ESNY’s Hall of Fame Ballot, 2026 Edition

It’s that time of year again, baseball fans. The month-plus when we agonize over which of our favorite players will get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

We all know the process, at least by now, is mostly arbitrary. Limiting pitchers’ innings means less members of the illustrious 300-Win Club. Additionally, with pitchers only throwing harder and faster, hitters elite enough to slug 500 home runs, let alone 400, are also rare.

And yet, we pay attention every winter because baseball just has that effect. These were some of our favorite players who wowed us on the field regularly. ESNY doesn’t have a Hall of Fame vote but if a ballot hit our desk? Here’s how it might shake out.

Cole Hamels (LHP, 163-122, 3.43 ERA, 2,560 K). Hamels is on the ballot for the first time and should yield the highest vote share of his fellow first-timers, if he’s not inducted outright. The big lefty spent 15 seasons in the bigs, mostly with the Phillies, and took home both a World Series ring and World Series MVP honors in 2008. Hamels also pitched for the Rangers, Cubs, and Braves near the end of his career.

The strikeouts are there, wins are meaningless, and Hamels was a legit ace for most of his career, even on some bad Phillies teams. He’s in.

Chase Utley (2B, .273 BA, 1,885 H, 259 HR, 1,025 RBI). Joining Hamels on this ballot is his longtime Phillies teammate Utley, who spent 12-and-a-half of his 16 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love. Utley then finished his career with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers and remained an above-average hitter into his late 30s.

His numbers don’t really pop, but it’s important to remember that in HOF voting, being the best at your position matters. Utley was a six-time All-Star and, were it not for injuries, easily would have cleared 2,000 hits and maybe even 300 home runs. This is his fourth year on the ballot and he got nearly 40% of the vote last winter, so watch for a big jump in vote share.

Carlos Beltran (OF/DH, .279 BA, 2,725 H, 435 HR, 1,587 RBI). Beltran received over 70% of votes in his fourth year on the ballot last year, so he should be a lock for a plaque. Forget his being the alleged architect of the Astros cheating scandal that netted him his first and only World Series ring in 2017. Beltran was probably the best switch-hitter of his generation, garnering nine All-Star nods and three Gold Gloves.

He never won an MVP and dealt with some injuries in the middle of his career. That didn’t stop Beltran from continuing his career, which enjoyed a nice little revival in his mid-30s. In 20 seasons with the Royals, Giants, Mets, Yankees, Rangers, Cardinals, plus two stints with the Astros? Beltran is a true Hall of Fame journeyman.

Torii Hunter (OF, .277 BA, 2,452 H, 353 HR, 1,391 RBI). Remember what we said about being the best at your position counting for something? Looking at Torii Hunter’s stats, that he’s entering his sixth year on the ballot and saw his vote share drop last year is troubling. He won nine Gold Gloves and robbed a potential Barry Bonds home run in the 2002 All-Star Game.

A lot of this has to do with running into some stacked first-ballot classes, but regardless. Torii Hunter could play. He came up with the Twins and then had stints with the Angels and Tigers before returning to the Twins for a retirement tour in his age-39 season. He continued to play at a high level into his late 30s and only posted a negative WAR twice: during a six-game cup of coffee in 1998, and in his final season in 2015.

And even then, a 39-year-old hunter still hit .240 while mashing 22 home runs.

Felix Hernandez (RHP, 169-136, 3.42 ERA, 2,524 K). Over the next few Hall of Fame classes, don’t be shocked if you hear certain pitchers described not as aces, but “innings-eaters.”

King Felix, somehow, managed to be both. He took home the AL Cy Young in 2010 and was a six-time All-Star who twice led the league in ERA. Hernandez also tossed nearly 1,800 innings from 2008-15, his age-22-through-29 seasons. All that mileage on his right arm took a toll, and he started declining starting at 30 years old.

The pandemic halted an attempted comeback with the Braves in 2020, and he couldn’t even break camp with the Orioles the following year. That still doesn’t take away that for nearly a decade, Felix Hernandez’s pitching was indeed king-like.

Andy Pettitte (LHP, 256-153, 3.85 ERA, 2,448 K). We are not going to re-litigate his one or two times using PEDs to heal an elbow injury to disqualify Andy Pettitte. He came clean, is universally beloved, and the numbers back it up. And his regular season stats aside, Pettitte is the all-time leader in postseason wins, starts, and innings-pitched.

But let’s take the numbers out of the argument for a second and focus on Andy Pettitte the pitcher. He was a tall, lanky lefty with a high leg kick and minimal velocity. And somehow, he lasted 18 seasons with the Yankees and Astros in the height of the Steroid Era. Retiring after the 2010 season and then coming back for two more strong seasons in 2012 and ’13 is the icing on the cake.

Get Andrew Eugene Pettitte his plaque.

Andruw Jones (CF, .254 BA, 1,933 H, 434 HR, 1,289 RBI). The Curaçao Kid is back for his ninth year on the ballot after getting over 66% of votes last winter. Jones was the best center fielder of his time not named Ken Griffey Jr., taking home a whopping ten Gold Gloves in 17 years.

Jones’ downside is that he declined hard. He hit .222 in his age-30 season in 2007 before a forgettable year with the Dodgers in ’08. Jones then came back as a right-handed power platoon. He spent four more seasons with the Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees. The stats aren’t the best but it’s like we’ve said about Utley and Hunter. Being the best player at your position matters.

Bobby Abreu (OF, .291 BA, 2,470 H, 288 HR, 1,363 RBI). Here, we have a guy who’s admittedly a long shot. Abreu is entering his seventh year on the ballot and only got 19.5% of votes last go-around. This isn’t a surprise, Abreu only made two All-Star teams and spent half his career on some awful Phillies teams.

Despite that, Abreu was durable and rarely injured. He hit over .300 six times. A more underrated anecdote, he didn’t sign with the Angels until right before spring training started in 2009. He then hit .293 with 103 RBI in his age-35 season. Abreu also played for the Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets.

It didn’t matter how good or bad his team was. Bobby Abreu deserves a plaque simply raising the bar in how to show up.