My HOF Ballot

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Merry Christmas!

It is that time of year again to spread goodwill towards men with Christmas greetings and my Baseball Writers’ Association of America 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. Candidates who receive 75 percent or more of ballots cast will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the Cooperstown Class of 2026.

I am blessed to be able to vote for the Hall of Fame after putting in the work of covering baseball for … a lifetime. A lot of games. A lot of clubhouses. A lot of planes, a lot of hotels, a lot of interviews — a lot of words written. It is an honor and a privilege, and my selections are usually pretty well received by the readers; like last year on the 2025 ballot when I chose 10 players that I thought were Hall worthy, including three selections that were voted into the Hall by the writers: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

There were 394 ballots cast last year and 296 were needed for election. Ichiro got 393 votes, Sabathia received 342 votes, and Wagner got 325 votes. Congratulations to all three once again on their Hall of Fame careers.

I am old enough – and have been for quite some time, and getting older and wiser every year – where I have seen these players on the ballot play their entire professional careers, and even one player I put on my ballot this year I have seen play since Little League. More on that later as I go through my selections.

Face it, PED players are already in the Hall — and who really knows how many players in that era were ahead of the testing, pitchers as well as hitters.

The Hall of Fame currently does not have all-time hits leader Pete Rose in the Hall. Rose owns 4,256 hits. Same goes for the all-time home run leader in Barry Bonds with 762 career home runs, and a pitcher who has won seven Cy Young Awards in Roger Clemens.

I voted for Bonds and Clemens when they were on the writers’ ballot, but they did not get enough votes and the recent votes of the 16-person Contemporary Baseball Era Committee also kept Bonds and Clemens out of the Hall; after their poor showing this time around Bonds and Clemens cannot appear on the era ballot again until at least 2031.

The Steroid Era continues to cast a large, large shadow.

Jeff Kent was elected by the committee, and he is baseball’s all-time home run leader for second basemen. Kent, Bonds’ former teammate in San Francisco, hit 351 of his 377 home runs as a second baseman, so there is that. Welcome, Jeff Kent.

This is why I stand where I stand on PED players. As I have said repeatedly: once the commissioner of baseball Bud Selig and various managers who were rewarded by the exploits of their PED players with those managers and Selig being elected to the Hall of Fame, I got off the Steroid Wall that many writers continue to stand on to this day. That is fine, it is a vote and everyone I know who votes takes the job seriously.

But as for me, I will leave that wall to Colonel Jessup, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson in the movie A Few Good Men: “You want me on that wall – you need me on that wall.’’

Face it, PED players are already in the Hall — and who really knows how many players in that era were ahead of the testing, pitchers as well as hitters. So, as with Bonds and Clemens I am keeping it all on the field. It is that simple. I had my votes; those players did not receive enough votes during their time on the BBWAA ballot so that is the way it goes.

The HOF ballot moves on and so do I.

As for Pete Rose, I never got the opportunity to vote for him – no writers did – because of the 1991 Pete Rose Rule, but if I had the chance to vote for the all-time hits leader, Charlie Hustle would get my vote as well; especially in this era where MLB is in bed every single game, every inning, every pitch with all the gambling houses.

Same goes for Shoeless Joe Jackson, I’d vote for him if I could. Shoeless Joe has the third highest batting average in MLB history at .356, behind only Ty Cobb (.366) and Rogers Hornsby (.358). Cobb was part of the first HOF class, way back in 1936. Hornsby was inducted in 1942. Yes, as another Hornsby sang many decades later, that’s just the way it is, maybe Pete Rose, who died on September 30, 2024, will someday have his day in the HOF sun.

I’m keeping it simple, MLB’s all-time hits leader, Rose, needs to be in the Hall of Fame, same goes for MLB’s all-time home run leader Bonds, and a seven-time Cy Young winner in the Rocket. I also believe fans of those players deserve to see those stars in the Hall. It is a museum. Put all the information on their plaques, good and bad.

If baseball could not guard the wall, I am not about to — as you can see again by my 2026 Hall of Fame ballot, so here are my eight selections in alphabetical order. You can vote as many as ten players for the Hall, but I did not go there this year — and as I always say every year: this is my ballot, not yours.

Deal with it. The Great Eight.

Carlos Beltran:

I voted for Carlos last year when he received 277 votes, 70.3 percent and I fully expect him to get into Cooperstown this year. Dave Parker and Dick Allen both were elected to the Hall by the Classic Era Committee in December of 2024. Beltran’s numbers are just as good or better. Beltran produced more home runs (435), hits (2,725) and RBIs (1,587). One of only four players in history with at least 1,500 runs scored, 2,700 hits, 400 home runs and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez. A solid choice.

Cole Hamels:

Don’t freak out on this pick but I have known Cole since Little League, back in San Diego at Carmel Mountain Ranch Little League where I coached for years – and then saw him at Rancho Bernardo High School. I saw him develop on the baseball field from Day One and this is an Appreciation Vote for how he played the game, how he treated people, and how well he pitched. The lefty did it right and put up some impressive numbers. Good job to Cole and his parents, too. His 1,844 strikeouts during his 10 seasons with the Phillies ranked third over that span. In 2008 he was named both the League Championship Series and the World Series MVP, leading the Phillies to their first title since 1980.

Andruw Jones:

An amazing centerfielder, best in his class. His defense was super (10 Gold Gloves, and he was a home run hitter (434), and I am a Big Hall guy. I think more players should be in the Hall because I believe that it is good for the fans of those players to visit their heroes. I keep it simple and my man HOFer Chipper Jones said it best: “If Andruw Jones plays for the Yankees for 15 years with 10 GGs, 400 HRs and 1,300 RBIs, is he a HOFer? Lemme answer for you … first ballot!” I think Jones makes it this year.

Andy Pettitte:

Speaking of Yankees, I believe in wins for starting pitchers. Baseball is slowly learning again that wins are important. Starting pitchers get wins by pitching deep into games and by having a lead when they leave. It is the basis of starting pitching. Pettitte (256) had more wins than Sabathia (251). And Andy pitched 3,316 innings and won five championships with the Yankees. Topped the 200 innings pitched mark in 10 seasons.

Manny Ramirez:

Manny hit .312 over his 19-year career with 555 home runs and was Mr. Entertainment. An RBI machine, 12 times reaching 100 RBI mark. Hit, hit, hit. This is his 10th and final year on the ballot.

Alex Rodriguez:

This is a no-brainer: A-Rod slugged 696 home runs, produced a lifetime .295 average, 2,086 RBI and 2,021 runs scored and 3,115 hits. Three-time MVP winner.

Jimmy Rollins:

I like shortstops, they are the glue that holds a team together. I also voted for shortstop Omar Vizquel. Rollins scored 1,421 runs while Vizquel scored 1,445 runs. Jimmy had some punch too with 231 home runs and really livened up those battles with the Mets. Led NL in triples four times. Jimmy walked the walk and talked the talk with the brazen Phillies.

Omar Vizquel:

Like Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, Vizquel was a wizard with the glove, racking up 11 Gold Gloves. Run prevention, baby. He even won a Gold Glove at the age of 39, the oldest shortstop to ever win a GG. Career leader in defensive games at shortstop with 2,709. Also, all-time leader in double plays turned at shortstop with 1,734. Played 24 seasons and accumulated 2,877 hits.

There you have it, my HOF ballot for the Class of 2026.

Eight is enough for now. Merry Christmas!