Announcement day for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 is fast approaching. On Jan. 21 we’ll know who will be immortalized with a plaque on the wall of the Hall of Fame museum.
Thanks to the Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, created by Ryan Thibodaux and faithfully maintained by Anthony Calamis and Adam Dore, we can see how all the candidates are doing on publicly released ballots — of which there are 118 out of an estimated 388 ballots likely to be returned. Thus far, we have one player with a perfect record, one player with a near-perfect record, and two more above the 75% threshold for election.
Which candidates have the most votes so far?
There are four players who have garnered at least 75% of the vote on publicly released ballots.
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Ichiro Suzuki (100%)
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C.C. Sabathia (90.7%)
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Billy Wagner (84.7%)
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Carlos Beltran (76.3%)
Both Suzuki and Sabathia are in their first year on the ballot. Beltran is in his third year, and Wagner is in his 10th and final year. If Wagner is not elected this year, he will no longer be eligible for induction by the BBWAA, but will be eligible to be inducted through the various Era Committees.
Having enough votes now, with only 30% of all ballots publicly known, doesn’t mean any of those candidates are a lock for induction. They all still need significant support on the remaining ballots in order to maintain at least 75% of the vote. Here’s how many more votes they need to hit the 75% threshold:
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Ichiro Suzuki — 173 votes
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C.C. Sabathia — 184 votes
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Billy Wagner — 191 votes
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Carlos Beltran — 201 votes
To become the second-ever unanimous Hall of Fame inductee (behind Mariano Rivera), Ichiro needs votes on every single remaining ballot, both public and private — approximately 270.
Which players have seen the biggest jumps in support?
Beltran has seen a huge jump in support among the publicly availably ballots. Seventeen voters who did not check his box in 2024 have changed their mind and cast a vote for him in 2025. He’s gained 16 votes in all, which includes one lost vote from a previous Beltran voter.
Andy Pettitte, largely thought of as borderline Hall guy, has also seen a massive increase in votes on public ballots. He’s gained 16 new voters and lost just one previous voter, so he’s net +15. He is currently at 30.5%, more than double his final 13.2% from 2024. It’s his sixth year on the ballot, so he has just four more tries to garner enough support to make it to 75%, but this is a positive development for Pettitte devotees.
Andruw Jones, who finished last year with 61.6%, is currently just under the election threshold at 72%. He’s gained eight votes from returning voters this cycle, but would need votes on 208 of the remaining 270 ballots to gain entry. In his seventh year on the ballot, he’ll have three more tries to make it to 75%
Who is in danger of falling off the ballot?
As mentioned earlier, Billy Wagner is in his 10th and final year of eligibility and will fall off the ballot after this year no matter what.
Beyond Wagner, there are 10 players in serious danger of falling off the ballot. A player is removed from next year’s Hall of Fame ballot if they fail to garner at least 5% of the vote in the current year. Below are all the players who currently have less than 5% support on the publicly revealed ballots, and how many more votes they need to remain on the ballot for 2026.
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Brian McCann — 4.2%, needs 15 more votes
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Ian Kinsler — 3.4%, needs 16 more votes
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Torii Hunter — 0.8%, needs 19 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
Of those players, nine of them are in their first year on the ballot. The only exception is Torii Hunter, who is in his fifth year.