Baseball Hall of Fame 2026 Results: Winners and Losers
- Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones are the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- The Baseball Writers' Association of America elected the pair to Cooperstown's Class of 2026 with 84.2% and 78.4% of the vote, respectively.
- ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers and Jorge Castillo break down what the 2026 election tells us and look ahead to the 2027 ballot and...
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the results are in! Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones are the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected the pair to Cooperstown’s Class of 2026 with 84.2% and 78.4% of the vote, respectively. They join Jeff Kent,who was elected by the contemporary baseball era committee in December.
ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers and Jorge Castillo break down what the 2026 election tells us and look ahead to the 2027 ballot and beyond.
Besides those elected, who is the biggest winner on this year’s ballot?
Olney: Last year, Felix Hernandez polled at 20.6% of the vote in his first year on the ballot, and this year, he took a major step forward, to 46.1%, in what now appears to be a steady march toward election.There was a time when King Felix was in the conversation for best pitcher on the planet,winning the AL cy Young Award in 2010,and it seems that his lack of gaudy accumulation stats — he finished his career with 169 victories and 2,524 strikeouts — are something voters will accept.
Rogers: Chase Utley is headed in the right direction.His third time on the ballot produced enough of a leap — from 39.8% to 59.1% — to believe he’ll get in sooner than later. His increase is similar to what Jones and Beltran experienced before they were elected. Add on the fact that Utley finished with the highest percentage of votes among those who did not get in this year — meaning he could be next up. With seven years remaining on the ballot, he’s now on track to be a Hall of Famer.
Castillo: Felix Hernandez and every other elite modern starting pitcher with dominant peaks lacking the historic prerequisites centered on counting stats for enshrinement. Not only does his jump this year suggest he’ll eventually reach 75%, but that he’ll reach that number sooner than previously expected after a career that concluded with a 3.42 ERA across 2,279 innings. That’s a victory for him and other future starting pitchers who didn’t compile the huge counting stats of yesteryear’s top starting pitchers.
Doolittle: King Felix. I’ve been troubled by what I see as a potential underrepresentation for modern-day starters in the Hall. (A lot more on that coming thursday.) The jump in support for Hernandez is really encouraging. His career is almost certainly going to look more like the typical Hall of Fame starter in the future than those of Justin Verlander, Max
Beltrán leads BBWAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Carlos Beltrán was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), announced Tuesday. He received 84.2% of the vote, easily surpassing the 75% threshold needed for induction. Andruw Jones followed closely with 78.4%, also earning a spot in cooperstown. Chase Utley rounded out the class with 59.1% of the vote.
The voting results, released on January 21, 2026, reflect a shifting landscape in Hall of Fame criteria.Félix Hernández’s strong showing - 46.1% in just his second year on the ballot – demonstrates a diminished emphasis on traditional statistics like wins. Hernández amassed only 169 career victories but still garnered significant support, despite never appearing in a postseason game.
“the leap Felix Hernandez made is a reminder that we are about to enter a new era of starting pitching criteria,” said ESPN’s Jeff Passan.”Wins are just not going to be a thing moving forward.”
andy Pettitte, a 256-game winner, also saw an increase in his vote percentage, further supporting this trend. Passan predicts a positive outlook for future candidates like Jon Lester, who will appear on the ballot next year. Lester is expected to benefit from the evolving voting standards.
Though, the results also indicate continued resistance to players linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Álex Rodríguez, despite a notable career, faces an uphill battle for induction after receiving only 40% of the vote in his fifth year on the ballot. Players disciplined for PED use continue to struggle to gain traction with BBWAA voters.
Here’s a look at the top vote-getters:
- Carlos Beltrán: 358 votes (84.2%)
- Andruw Jones: 333 votes (78.4%)
- Chase Utley: 251 votes (59.1%)
- Andy Pettitte: 206 votes (48.5%)
- Félix Hernández: 196 votes (46.1%)
- Álex Rodríguez: 170 votes (40%)
- Manny Ramírez: 165 votes (38.8%)
- bobby Abreu: 131 votes (30.8%)
- Jimmy Rollins: 108 votes (25.4%)
- Cole Hamels: 101 votes (23.8%)
- Dustin Pedroia: 88 votes (20.7%)
- Mark Buehrle: 85 votes (20%)
- Omar Vizquel: 78 votes (18.4%)
- David Wright: 63 votes (14.8%)
- Francisco Rodríguez: 50 votes (11.8%)
- Torii Hunter: 37 votes (8.7%)