2025 BBWAA HOF Ballot
Happy New Year! It’s once again time to talk about the Hall of Fame, this time the writers’ ballot. There are plenty of worthy candidates returning to the ballot, and two standout first year candidates to watch. Japanese icon Ichiro Suzuki is a lock for induction this year. Although he didn’t debut until he was 27, the spry savant amassed over 3,000 hits, 1,400 runs, 10 All-Stars and Gold Gloves, not to mention two batting titles, a Rookie of the Year, and a MVP. He also holds the single season hit record, with 262 in the 2004 season. Although not the first Japanese player in MLB, his smashing success paved the way for other Japanese stars such as Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish, and Shohei Ohtani. The only question about Ichiro is whether or not he’ll be unanimous.
Don’t sleep on ace lefty C.C. Sabathia’s chances on his debut ballot. As one of just three left handed pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts (Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson the other two), Sabathia was the definition of a workhorse. Add in 250 wins, a Cy Young, a World Series, and an ALCS MVP, and you’ve got a Hall of Famer, especially in this era.
Among the other first-year candidates, there are a few who could survive the 5% threshold to remain on ballot for another year. Félix Hernández was one of the most dominant starters in baseball from 2007 - 2015, but that might not be enough for the writers. Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler were both excellent second basemen that frankly lack the longevity needed for enshrinement, but are certainly worthy cases to discuss, particularly on the same ballot as sabermetric darling Chase Utley. Russell Martin and Brian McCann come up short in the traditional counting stats that writers demand from catchers, but their advanced framing metrics put them in similar ranks as Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, and Yadier Molina.
Of the returning candidates, Billy Wagner came up just short last year (73.8%), and he will need a push to get over in his final year on the ballot. In his second to last year, Andruw Jones appears to be stalling around 60% of the vote, not far off from induction, but not close enough to be confident he’ll make it this year or the next. Carlos Beltrán and Chase Utley appear to be on track for induction in a few years time, though they’ll need to continue their growth. AROD, ManRam, and Andy Pettitte would be in the Hall if not for PEDs, and they’re not getting in anytime soon. How many will join Dick Allen and Dave Parker for a July celebration? Find out January 21st when the results are announced.
Audio clips from Youtube
#3,000 for Ichiro - Fox Sports Florida Sun - Rich Waltz
Laser Throw from Ichiro - Fox Sports Northwest - Rick Rizzs
Single season hit record for Ichiro - Root Sports Northwest - Dave Niehaus
CC gets 3K K’s - YES Network
King Felix Perfecto - RSNW - Dave Sims
Dustin Pedroia Leadoff WS HR - FOX - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.
Catch you next time,
P.C..O.
