2026 Baseball Hall of Fame: Who's in, eligible players & induction date

On December 7, the first inductee for the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced through the Veterans’ Committee. It started the process to decide all the individuals who will go into the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame. Now that the results for both it and the BBHOF ballot have been released, here’s a look at who will head to Cooperstown this upcoming year.

Contents

BBHOF Ballot inductees
Veterans’ Committee inductee
2026 Hall of Fame Ballot
Ford Frick Winner
2026 HOF Announcement Date
2026 HOF Induction Date

BBHOF Ballot inductees

Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran were the individuals who won enough votes to earn a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Beltran finished his career as one of the most decorated switch-hitters of all time. He finished his career with 435 career home runs, 312 stolen bases, and 2,725 career hits. His accolades include a World Series title in 2017, a nine-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner, and a two-time Silver Slugger winner.

Jones, meanwhile, was arguably one of the greatest defensive center fielders of all time. The former Brave ended his career with 10 NL Gold Glove awards, a Silver Slugger, and was the recipient of the 2005 NL Hank Aaron Award.

Beltran won 84.2% of the vote, while Jones received 78.4%. Other notables included:

Chase Utley (59.1%)
Andy Pettitte (48.5%)
Felix Hernandez (46.1%)
Alex Rodriguez (40%)
Manny Ramirez (38.8%)
Bobby Abreu (30.8%)

Veterans’ Committee inductee

Jeff Kent was the lone player to be voted in via the Veterans’ Committee.

Kent was arguably one of the greatest offensive second basemen in MLB history. A five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner, Jeff Kent finished his career with 11 seasons in which he hit 20+ home runs. He finished with 2,461 hits, 377 home runs, and a career slash line of .290/.356/.500 (.856 OPS).

Additionally, he was the winner of the 2000 NL MVP award.

The full Veterans’ Committee ballot included Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela.

Former players, select media members, and current & former owner(s) and/or baseball executives comprise the committee.

The 2026 ballot

Moving back to the BBHOF ballot, here’s a look at all the players who were on the 2026 ballot:

Unlike 2025, there were no “locks” for this year.

Discounting Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, both of whom have to deal with PED scandals, as well as the bubble names from past years, the most notable names aside from the returnees are newcomers Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, and Cole Hamels, plus Chase Utley & Felix Hernandez.

Braun (47.2 bWAR) was one of the most prolific power hitters of the late 2000s and early 2010s. A former first-round pick by the Brewers, Braun had 30+ home runs in five of his first six seasons, highlighted by a career-high 41 in 2012. Braun beat out Matt Kemp, also one of baseball’s best at that time, for the 2011 NL MVP.

However, a positive PED test, coupled with a drop in production after 2012, hurts his candidacy.

Hamels (59.0 bWAR) has a much better case. The former Phillies left-hander doesn’t have any regular-season award accolades to his name aside from four All-Star appearances. However, Hamels was a very reliable pitcher for almost all of his career. He won the NLCS MVP, World Series MVP, and a championship with the Phillies in 2008.

He ended his career with a 3.43 ERA, 163 wins, and 2,560 career strikeouts.

As for the returning notables, Andruw Jones was on his penultimate BBHOF ballot. Jones, a multi-time Gold Glove and terrific power hitter, came in at 66.2% last year. And then there was Beltran, who was unable to crack through on the ballot in his first three years after the sign-stealing scandal from 2017.

The 2025 ballot, though, was heavy on superstar, slam dunk talent. Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia easily got to the 75% marker, while Billy Wagner hit over 80% in his final ballot.

Utley (39.8%) and Hernandez (20.6%) both received over 20% in 2025.

Ford Frick Inductee

Former Cardinals announcer and long-time MLB on FOX play-by-play man Joe Buck will receive the nod.

Buck is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as he received the Pete Rozelle Award a few years earlier.

When were the BBHOF ballot results released?

January 20, 2026.

When & where is the 2026 Hall of Fame ceremony?

The 2026 Hall of Fame ceremony will take place in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26, 2026.

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