Just Baseball’s Staff Hall of Fame Ballot
Before the results of the 2026 BBWAA Hall of Fame election are revealed, take a look at who the Just Baseball staff would name on our ballots.
We are just hours away from finding out the results of the 2026 BBWAA National Baseball Hall of Fame election. But it’s not just those in the writers association filling out ballots and providing analysis on this topic.
Here at Just Baseball, we had 24 members of our staff fill out ballots of their own. Like in the normal process, our writers picked up to 10 of the 27 names on this year’s ballot. What followed was a somewhat similar and somewhat different result from the one you will see when the BBWAA results come out. Here is the breakdown.
By BBWAA standards, the Just Baseball staff elected three new members to the Hall of Fame. Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Alex Rodriguez all received at least 75% of the vote, the threshold needed for induction.
Félix Hernández was a near miss at 70.8%, and five other candidates received at least 13 votes, making nine total who collected more than half of the staff vote.
Since the voting process began in 1936, there have only been two instances in which nine players received at least 50% of the vote — it happened in 1947 and 2017. Although the minds of our staff appear to be more open than those of the BBWAA Hall of Fame voters, the most recognition is going to the same places.
2026 BBWAA Hall of Fame vote totals as of Monday, January 19.
Carlos Beltrán
There was a near consensus for Beltrán among the Just Baseball staff. The former Royals, Mets, Astros, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers outfielder received all but one of the votes from our team. With 95.8% of the JB vote, he was by far the most popular candidate on our ballot.
The same can be said for the real ballot, as he currently sits at 88.8% of the public vote. As the candidate most certain to be inducted into the Hall of Fame tonight, he was a no-brainer for most of our staff.
Andruw Jones
Whether or not Jones is voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA is a mystery we won’t know the answer to until the results are revealed.
What we do know is that he received 83.3% of the vote from Just Baseball writers. This is right in line with the 83.7% of the vote he’s collected so far from the BBWAA. The show-stopping defense and 434 home runs have taken voters from everywhere by storm.
“Most fWAR between 1997-2007? Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and then Andruw Jones,” one Just Baseball writer noted. “Best defensive rating in that same time frame? Andruw Jones (133.5, second place being Adrian Beltre at 108.2).”
Alex Rodriguez
There is perhaps no greater discrepancy between the Just Baseball staff and the BBWAA than in the case of Alex Rodriguez. While he received 75% of the vote from the Just Baseball staff, he has only attained 42.8% of the BBWAA vote this year and has never finished an election cycle with more than 37.1% of the vote.
A-Rod’s case comes down to one question: How far will you go in denying a player entry to the Hall of Fame due to a positive PED test?
On one hand, Rodriguez twice tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, lied about it, and additionally, he received his substances from Biogenesis, a company that illegally distributed PEDs to several players. On the other, he was arguably the greatest shortstop who ever played the game.
Although the Just Baseball staff was more open to his case, not everyone was on board.
“I’ve always been of the belief that A-Rod was a generational talent even before steroids,” one writer said. “My stance was the same with Barry on the ballot.”
“If Barry Bonds isn’t in the HOF, A-Rod and Manny shouldn’t be either,” said another. “Gotta be consistent.”
Manny Ramirez
Despite being in the same boat, Ramirez was not treated with the same grace as Rodriguez. Manny ended up with 54.2% of the Just Baseball vote — more than the 40% support he’s gotten from the BBWAA — but several votes behind A-Rod. With a weaker overall career and even more off-the-field issues, the tune is very different on one of the game’s greatest hitters.
“I have no problem forgiving a single steroid suspension, or anyone who was caught up in PEDs before Major League Baseball fully cracked down,” a writer said. “However, Manny was caught three times, with his latest coming as late as 2011. His numbers are more than good enough, but it’s a pass for me on character.”
“Manny Ramirez and Andruw Jones do not get my vote due to domestic violence arrests,” another noted.
Félix Hernández
The rise of King Félix has been the biggest storyline of this election cycle. After settling for 20.6% in his debut year in 2025, Félix currently sits at 56.7% of the current BBWAA vote and is on track to record the largest year-to-year jump for any candidate in history. The Just Baseball staff took it one step further and gave him 70.8% of the vote.
While Hernandez flamed out in his 30s and had a rather abrupt ending to his career, what he did in the years leading up to that was enough to convince much of our staff.
“Félix Hernández was on a bad team winning games and Cy Young Awards,” a writer said. “While team wins do matter, I don’t believe it to be a full determining factor for a starting pitcher.”
Bobby Abreu
Abreu’s case has struggled to gain traction. After six years on the ballot, he has failed to crack even 20% of the vote. Although he currently sits at 39.1% on this year’s ballot, an eventual climb to 75% does not look realistic. However, the Just Baseball team thinks of him more fondly.
Abreu received 62.5% of the vote from our 24 ballots. It’s clear that with his case, Just Baseball values his overall statistics over the lack of accolades collected throughout his career.
“Bobby Abreu is a guy that had all of the Hall of Fame talent but none of the aura,” one writer claimed. “He’s the fourth player since integration with a .390+ OBP and 400 stolen bases.”
“Abreu was one of the most well-rounded offensive players of the modern era,” another said. “With an unusual combination of power, speed and discipline.”
Chase Utley
Another former Phillie, Utley, also received 62.5% of the vote from the Just Baseball staff. It’s a similar mark to the 67.9% he’s currently at with BBWAA writers this year. Utley is seen as one of the trendier players on this year’s ballot. It’s a trend many of our writers are following.
“Utley has one of the more underrated Hall of Fame cases in recent memory, especially with the weakness of the second base position historically,” a writer of ours noted. “60+ fWAR as a second baseman? Yeah, I’m in.”
Andy Pettitte
Pettitte’s Hall of Fame case began a much-needed move in the right direction last year. After lingering around 10-17% between 2020 and 2024, he broke through to 27.9% in 2025. This year, he’s continuing to make big strides, polling at 56.7% of all current BBWAA votes. Among Just Baseball voters, he received 62.5% of the vote.
Pettitte admitted to using HGH during his career to relieve an elbow injury. This has been costly to his case throughout his time on the ballot, but it has become more and more overlooked over time.
“While fully aware of the ‘character clause,’ I still believe that eras change and the best of the best should be honored in a museum that recognizes baseball history,” a writer said, “Just like I’ve previously felt players like Bonds and Clemens should be in, I continue to cast votes for guys like Pettitte and Rodriguez.”
Cole Hamels
As the headliner of the first-year class on this ballot, Hamels is putting up a strong opening act. As of now, he has appeared on 31.2% of BBWAA ballots, and he was also present on 58.3% of Just Baseball ballots.
The results of the BBWAA election will be announced starting at 6 p.m. ET this evening.
Written by
Daniel Curren is a writer with Just Baseball. He loves sabermetrics, baseball history, and the Hall of Fame.