The Baseball Hall of Fame selects three new members
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.
If I Had a Vote in the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Election
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 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot is out!
Ah, November.
Let’s first begin with what Notinhalloffame.com is thankful for…
Hall of Fame Season amps up every time this year!
Today, the Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the 2025 Ballot, which will be sent to the Baseball Writers of America. Each committee member will send back their ballot, which can contain up to ten names from a 29-player list. This includes 14 returning names and 15 new candidates.
To enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive at least 75% of the vote.
Here are the 2025 candidates:
Billy Wagner: 73.8% last year and is now on his tenth and final ballot. It is now or the Senior Ballot for the relief pitcher, who has worked his way up from less than 12% on his first three years of eligibility. Wagner compiled 422 Saves (8th All-Time) and was a seven-time All-Star. He finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting twice and is also a former Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year. Ranked #42 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Andruw Jones: 61.6% last year and is now on his eighth ballot. Jones has progressed well, especially considering that he had lower than eight percent 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. Ranked #29 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Carlos Beltran: 57.1% last year and is now on his third ballot. Have the voters punished Beltran for his role in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal? Probably. Beltran has the stats for the Hall (435 HR, 1,587 RBI) and the accolades (nine All-Stars, two Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves), and it is a matter of time for a player who looked like a fringe first-ballot entry. This could be the year. Ranked #13 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Alex Rodriguez: 34.8% last year and is now on his fourth 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, Rodriguez can make a claim as one of the ten best players ever, but his 34.8 percent in 2024 is DOWN 0.9 from last year. This is not a Hall of Fame path. Ranked #3 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Manny Ramirez: 32.7% last year and is now on his ninth 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. Ranked #12 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Chase Utley. 28.8% last year and is now on his second ballot. 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. Ranked #30 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Omar Vizquel: 17.7% last year and is now on his eighth 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. Ranked #55 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Bobby Abreu: 14.8% last year and is now on his sixth ballot. Abreu remains on the ballot, but his total dropped 0.6% from last year. He is a two-time All-Star with 2,470 Hits, 288 Home Runs, and a bWAR of just over 60. Ranked #75 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Jimmy Rollins: 14.8% last year and is now on his fourth ballot. Rollins’s 14.8% from last year was his best result, and the three-time All-Star needs a significant jump this year. He 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. Ranked #116 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Andy Pettitte: 13.5% last year and is now on his seventh ballot. Pettitte looks like he will miss Cooperstown, and despite the solid metrics (256-153, 2,448 SO & 60.2 bWAR) and five World Series rings, he was also popped for PEDs. That is probably why he has only broke 15% once (17.0% in 2023). Ranked #43 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Mark Buehrle: 8.3% last year and is now on his fifth ballot. Beuhrle is going nowhere on the ballot, having debuted at 11%, a number he has not hit since. 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. Ranked #73 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Francisco Rodriguez: 7.8% last year and is now on his third ballot. Despite Rodriguez having similar numbers to Wagner, he has fallen since his 10.8% debut. K-Rod was a World Series Champion with the Angels, and record 457 Saves with six All-Star Games and two Rolaids Relief Awards. Ranked #127 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Torii Hunter: 7.3% last year and is now on his fifth 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. Ranked #107 on Notinhalloffame.com.
David Wright: 6.2% last year and is now on his second ballot. 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. Ranked #90 on Notinhalloffame.com.
The following are making their debut on the ballot:
Ichiro Suzuki: Suzuki should enter on his first ballot and make history as the first Japanese-born player to enter Cooperstown. He has a resume with 3,089 Hits, an MVP, ten All-Stars, ten Gold Gloves, and two Silver Sluggers, as well as a lifetime Batting Average of .311. Ranked #5 on Notinhalloffame.com.
C.C. Sabathia: A five-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner, Sabathia won a World Series with the Yankees and had a career record of 251-161 with 3,093 Strikeouts. He is arguably now the best Pitcher on the ballot. Ranked #29 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Felix Hernandez: “King Felix” won a Cy Young Award with the Mariners, where he had a lifetime record of 169-136 with 2,524 Strikeouts. He was also a five-time All-Star and twice led the AL in ERA. Ranked #66 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Dustin Pedroia: 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. He compiled 1,805 Hits. Ranked #89 on Notinhalloffame.com.
Ian Kinsler: A World Series Champion with Boston in 2018, Kinsler had his best years earlier with Texas and Detroit, where he went to four All-Star Games and won two Silver Sluggers. He had 257 Home Runs and 1,999 Hits. Ranked #261 on Notinhalloffame.com
Carlos Gonzalez: Gonzalez was a three-time All-Star who also won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and a Batting Title. He had 234 Home Runs and 1,432 Hits. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Curtis Granderson: Granderson belted 344 Home Runs with 1,800 Hits and was a three-time All-Star. Unranked on Nothinhalloffame.com.
Adam Jones: A five-time All-Star with a Silver Slugger and 282 Home Runs, Jones was also a five-time Gold Glove winner. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Russell Martin: The Catcher went to four All-Star Games and was a one-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com
Brian McCann: A World Series winner with the Astros, McCann was a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger at Catcher with 282 Home Runs. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Hanley Ramirez: A former Rookie of the Year, Ramirez had 271 Home Runs with three All-Stars, two Silver Sluggers and a Batting Title. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Fernando Rodney: Rodney won a World Series Ring with the Nationals and had 327 Saves. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com
Troy Tulowitzki: Tulo has a pair of Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves and was a five-time All-Star. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Ben Zobrist: The infielder had 1,566 Hits, was a three-time All-Star and won two World Series rings, one with Kansas Cty and one with the Chicago Cubs. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.
Clay Bucholz, Francisco Liriano, Ian Desmond, Jason Vargas, Kendrys Morales, Mark Reynolds, Mark Trumbo, Martin Prado and Melky Cabrera all played enough seasons to qualify for the ballot but were left off.
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We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate those who have made the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.
The Boston Red Sox to induct three new names to their Hall of Fame
Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives. As such, it is important to us that the
Boston Red Sox have announced that three new former players; Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon and Trot Nixon will be inducted into their franchise Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024.
Pedroia played his entire career in Boston where he was the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year, 2008 AL MVP and was a four-time All-Star. He won two World Series Rings and smacked 1,805 Hits for the team.
Papelbon was a four-time All-Star in Boston and recorded 219 Saves for the team. He was also their closer in their 2007 World Series Championship.
Nixon was a member of the 2004 Word Series Championship Team and played ten years with Boston. He had 912 Hits and 133 Home Runs for the Red Sox.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
73. Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Pedroia debuted in 2006 with the Red Sox two seasons after being drafted in the second round, and it did not take him long to prove that he belonged in the upper tier of American League players.
Playing at Second Base, Pedroia was still considered a rookie in 2007, and he would win the Rookie of the Year award with a .317 Batting Average and 165 Hits. That season, he helped the BoSox win the World Series, and Pedroia was cemented as a nationally known baseball star. Pedroia had an even better 2008, winning the AL MVP, leasing the league in Runs Scored (118), Hits (213), Doubles (54), was an All-Star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove winner. That was Pedroia’s best year, but he was far from done.
The infielder had three more .300 seasons and won three more Gold Gloves. For a small in stature baseball player, he had good power with five 15 Home Run seasons, and he was also able to steal 20 bases four times. Pedroia was considered one of the dugout leaders and won two more World Series Rings (2013 & 2018).
A knee injury in 2017 cut short his career, as he was only able to play in a combined nine Games in 2018 and 2019. He retired after sitting out the 2020 Season, with 1,805 Hits and a .299 Batting Average. The impact that Pedroia had in Boston will always be undeniable.
Dustin Pedroia Retires
Dustin Pedroia, who last played in 2019, has announced his official retirement from baseball.
Knee problems held Pedroia to only nine combined games in 2018 and 2019, and he did not play at all in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, so while this announcement is not unexpected, it is impactful considering what he meant to the Boston Red Sox.
Pedroia debuted in 2006 for Boston, two years after he was taken in the second round of the amateur draft, and the two years that followed for the Second Baseman was nothing short of magical. Pedroia won the 2007 Rookie of the Year Award, while also being the spark plug of the Red Sox team that won that year’s World Series. His following year did not add any finger jewelry, but his trophy case needed expanding. Pedroia won the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and MVP, and he was also the American League leader in Hits (213), Runs (118) and Doubles (54).
Remaining one of the top Second Basemen over the next half-decade, Pedroia went to four All-Star Games, and would be four-time Gold Glove recipient.
He retires with 1,805 career Hits, 140 Home Runs and a .299 Batting Average. Pedroia’s career bWAR of 51.6 places him 22ndall-time at his position, and his JAWS is 46.3, 20thall-time among Second Basemen. It is significantly lower than the average Hall of Famer at his position, 57.0, but many of those above him do not have two World Series rings and/or an MVP.
Pedroia will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, and in the near future, there will be a profile on him in our baseball futures section.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Dustin Pedroia the best in his post-playing career.
11. Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Pedroia debuted in 2006 with the Red Sox two seasons after he was drafted in the second round, and it did not take him long to prove that he belonged in the upper tier of American League players.
Awards = HOF? Part Twenty-Five: Gold Glove Second Base
Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential. In basketball, the team sport with the least amount of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher. In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.
We are now taking a look at the Gold Glove Award, given annually to the best defensive player in MLB in each respective position.