It’s just a short five days until Jan. 21, the date when the Baseball Hall of Fame will unveil the inductees for the Class of 2025.
Thanks to the Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, created by Ryan Thibodaux and diligently maintained by Anthony Calamis and Adam Dore, we have a glimpse of how all the candidates are faring on the publicly released ballots, with 163 out of an estimated 392 ballots currently accounted for.
At present, we have one player with a flawless record, one player with an almost perfect record, and two more surpassing the 75% threshold for induction.
Which candidates have the most votes so far?
Four players have garnered at least 75% of the vote on publicly released ballots.
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Ichiro Suzuki — 100%, 163 votes
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CC Sabathia — 93.3%, 152 votes
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Billy Wagner — 84.7%, 138 votes
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Carlos Beltran — 80.4%, 131 votes
Since our previous update, Suzuki has maintained a perfect score, Wagner’s percentage remains constant, and both Sabathia and Beltran have seen an increase in their vote shares.
Both Suzuki and Sabathia are in their inaugural year on the ballot. Beltran is in his third year, while Wagner is in his 10th and final year. If Wagner doesn’t secure induction this year, he will no longer be eligible for BBWAA induction but can still be considered by the various Era Committees.
While only 30% of all ballots were publicly disclosed in the previous update, that figure has now risen to 41.1%. Despite the growing percentage, having enough votes at this stage doesn’t guarantee induction for any of the candidates. They still require substantial support on the remaining ballots to maintain the 75% threshold.
Here’s the number of additional votes each candidate needs to reach the 75% mark:
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Ichiro Suzuki — 131 votes
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CC Sabathia — 142 votes
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Billy Wagner — 156 votes
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Carlos Beltran — 163 votes
To become the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee after Mariano Rivera, Suzuki requires votes on every remaining ballot, both public and private — approximately 229 in total.
Who’s in danger of falling off the ballot?
As mentioned, Billy Wagner is in his 10th and final year of eligibility and will be off the ballot after this year regardless.
A player is removed from next year’s Hall of Fame ballot if they fail to secure at least 5% of the vote in the current year. Apart from Wagner, 11 players are at risk of falling off the ballot next year.
Below are the players with less than 5% support on the publicly revealed ballots and the number of votes they need to remain on the ballot for 2026.
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Russell Martin — 4.5%, needs 13 more votes
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Brian McCann — 3.8%, needs 14 more votes
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Ian Kinsler — 2.6%, needs 16 more votes
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Torii Hunter — 1.3%, needs 18 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 Ramirez — 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 Gonzalez — 0.0%, needs 20 more votes
Out of these players, 10 are in their first year on the ballot, with Torii Hunter being the only exception in his fifth year. Russell Martin had over 5% support in the previous update but has since seen his backing dwindle as more ballots have been unveiled, putting him at risk of falling off next year’s ballot.