamonddigest), Bluesky, etc. for more!
Oh, one last thing.
No joke, I did the other one first and thought Howie Kendrick was one of the random ones you put on there.
Jordan Lazowski
