Ranking Every Player on the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot

Joel Reuter

Ranking Every Player on the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot

Jonathan Daniel/ The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was officially released by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Monday, with 14 newcomers joining the 14 holdovers from last year's ballot who received the five percent support necessary for another year of consideration and have not yet exhausted their 10 years of eligibility.
Among the holdovers, Billy Wagner (73.8 percent), Andruw Jones (61.6 percent) and Carlos Beltrán (57.1 percent) came the closest to receiving the 75 percent of votes necessary for induction. Wagner is also in his 10th and final year of eligibility on the ballot.
Among this year's crop of newcomers, Ichiro Suzuki has a terrific case for a first-ballot selection as a member of the 3,000-hit club, while CC Sabathia should also receive strong support in his first year of eligibility.
Voting results for the 2025 Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Jan. 21, but for now, here is a ranking of all 28 players on this year's ballot based on their career stats, accolades, reputation and likelihood of being enshrined.

Nos. 28-25

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Rodney made 951 career appearances over 17 seasons in the big leagues, tallying 327 saves to rank 19th on the all-time list. The three-time All-Star finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting in 2012 when he posted a 0.60 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 48 saves in 76 appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays.
27. OF Carlos González ( 24.4 WAR )
With one of the smoothest left-handed swings of his era, CarGo hit .285/.343/.500 during his 12-year career. He won the NL batting title in 2010 when he batted .336/.376/.598 with 34 doubles, 34 home runs, 117 RBI, 26 steals and 5.9 WAR to finish third in NL MVP balloting. He was a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger winner.
A five-time All-Star and one of the best players in recent Baltimore Orioles history, Jones won four Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger during his 14-year career. During his five-year peak, he posted a 116 OPS+ while averaging 31 doubles, 29 home runs, 90 RBI and 4.1 WAR as one of the best center fielders in baseball.
Martin was a four-time All-Star and one of the most well-rounded catchers of his era as a power-speed threat offensively and a standout defender. He had 1,416 hits, 191 home runs, 771 RBI and 101 steals in 14 seasons, and he made the playoffs in 10 of his 14 seasons in the majors. His production was instrumental in helping the Pirates break a 20-year playoff drought.

Nos. 24-21

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Widely regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball history, Vizquel won 11 Gold Glove Awards over 24 seasons. A middling career 82 OPS+ and allegations of sexual harassment by a former bat boy during his time as a coach in the Chicago White Sox minor league system will likely keep him out of Cooperstown, and he had a fringe case at best anyway.
McCann hit .262/.337/.452 for a 110 OPS+ while racking up 282 home runs and 1,018 RBI over 15 seasons. One of the best offensive catchers in the last 25 years, he had 10 seasons with at least 20 home runs, and he was a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger with the Braves, Yankees and Astros.
22. SS Hanley Ramírez ( 38.0 WAR )
A dynamic power-speed threat early in his career with the Marlins and a middle-of-the-order run producer later with the Dodgers and Red Sox, Ramírez had 1,834 hits, 271 home runs and 281 steals over 15 seasons. He won NL Rookie of the Year in 2006, had a 30/30 season in 2008 and won the NL batting title in 2009 when he hit .342 and was runner-up in NL MVP voting.
Zobrist was one of the first true super-utility players, seeing everyday playing time while bouncing between second base and the outfield while also playing some shortstop early in his career. He won back-to-back World Series titles in 2015 and 2016 with the Royals and Cubs, and he took home MVP honors during the 2016 Fall Classic. In 14 seasons, he posted a 114 OPS+ with 1,566 hits, 167 home runs, 768 RBI and 116 steals while earning three All-Star selections.

Nos. 20-17

Photo By Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via
Granderson slugged 344 home runs in 16 seasons, including a pair of 40-homer seasons during his time with the Yankees. The three-time All-Star had eight seasons with at least 3.0 WAR, peaking in 2007 when he filled up the box score and hit .302/.361/.552 with 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs, 74 RBI, 122 runs scored and 26 steals in a 7.6-WAR campaign.
Tulowitzki appeared to be on a potential Hall of Fame trajectory early in his career, piling up 37.8 WAR before his age-30 season. However, injuries limited him to just 330 games and 6.7 WAR in his 30s, and he retired after a brief five-game stint with the Yankees when he was 34 years old. At his peak, he was the best shortstop in baseball during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
A four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Kinsler was an elite power-speed threat offensively, and he owns two of the six 30/30 seasons in MLB history by a second baseman. He had 1,999 hits, 416 doubles, 257 home runs, 909 RBI and 243 steals over 14 seasons, posting at least 4.0 WAR nine times while playing for the Rangers and Tigers.
17. RP Francisco Rodríguez ( 24.2 WAR )
K-Rod burst onto the scene during the 2002 postseason, posting a 1.93 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 18.2 innings while tallying five wins and three holds as a 20-year-old rookie for the eventual World Series champion Angels. He quickly developed into one of the league's best closers in the years that followed, setting the single-season record with 62 saves in 2008 and racking up 437 career saves in 16 seasons to rank fourth on the all-time list.

Nos. 16-14

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Over his first six full seasons in the majors before injuries derailed his career, Wright hit .306/.387/.515 for a 137 OPS+ while averaging 42 doubles, 27 home runs, 108 RBI, 103 runs scored, 23 steals and 4.8 WAR per 162 games. He ended up playing only 77 games after his age-31 season before spinal stenosis eventually ended his career or he might have been a no-doubt Hall of Famer.
With 2,452 hits, 353 home runs, 1,391 RBI and nine Gold Glove Awards, Hunter is one of the best two-way outfielders in the last 50 years. He was arguably the best defensive player in baseball at his peak with the Minnesota Twins, and he continued to produce well into his late 30s. He has yet to break 10 percent voting support in four years on the ballot, and his peak actually came in his first year of eligibility with 9.5 percent.
Buehrle rattled off 14 straight seasons of at least 200 innings pitched, and while he was never overpowering, he was the definition of a crafty left-hander who made the most of his stuff to win 214 games with a 3.81 ERA in 3,283.1 innings. He threw a no-hitter and a perfect game, and he won a World Series ring in 2005. He received 8.3 percent of the vote last year in his third year of eligibility.

Nos. 13-11

Jed Jacobsohn/13. SP Félix Hernández ( 49.7 WAR )
A six-time All-Star, two-time ERA title winner and the 2010 AL Cy Young winner, Hernández was squarely in the conversation for best pitcher in baseball at the peak of his career. He made his MLB debut as a 19-year-old, then rattled off 10 straight seasons of at least 30 starts while anchoring the Seattle rotation. In 15 seasons, he went 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 2,524 strikeouts in 2,729.2 innings.
Rollins falls in the same "Hall of Very Good" range as guys like Bert Campaneris (53.1 WAR), Jim Fregosi (48.7 WAR), Miguel Tejada (47.1 WAR), Tony Fernandez (45.3 WAR) and Troy Tulowitzki (44.5 WAR) in terms of career WAR among shortstops. His 2007 NL MVP award does raise his profile a bit higher, and he was a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner as one of the top-tier shortstops of his era.
The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year winner and 2008 AL MVP, Pedroia was a bona fide superstar for the Red Sox who helped lead the team to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013. The four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner had 1,805 hits, 140 home runs, 725 RBI and 138 steals in 14 seasons, though a knee injury he suffered in his age-33 season cut his career short. Otherwise, he might have ended up with a more compelling case.

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It would be interesting to see what type of support Andy Pettitte would receive from voters if not for a positive PED test and admission of use in an effort to return faster from an injury.
With 256 wins and a 3.85 ERA over 3,316 innings, he does not have a slam-dunk case from a regular-season standpoint, but his 3.81 ERA over 276.2 innings in the playoffs and five World Series rings might have been enough to push him over the top.
His voting support thus far peaked at 17.0 percent in 2023, though that dropped back to 13.5 percent last year. He has four years of eligibility remaining and a long way to go.

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One of the most underrated players in MLB history, Bobby Abreu was an on-base machine throughout his career and a perennial 20/20 player during his prime with the Philadelphia Phillies.
He was a 5-WAR player seven different times over his 18-year career, and he ranks in the top 25 all-time in doubles (574, 25th) and walks (1,476, 20th).
After failing to reach 10 percent of the vote in each of his first three years on the ballot, he received 15.4 percent support in 2023 and 14.8 percent in 2024. He has a long way to go, but with the ballot clearing out a bit, he could see a nice uptick this time around.

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During his first five seasons as an everyday player, Chase Utley hit .301/.388/.535 for a 135 OPS+ while averaging 39 doubles, 29 home runs, 101 RBI, 111 runs scored and 7.9 WAR.
A few more seasons of that peak performance would have given him a more compelling body of work, but he was already 26 years old when he finally earned an everyday role. Still, his 64.5 WAR ranks 15th all-time among second basemen, slotted right in between Hall of Famers Craig Biggio (65.5) and Jackie Robinson (63.9).
For comparison's sake, Biggio received 68.2 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot and took three years to get over the hump. Utley checked in with just 28.8 percent support in his first year of eligibility in 2024.

7. OF Carlos Beltrán

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Carlos Beltrán is one of only five players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays and Andre Dawson.
He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1999 with the Kansas City Royals, had a 38-homer, 42-steal contract year in 2004, and made good on a seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets. One of the best switch-hitters of his era, he was also a .307/.412/.609 hitter with 16 home runs in 65 career postseason games.
Beltrán received 46.5 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2023, and that jumped to 57.1 percent last year. It will be interesting to see how voters reconcile his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal in the coming years as he potentially moves closer to that 75 percent threshold.

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A pair of PED-related suspensions at the end of his career have thus far kept Manny Ramirez out of the Hall of Fame, and his 32.5 percent support last year was a small step backward from the 33.2 percent he received in 2023.
He finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting eight years in a row in his prime, posting a 163 OPS+ while averaging 35 doubles, 41 home runs and 130 RBI during that span. He ranks in the top 20 of all time in home runs (555, 15th) and RBI (1,831, 20th).
On top of his impressive regular-season numbers, Ramirez also logged a .937 OPS with 29 home runs and 78 RBI in 111 career postseason games, winning rings with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.

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Everyone ranked below Alex Rodriguez on this list is either also a PED user, a fringe Hall of Fame candidate or a "Hall of Very Good" player. Everyone ranked ahead of him should be considered a solid bet to one day be called a Hall of Famer.
A-Rod is being used at the dividing line because in terms of statistical production, he is one of the greatest players ever to step onto a baseball field. He successfully lived up to the immense hype that surrounded him when he was chosen No. 1 overall in the 1993 draft and then made his MLB debut a year later at the age of 18.
Rodriguez admitted to using PEDs during his time with the Texas Rangers, and after watching Barry Bonds fall off the ballot without getting to 75 percent, it's likely he will suffer a similar fate. So far, he has received 34.3, 35.7 and 34.8 percent of the vote in his three years of eligibility, and last year's downturn is not a promising sign.

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Among relief pitchers who debuted after 1990, when the bullpen started to more closely resemble how relievers are used today, Billy Wagner trails only Mariano Rivera (56.3 WAR) and Trevor Hoffman (28.1 WAR) with his 27.8 WAR.
With all due respect to John Franco, Randy Myers, Dave Righetti and others, Wagner has a strong case to be called the best left-handed reliever in MLB history.
His support has grown from 10.5 percent in his first year on the ballot in 2016 to 73.8 percent last year, and he is now knocking on the door for induction heading into his 10th and final year of eligibility.

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CC Sabathia went 17-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 180.1 innings as a 20-year-old rookie in 2001, and he spent the better part of the next two decades as a workhorse ace in Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York.
He won 2007 AL Cy Young in Cleveland, and the following year he helped lead the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs when he went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and seven complete games and three shutouts in 17 starts after coming over in a midseason rental trade.

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Here's a list of every player who won 10 Gold Glove Awards and hit 400 home runs in their careers:
1. Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Andruw Jones
3. Willie Mays
4. Mike Schmidt
Jones hit 368 home runs and tallied 61.0 WAR in 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves through his age-30 season. That essentially became his career body of work when injuries limited him to 435 games and 1.7 WAR for the remainder of his career after he left Atlanta.
His seven years on the ballot have gone 7.3 percent, 7.5 percent, 19.4 percent, 33.9 percent, 41.4 percent, 58.1 percent and 61.6 percent, so he is trending in the right direction with three more chances to earn his place among baseball's immortals.

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Ichiro Suzuki was already 27 years old when he became the first position player to make the MLB jump from the Japanese League, and he had 1,278 hits and a .353/.421/.522 line over nine seasons with the Orix Blue Wave before he joined the Seattle Mariners.
Despite that late start to his MLB career, he still managed to reach 3,000 hits in the big leagues, thanks in large part to a 10-year run at the beginning of his career when he hit at least .300 and tallied at least 200 hits every year.
He won AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in 2001 on a 116-win Mariners team, set the single-season hits record when he batted .372 with 262 knocks in 2004, and he was one of the faces of baseball during the 2000s.
His legacy is as much about his impact paving the way for a generation of Japanese League players as it is his on-field production, and he is not only a clear candidate to be a first-ballot selection, but he could also make a run at receiving 100 percent of the vote.

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