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.

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.

Is it that time again!

One of our core lists on Notinhalloffame.com, our Baseball list of those to consider for the Baseball Hall of Fame has been revised.

The steps in our revisions are basic:

-Remove all of those who were inducted.  This included David Ortiz (#8), Gil Hodges (#11), Minnie Miniso (#14), Jim Kaat (#20) and Tony Oliva (#27).

-Input those we think worthy who are now eligible.

-Adjust rankings based on your votes and comments.

Before we announce our top ten, note that we did one major change.  We used to have three number ones, with Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson appearing as 1A and 1B since our inception, as both were deemed ineligible.  We have altered this with no multiples at the top, and although Rose and Jackson are still not welcome into Cooperstown, we disagree, and will keep them ranked.

The entire list can be found here, but here is our new top ten:

#1. Barry Bonds.  Bonds’ ten years of eligibility may have ended a few months ago, but the all-time leader in Home Runs leader won seven MVPs, despite there being a cloud of PED suspicion around him.  His chances now lie with the Veteran’s Committee.  Bonds was ranked at 1C last year.

#2. Roger Clemens.  Clemens is like Bonds, in that he too ended his regular stay on the ballot, and was likely excluded due to the belief that he might have used PEDs.  Clemens won the Cy Young seven times, and remains at #2.  

#3. Alex Rodriguez.  Unlike Bonds and Clemens, Rodriguez DID test positive for PEDs, which happened after the 2004 agreement between the players and MLB that outlawed the enhancers.  A-Rod was on his first year of eligibility, drawing only 34.3% of the vote, despite being a three-time MVP.  He holds the same rank as last year.

#4. Pete Rose.  Rose is the all-time leader in Hits, but he has been from baseball for gambling on the sport.  Ranked at #1A last year, Rose drops considerable on this list, but despite the issues of the players of above him, Rose actually has a significantly lower bWAR than Bonds, Clemens and Rodriguez.

#5. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.  Ranked #1B last year, Jackson is ineligible for the Hall due to his possible participation in the throwing of the 1919 World Series.  That being said, there are many, including us, who feel that he belongs.

#6. Lou Whitaker.  The former Tigers Second Baseman might not have lasted more than one year on the Hall of Fame ballot, but he was once on the Veteran’s Ballot, and is considered one of the more egregious snubs by sabremetricians.  He was ranked #4 last year.

#7. Bill Dahlen.  Dahlen was a previous Veteran’s Committee Nominee, and that is still the route in which he needs to gain entry to Cooperstown.  The Shortstop was a two-time leader in Defensive bWAR and won a World Series Ring with the Giants in 1905.  He was ranked #5 last year.

8. Curt Schilling.  Schilling asked to be removed off of the ballot, and that didn’t happen, and many of the voters acquiesced to his later request to be removed from consideration.  On his last year on the ballot, Schilling dropped from 71.1 to 58.6, and despite his resume, it is conceivable that he will never see a Veteran’s Committee ballot.

9. Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez entered the ballot in 2017, and offensively he statistically had a better resume than Ivan Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero, both of which are now in Cooperstown.  He is in the same vein as A-Rod, as he was popped for PEDs as a player.  Ramirez will enter his seventh year on the ballot, but has yet to crack 30%.

10. Carlos Beltran.  Beltran is the only new entry in his first year of eligibility, and the nine-time All-Star has the stats for the Hall, but his recent scandal involving the Astros World Series win, could cost him some votes.

There were other new entries, including closer, Francisco Rodriguez, who debuts at #172.  To close off the list, a new #300 had to come in, which was Derrek Lee.

Thank you all for your support, and we encourage you to cast your votes and offer your opinions.

Dubbed "K-Rod," Francisco Rodriguez established himself as a top reliever when he was a rookie and barely one at that.  

Rodriguez was called up in September of 2002, and due to injuries, he was given a vital role in the Angels' postseason, where he had 11 appearances, won five Games, and had a sub 1.000 WHIP in all three of Anaheim’s series.  The Angels won the World Series, and it is hard to imagine this happening without Rodriguez.

Proving his performance was no fluke, Rodriguez was a set-up man in 2003 before moving to the closer's role in 2004.  K-Rod was an All-Star in 2004 and would lead the American League in Saves in both 2005 & 2006.   Rodriguez went back to the All-Star Game in 2007 and 2008, with the Venezuelan recording a then-record 62 Saves.  He won the 2006 and 2008 Rolaids Reliever of the Year, and he finished in the top four in Cy Young voting three times.  Rodriguez left the Halos after the 2008 Season for the New York Mets as a Free Agent.

As an Angel, Rodriguez compiled 208 Saves with a 2.35 ERA.  

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.

Francisco Rodriguez would become one of the game’s better closers and best known almost immediately when he debuted for the Anaheim Angels is 2002.  He played only five regular season games that year and as the team’s set-up man he played a vital role in their World Series win.