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The day of the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 announcement is quickly approaching. On January 21 we will find out who will be immortalized with a plaque on the wall of the Hall of Fame museum.
Thanks to the Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, created by Ryan Thibodaux and faithfully maintained by Antonio Calamis and Adam Doré, We can see how all the candidates are doing on the publicly released ballots, of which there are 118 of an estimated total of 388 ballots that are likely to be returned. So far, we have one player with a perfect record, one player with a near-perfect record, and two more above the 75% threshold to be picked.
Which candidates have the most votes so far?
There are four players who have obtained at least 75% of the votes on publicly published ballots.
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Ichiro Suzuki (100%)
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CC Sabathia (90.7%)
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Billy Wagner (84.7%)
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Carlos Beltrán (76.3%)
Both Suzuki and Sabathia are in their first year on the ballot. Beltran is in his third year and Wagner is in his 10th and final year. If Wagner is not elected this year, he will no longer be eligible for induction by the BBWAA, but will be eligible for induction through the various Era Committees.
Having enough votes now, with only 30% of all ballots publicly known, doesn’t mean any of those candidates are a lock for induction. All of them still need significant support in the remaining votes to maintain at least 75% of the votes. Here are how many more votes they need to reach the 75% threshold:
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Ichiro Suzuki – 173 votes
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CC Sabathia — 184 votes
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Billy Wagner – 191 votes
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Carlos Beltrán — 201 votes
To become the second unanimous Hall of Famer (behind Mariano Rivera), Ichiro needs votes on each of the remaining ballots, both public and private: approximately 270.
Which players have seen the biggest increases in support?
Beltrán has seen a huge increase in support among publicly available ballots. Seventeen voters who didn’t check his box in 2024 changed their minds and voted for him in 2025. He has gotten 16 votes total, including a missed vote from a previous Beltran voter.
Andy Pettitte, largely considered a man on the edge of the Hall, has also seen a massive increase in votes at the public polls. He has gained 16 new voters and only lost one previous voter, so he is net +15. He’s currently at 30.5%, more than double his final 13.2% in 2024. It’s his sixth year on the ballot, so he only has four more tries left to get enough support to reach 75%, but This is a positive development for Pettitte Devotees.
Andruw Jones, who finished last year with 61.6%, is currently just below the 72% electoral threshold. He has earned eight votes from returning voters this cycle, but would need votes on 208 of the remaining 270 ballots to qualify. In his seventh year on the ballot, he will have three more attempts to reach 75%.
Who is in danger of being left out of the polls?
As mentioned above, Billy Wagner is in his 10th and final year of eligibility and will be off the ballot after this year no matter what.
Beyond Wagner, there are 10 players who are in serious danger of being left off the ballot. A player is removed from next year’s Hall of Fame ballot if he fails to obtain at least 5% of the vote in the current year. Below are all the players who currently have less than 5% support on publicly revealed ballots and how many more votes they need to remain on the ballot for 2026.
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Brian McCann: 4.2%, needs 15 more votes
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Ian Kinsler: 3.4%, needs 16 more votes
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Torii Hunter: 0.8%, needs 19 more votes
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Ben Zobrist: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Troy Tulowitzki: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Fernando Rodney: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Hanley Ramírez: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Adam Jones: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Curtis Granderson: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
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Carlos González: 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
Of those players, nine are in their first year on the ballot. The only exception is Torii Hunter, who is in his fifth year.