The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot includes 14 holdovers and 14 newcomers. We can make educated guesses about some of the newbies like Ichiro Suzuki (welcome to the Hall of Fame) and CC Sabathia (maybe he’ll make it this year, maybe not, but he’ll probably get there eventually) as well as second basemen who could hang around in Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler.
It’s possible that the rest of the new registrants on the ballot are here for just one round, but this is an impressive group of one-gier supporters, so let’s give them their due here in a way relatively fast.
I’m going to list 10 of them in order of what I think their chances are of hanging around on the ballot or even just getting a vote. My main goal here is to highlight the great careers of these players and give fans a chance to see their Hall of Fame resumes instead of just dismissing them out of hand. They deserve some congratulations for participating in the vote.
Felix Hernández
There was a time when it would have been strange to think that King Felix would be out of the Hall of Fame in his first year, but that happened to Johan Santana. I think there’s a good chance he’ll stay on the ballot, but his career collapsing by the time he turned 30 is what will keep him from getting in.
During his age-29 season, Hernández had a Cy Young with two second-place finishes in addition to three other top 10 finishes and six trips to the All-Star Game. He had 143 wins (despite playing for bad Mariners teams) and over 2,000 strikeouts with a career ERA of 3.11. This is the foundation of a Hall of Famer. He went 26-35 with a 4.89 ERA and a 0.0 WAR for the rest of his career.
Overall, Hernández was 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA (117 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP and 2,524 strikeouts in 2,729 ⅔ innings. His best statistically similar matches are all “Hall of the Very Good” type matches with Cole Hamels, Kevin Appier, John Lackey and Jake Peavy. He’s 97th in JAWS, coincidentally sitting right behind another pitcher who had a short spike in Sandy Koufax. Hernández didn’t have a Koufaxian peak, though, meaning he had to compile a lot more than Koufax. Other nearby pitchers here at JAWS are Frank Viola, Roy Oswalt, Mark Langston and Kenny Rogers.
Cooperstown’s doors have finally opened to Larry Walker and Todd Helton, so maybe that makes the road easier for Tulo?
Tulowitzki finished fifth in MVP voting twice, eighth once and received votes three other years. He is a five-time All-Star with two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. He had four 6+ WAR seasons and two more above five.
Overall, Tulowitzki hit .290/.361/.495 (118 OPS+) with 1,391 hits, 264 doubles, 24 triples, 225 home runs, 780 RBIs, 762 runs and 57 stolen bases. He had some big postseason success and appeared in one World Series, but overall hit .213/.260/.368 in 35 postseason games.
Tulowitzki ranks 28th in JAWS for shortstops, a decent jog below the Hall of Fame standard and around Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada.
A Swiss army knife on defense for most of his 14-year career, Zobrist played in the World Series for three different teams, winning two rings and winning the 2016 World Series MVP. Winning the World Series for the Cubs and the Royals while having success with the Rays seems like a nice feather in his cap.
In the regular season, he hit .266 but with an excellent OBP of .357. Add in his .426 hitting and that’s good for a 113 OPS+. He finished with 1,566 hits, 349 doubles, 44 triples, 167 home runs, 768 RBIs, 884 runs and 116 stolen bases.
The ability to play anywhere has made Zobrist very valuable, but in Hall of Fame terms, his numbers fall short. He has played the most at second base and ranks 27th there in JAWS, flanked by Tony Phillips and Chuck Knoblauch, a short hop and a decent jump behind Pedroia and Kinsler while having considerable margin behind Chase Utley, who remains on the ballot.
It’s possible that one of baseball’s really nice guys might get a few votes from those who enjoyed covering him.
Speaking of nice guys…
Grandy has had some amazing statistical seasons. In 2007, with the Tigers, he had 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs and 26 steals. A few years later, he hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons for the Yankees. In 2011, he scored 119 points while scoring 136 times, finishing fourth in MVP voting.
The three-time All-Star won a Silver Slugger and a Roberto Clemente Award.
When the dust settled on Granderson’s 16-year career, he had hit .249/.337/.465 (113 OPS+) with 1,800 hits, 346 doubles, 95 triples, 344 home runs, 937 RBIs, 1,217 points and 153 stolen bases.
In 64 playoff games, Granderson had nine doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 30 RBIs, 27 runs and nine steals, hitting .224/.317/.424.
JAWS ranks him 33rd among center fielders, well below Hall of Fame standard and around very good players like Bernie Williams, Devon White, Ellis Burks and Torii Hunter.
A four-time All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glover, Martin finished 13th in MVP voting (2014). He played in 58 playoff games for four different franchises.
Over 14 seasons, Martin slashed .248/.349/.397 (101 OPS+) with 1,416 hits, 255 doubles, 191 home runs, 771 RBIs, 803 runs and 101 stolen bases.
Behind the plate, Martin, the owner of a real cannon, led the majors in runners caught stealing four times and added to his own league lead two more times.
In JAWS, Martin ranks 28th all-time among receivers, just behind Darrell Porter, Jim Sundberg and Lance Parrish.
We’ll stick with the catcher position here, as McCann sits seven spots behind Martin in JAWS at 35th all-time, a little behind Victor Martinez and a little ahead of Javy López and Mickey Tettleton.
In McCann’s 15-year tenure, he has made the playoffs 11 times with three different teams, winning the World Series in 2017 with the Astros.
One of the most consistent power catchers, McCann topped 20 home runs 10 times. The only other receivers to achieve this feat were Mike Piazza (12 times), Johnny Bench (11) and Yogi Berra (11 times).
Overall, McCann hit .262/.337/.452 (110 OPS+) with 1,590 hits, 294 doubles, 282 home runs, 1,018 RBIs and 742 runs. The seven-time All-Star has won six Silver Sluggers.
Hanley Ramirez
Rookie of the Year, a shortstop in 2006 with the Marlins, Ramírez would end up playing third base, left field and then first base with four different teams at the end of his career. He won a batting title in 2009 and finished second in MVP voting that year. The three-time All-Star won two Silver Sluggers and topped 50 stolen bases twice.
In his 15 years, Ramírez hit .289/.360/.486 (124 OPS+) with 1,834 hits, 375 doubles, 32 triples, 271 home runs, 917 RBIs, 1,049 runs and 281 steals.
In his 20 playoff games, Hanley has generally stepped up his efforts. He hit .380/.450/.577 with nine doubles, a triple, a home run and 14 RBIs.
JAWS ranks him 42nd among shortstops, slightly ahead of Omar Vizquel and Rafael Furcal while closely trailing Tony Fernández.
A model of consistency for the Orioles of the 2010s, Jones led with 25 homers and 80 RBIs six straight years. The five-time All-Star won four Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and finished sixth in MVP voting (2012), receiving votes in two other years.
Overall, Jones hit .277/.317/.454 (106 OPS+) with 1,939 hits, 336 doubles, 29 triples, 282 home runs, 945 RBIs, 963 runs and 97 stolen bases. He also led AL center fielders in assists three times.
In JAWS, Jones is 81st all-time among center fielders, right around Shane Victorino, Jacoby Ellsbury, Lance Johnson and Marquis Grissom.
Jones is not a Hall of Famer, but the fact that he is so low on the ballot is a testament to the relative burden he has this year.
Carlos Gonzalez
In his breakthrough 2010 campaign, Cargo won the batting title (.336) while leading the NL in hits and the majors in total bases. He finished third in MVP voting. He never reached that level again, but still made three All-Star teams while winning three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.
He finished his career hitting .285/.343/.500 with a 112 OPS+, 1,432 hits, 302 doubles, 40 triples, 234 home runs, 785 RBIs, 821 runs and 122 stolen bases.
Additionally, even though it was only four games, it’s worth noting that in the 2009 playoffs, González went 10 for 17 (.588) with two doubles and a home run.
He ranks 94th in JAWS in left field, next to Garret Anderson and Shanon Stewart.
Things may be starting to get a little easier for the relievers, but Rodney feels he’s unlikely to get a vote. Perhaps his best use at this point is as an all-around Immaculate Grid play, as he has appeared in the majors for 11 different teams. The three-time All-Star had his best season in 2012 for the Rays and was good enough to finish fifth in AL Cy Young voting.
In his 17 years, he saved 327 games (19th all-time) with a 3.80 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 943 strikeouts. However, not everything related to WAR is kind in terms of Hall of Fame prospects. For example, he is 326th among JAWS relievers, close to Glen Perkins, Scott Linebrink and Danny Graves.
