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.

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 (8^th 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.

We have updated our Baseball futures, opening the 2025 section of all the new players who will be eligible for Cooperstown that year.

Those former players are:

Adam Jones:  Jones played for Baltimore for the majority of his career, and he was a five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and one-time Silver Slugger.  He had 1,939 Hits and 282 Home Runs.

Ben Zobrist:  Zobrist won two World Series Rings, one with Kansas City in 2015, and the year after in Boston, where he was the World Series MVP.  He was also a three-time All-Star.

Brian McCann:  McCann was an Atlanta Brave for the majority of his career, though he won a World Series with the Astros in 2017.  The Catcher was a six-time Silver Slugger and seven-time All-Star.

Carlos Gonzalez:  Gonzalez went to three All-Star Game, won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and belted 234 Home Runs.

CC Sabathia:  Sabathia won the 2007 American League Cy Young with Cleveland, and was also a six-time All-Star.  Twice leading the AL in Wins, Sabathia won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009.  His career ended with a 251-161 Record in 3,093 Strikeouts.

Clay Buchholz:  Buchholz was a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox.  He won 90 Games against 69 Losses with 1,024 Strikeouts.

Curtis Granderson:  Granderson had a long career accumulating 1,800 Hits and 334 Home Runs, with three All-Star Game appearances and a Silver Slugger.  He also won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2015, and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2016.

Dustin Pedroia:  Pedroia played his entire career with Boston, winning two World Series titles, an MVP (2008), and a Silver Slugger.  He is also considered one of the best defensive Second Baseman of his era, capturing four Gold Gloves and three Wilson Defensive Players.  He batted .299 with 1,805 career Hits.

Felix Hernandez:  Hernandez was a Seattle Mariner for all of his games, and he would win the Cy Young in 2010.  A six-time All-Star, Hernandez twice led the AL in ERA, and would finish his career with 2,524 Strikeouts and had a record of 169-136.

Fernando Rodney:  Rodney had 327 Saves and was a three-time All-Star.  He won the 2012 Delivery Man of the Year and as of this writing is in the top twenty in Saves, Games Finished and Games Pitched.

Francisco Liriano:  Liriano went to one All-Star Game and won a World Series Ring late in his career with the Astros in 2017.  He had 1,815 Strikeouts with a 112-114 Record.

Hanley Ramirez:  Ramirez was the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year, and won the Batting Title three years later.  He was also a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger.

Ian Desmond:  Desmond is a two-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and the Shortstop had 1,432 Hits with 181 Home Runs.

Ian Kinsler:  Kinsler was a four-time All-Star who had his best seasons with Texas.  He won two Gold Gloves, one Wilson Defensive Player Award, and won a World Series late in his career with Boston (2018).

Ichiro Suzuki:  Suzuki is a member of the 3,000 Hits Club, and if you count what he did in Japan, he has more than any other batter.  The long-time Mariner won the 2001 MVP, 2001 Rookie of the Year, and won three Silver Sluggers, ten Gold Gloves, and was a ten-time All-Star.  Suzuki also won two Batting Titles, led the AL in Hits seven times, and stole 509 Bases.

Jason Vargas:  Vargas had a career record of 99-99, went to the 2017 All-Star Game and won the World Series with Kansas City in 2015.

Kendrys Morales:  Morales was a World Series Champion with the Royals in 2015, and was a one-time All-Star Game participant.

Mark Reynolds:  Reynolds smacked 298 Home Runs over a 12-year career.

Mark Trumbo:  Trumbo went to two All-Star Games, was a one-time Silver Slugger and he won the American League Home Run Title in 2016.  He had 218 Home Runs over his career.

Martin Prado:  Prado went to one All-Star Game and had 1,542 Hits.

Melky Cabrera:  Cabrera won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009 and was an All-Star in 2012.  

Russell Martin:  Martin played at Catcher and was a four-time All-Star, and won one Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.  He also was a two-time Wilson Defensive Player, and had 191 Home Runs.

Troy Tulowitzki:  Tulowitzki played most of his career with Colorado, and went to five All-Star Games while winning two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.  He had 225 Home Runs in his career.

The entire list can be found here.

As always, thank you for your support and look for more content from us at Notinhalloffame.com.

C.C. Sabathia might have been more famous for the second half of his career as a New York Yankee, but the first seven-and-a-half seasons for Sabathia were in Cleveland…and they were damned good ones.

In a tumultuous year that was not normal for anything and everything including baseball, one thing that might be back to normal is voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Granted, the 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has 14 returning candidates, with just about every one of them owning cases for induction that range from borderline to compelling.

With the Yankees post-season now officially over, the career of CC Sabathia is now officially over. Arguably, it ended three days before in Game 4, when he had to leave the game when his knee buckled and his shoulder appeared to give out.  He limped off the field and was replaced on the post-season roster.  This was not the way that he wanted to go out, but that is often the case for the great ones.

From Vallejo, California, Sabathia made his debut in 2001 with the Cleveland Indians and he would go 17 and 5 and finish behind Ichiro Suzuki for the American League Rookie of the Year.  The southpaw would later go to the All-Star Game in 2003 and 2004 and in 2007, where he would ho to his third All-Star Game, he would have his best season to date.  That year, he would go 19-7 with 209 Strikeouts and lead the AL in Innings Pitched (241.0) and SO/BB (5.65).  Sabathia would also win the Cy Young in that campaign.  

2008 would see him traded to the Milwaukee Brewers midway through the season.  Sabathia was an impending Free Agent, and Cleveland was not performing well.  He would finish off the season in the National League by going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and help the Brewers make the playoffs.  Despite only having 17 Starts, he would finish fifth in Cy Young voting.

Sabathia would sign with the New York Yankees for the 2009 Season, and this will would be the third and final team he would play for.  That year, Sabathia would help the Bronx Bombers win the World Series and he would win the American League Championship Series MVP.  That year, he would lead the AL in Wins (19) and finished third in Cy Young Voting.  

The Pitcher would then go on a three-year run of All-Star Game selections and in 2010, he would again lead the AL in Wins with 21, a career-high.  He would also notably finish third and fourth in Cy Young voting in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Sabathia reached 3,000 Strikeouts this year, and retires with 3,093.  As of this writing, 18 Pitchers have reached the 3,000 K milestone, and all of those who are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame have been inducted with the exception of Curt Schilling.  It could be decades before we see a 300 Game winner in the Majors, and Sabathia retires with 251, which is arguably the “modern 300”.  He was the active leader in the category and he is 47^thall-time.  

In terms of advanced statistics, Sabathia has a career bWAR of 62.5, which is below the average Hall of Famer (73.2), as is his 51.2 JAWS below the HOF average of 61.5.  Sabathia’s numbers might be low in those metrics, but he has been considered such a special for so long, that it should not hurt him at all.  The fact that he was a six-time All-Star, Cy Young Winner and a World Series Champion are in your face accomplishments, and that won’t be ignored.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish CC Sabathia the best in his post-playing career, and we would like to thank him for the memories. 

Milestones mean more in baseball than it does in any other sport and when you achieve a major one it automatically generates a Hall of Fame discussion.  The conversation today is that last night C.C. Sabathia reached 3,000 Strikeouts over his career making him the 17^thplayer in Major League history to achieve that plateau.  The 3,000^thwhiff came against Arizona’s John Ryan Murphy and he followed up with two more ending at 3,002 for the night.   

Sabathia had announced earlier that this would be his final season in baseball and he has a chance to increase his rank as he is behind John Smoltz (82), Curt Schilling (114) and Bob Gibson (115), all of which are reachable should he be able to maintain a number comparable to his last year’s number.  

With the exception of Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, everyone who has 3,000 Strikeouts is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He is also three wins away from the 250 milestone, which is a number that many feel is akin to 300 Wins in the past based on how pitch counts work driving starters out of the game much earlier.  Sabrmetrically he is well behind as his 63.2 career bWAR is well below the 73.2 average that Starting Pitchers have who are in Cooperstown.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate C.C. Sabathia for achieving this very impressive landmark and we will be watching when he goes for win number 250.

With the start of the Major League Baseball season we here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to look at some of the milestones that could be achieved by future/potential Hall of Fame inductees. There is no sport more than baseball where statistics and thereby compiling said digits can help you enter a Hall of Fame. As such, there are some significant plateaus in six key statistics that could be reached this year.

Home Runs:

Is there a sexier stat in Baseball?

Of course not!

Albert Pujols is already stamped for Cooperstown but he still has some more milestones to collect and hall of famers to exceed. The Angel has 614 career Home Runs, which is good enough for 7th all-time and is 16 away from Ken Griffey Jr. Pujols is certainly in decline but he still puts up decent power numbers so a change in the top ten should take place this year.

Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera are both 38 Home Runs away from the magical 500 number. Both should be able to make it eventually, but it is unlikely that either will go yard enough to make that this year. Edwin Encarnacion is only 2 away from 350. Giancarlo Stanton, who is now with the New York Yankees hit 59 last year. He only needs 33 this year to reach 300.

Hits:

Two active players and future Cooperstown residents, Ichiro Suzuki (3,080) and Adrian Beltre (3,048) have collected over 3,000 Hits and Albert Pujols is 32 away from joining them. While we are not sure about seeing Miguel Cabrera get his 500th Home Run this season he is 114 Hits away from 2,750. With the exception of Pete Rose (banned) and Barry Bonds (PED) the only eligible players who have hit that mark and have not received a Hall of Fame call are Harold Baines (2,866), Johnny Damon (2,769) and Vada Pinson are not in. Cabrera already has a better resume than those three.

Robinson Cano needs 124 Hits to reach 2,500 and Joe Mauer is 14 away from 2,000.

bWAR for Position Players:

Like it or not traditionalists, this a statistic that matters, even though nobody will talk about where they were the day their favorite player accrued a three digit career bWAR.

Coincidentally we could see that happen this year as Albert Pujols has a career bWAR of 99.4, just a fraction away…however he was already there before the last year began as his 2017 output was -1.8!   Basically he already was the 31st member of the 100 bWAR club only to have his membership rescinded.

In more specific terms of the average bWAR for Hall of Famers in relation to their position only Robinson Cano can hit a significant mark. At present he has a 65.9 bWAR, which is lower than the 69.5 average of Hall of Fame Second Basemen. A 3.6 bWAR in 2018 is not out of the realm for Cano, though it is worth noting that he already has a higher JAWS than the average Second Baseman (58.2 to 57.0).

Wins:

Arguably, this traditional metric means less and less but in terms of accumulating stats this is still highly regarded, though it may be a long time before we see another 300 game winner. We might however see a new 250 game winner this year.

It is unlikely that it will happen from the active Wins leader, Bartolo Colon. At present, he has 240 Wins but is struggling to latch on to any team. C.C. Sabathia however has a good shot as he has 237 career Wins and is playing for a loaded New York Yankees team. If he equals his output from last year (14) he is there.

If 200 is the new 300 as it has been suggested in some circles than recent World Series winner Justin Verlander should be the next to join what is now an elite club. He only needs 12 more Wins and with a full season in Houston he should get there this season.

Strikeouts:

While 300 Wins seems unattainable, 3,000 Strikeouts does not. At present there are 24 300 game winners and only 16 members of the 3K Strikeouts Club, with all but Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling who are enshrined. A 17th member could happen this year. C.C. Sabathia is 156 Ks from the club though based on his recent production in that metric it could take until 2019 for him to reach it.

The 2,500 Strikeout plateau sees Justin Verlander 84 away. Another former Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez is 158 away but that he will have to return to All Star form for it to occur this year.

bWAR for Pitchers:

The average bWAR for a Hall of Fame Starting Pitcher is 73.4. The highest for any active hurler is Sabathia at 59.8, so it can safely be stated that this is not being equalled in 2018.   The one to watch here is Clayton Kershaw who in seven seasons less than Sabathia has a 58.8 bWAR. He could easily take over as the active bWAR for Pitchers leader and considering that the three time Cy Young winner was the runner-up for the award last year he is still in his prime, while Sabathia is not. Whether or not Kershaw gets to 200 Wins (he is at 144 now) he is very close to being a sabremetric lock.

The only other interesting potential Pitching milestone of note appears to have limited chance of happening as Francisco Rodriguez, who has 437 career Saves (fourth overall) has just been cut by the Philadelphia Phillies so reaching 450 might prove difficult.

These are the milestones we will be looking at this season. Are there any that you are looking for?

Either way, Hall of Fame career will be made this year.