Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Full 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Revealed
The Baseball Hall of Fame released its official ballot for voting on the Class of 2026, with Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun and Edwin Encarnación among the first-timers joining Álex Rodríguez, Carlos Beltrán and Manny Ramirez.
Beltrán and Andruw Jones will hope this is the year they get the call after receiving 70.3 and 66.2 percent, respectively, of the vote in the 2025 balloting. Both are approaching the 75 percent threshold necessary for induction.
Time is running out in the case of Jones as this is his ninth year of eligibility. Players who don't get in after 10 years fall off the ballot.
The lack of any surefire Hall of Famers from the first-timers may give a boost to those legends getting another crack.
Hamels was a four-time All-Star and helped lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series title in 2008. During their playoff run, he allowed seven earned runs and struck out 30 batters in 35 innings. The southpaw was the NLCS and World Series MVP.
Braun had a blistering start to his career. Through his first six years, he slugged .568 with a 147 OPS+ while being a five-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and the National League MVP in 2011. Braun's performance dipped a bit as he got into his 30s, though, and MLB suspended him in 2013 for violating the league's drug policy.
Matt Kemp is another hitter who looked like he might be on a Hall of Fame-type trajectory. While finishing runner-up to Braun in 2011, he had 39 home runs, 126 RBI, 40 stolen bases and a 172 OPS+. Kemp had 8.0 WAR that year and posted 4.6 WAR for the remainder of his career, per Baseball Reference, as he battled persistent injuries.
Unlike Braun and Kemp, Encarnación peaked in his 30s. In his final four years with the Toronto Blue Jays, he had a .270/.363/.541 slash line and 151 homers. He was an All-Star three times during that period.
Alex Gordon, Shin-Soo Choo, Hunter Pence and Rick Porcello are some of the other notable names getting onto the Hall of Fame ballot.
One of the bigger subplots between now and Jan. 20, when the 2026 class is announced, is how much more support Rodríguez gains.
The 50-year-old is one of the greatest players of his generation. He has three American League MVPs, two Gold Gloves and 10 Silver Sluggers. His 696 home runs are the fifth-most in MLB history.
The specter of performance-enhancing drugs looms large over Rodríguez's career, though, and Hall of Fame voters have been slow to get behind him. He had a 34.3 percent vote share in 2022, and that number only climbed to 37.1 percent in 2025.
By comparison, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens got up to 44.3 percent and 45.2 percent by their fourth year on the ballot. Neither of those legends managed to hit 75 percent within 10 years.
With a dearth of strong candidates, this is a voting cycle where A-Rod can gain a lot of ground.
