Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 13, 2026
While frigid temperatures are engulfing the majority of these United States, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is staying warm determining who will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2026 will be made on Tuesday, January 20. And the Hot Stove season has been in full bloom as the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber and solitude.
Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.
“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2026 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) may inch closer to the magic 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.
The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility expired. To further slam the lid on Bonds and Clemens, the Contemporary Era Committee also denied them Hall admission in December 2025. Needing at least 12 of 16 votes, Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than five, thus making them ineligible for the next CEC vote in three years.
The Contemporary Era Committee did vote to admit Jeff Kent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, thus vindicating Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For three years in a row, Shaughnessy cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote was a protest against the steroid players. BBWAA members may vote for up to 10 eligible candidates. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year.
Perhaps Shaughnessy is on to something regarding Jeff Kent. A friend asked me to revisit Kent, heretofore not on any of my “ballots” in the previous nine years. He’s no fan of Kent, so it seemed worth the time. Kent played for six teams throughout his 17 year MLB career, was five times an all star, earned votes for the MVP seven times, including winning that award in 2000. He hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman - the most in history at that position. He hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs eight times - also most for a second baseman. In total Kent had 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, drove in 1,515 runs, while scoring 1,320, and batted .290. Solid numbers for a middle infielder and one who played cleanly. Kent appeared on 32.7 percent of the BBWAA ballots in 2022, thus it is unlikely he will more than double that number and qualify for the Hall in his final year of eligibility. (This paragraph is “borrowed” from my 2023 Hall of Fame column.)
Votes for Ramirez, in his ninth, and penultimate, year on the ballot inched up slightly to 34 percent in 2025 from 32.5 percent in 2024, while Rodriguez checked in with 37.1 percent of the vote in 2025, his fifth year on the ballot, up from 34.8 percent of the vote in 2024. Perhaps the mediocre vote totals for Ramirez and Rodriguez is a good sign the BBWAA voters understand how wrong it is to reward a player for cheating, and that the use of such substances is cheating.
I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next six years as Alex Rodriguez is on the ballot for the fifth year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.
Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”
Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, almost certainly would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)
“...integrity, sportsmanship, character…” Those three words are the basis for not supporting the candidacy of Carlos Beltran, who on his third ballot garnered 70.3 percent of the BBWAA vote - the highest non-inductee in 2025. More than likely Beltran will reach the baseball Promised Land, as will be announced on January 20. Beltran not only participated in, but orchestrated, the 2017 trash can-sign stealing scandal that aided the Houston Astros in winning the World Series. This impacted Beltran so much as to cost him the job managing the New York Mets, a team for which he played seven years. He began his career winning the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999 and played his first seven years with the Kansas City Royals. For the remainder of his 20 year career Beltran suited up for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Astros, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants.
Tom Verducci penned a column for Sports Illustrated performing his best balancing act. He condemned Beltran for being the ringleader of the sign stealing scandal, while simultaneously excusing it, saying “using PEDs is a more egregious form of cheating than what Beltran did.” Verducci acknowledges Beltran’s cheating, but then declares his vote for Beltran to enter the Hall. I don’t walk that moral tightrope - cheating is cheating. It’s a shame, because I agree with Verducci on this point, Beltran statistically compares favorably to Hall of Famer Andre “Hawk” Dawson.
OPS+ AVG Hits HR RBI SB TB
Beltran 119 .279 2,725 435 1,597 312 4,751
Dawson 119 .279 2,774 438 1,591 314 4,787
Beltran’s career included 12 seasons hitting 20 or more home runs, eight times driving in 100 or more runs, seven times scoring 100 or more runs, batting .300 or better four times, reaching nine All Star teams, and winning three Gold Gloves. In 65 postseason games, over 15 series, Beltran batted .307, belting 16 homers, scoring 45 runs, and driving in 42 runs. Solid numbers for a drug-free player, but tainted by scandal nonetheless, and should not reach Cooperstown.
With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026, a lone former major leaguer would earn my vote - a holdover. Twelve retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 15 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration.
Omar Vizquel, the quintessential shortstop of a generation, won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel, also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, did so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.
Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.
At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the ninth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having risen a tick to 17.8 percent of the vote in 2025 from 17.7 percent in 2024. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even again in 2026 due to allegations from the last decade of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 26 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as two Hall of Famers passed away during 2025.
Dave Parker (06/09/1951 - 06/28/2025) gained admission into the Hall of Fame via the Classic Baseball Era Committee in 2025, dying one month before his induction. Known as the “Cobra,” Parker played the bulk of his 19 year Major League Baseball career (1973-1991) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including as a member of the 1979 “We Are Family” World Series champions. As a member of the then Oakland A’s in 1989, Parker won another World Series. He batted .342 in the postseason. Parker won the National League MVP in 1978 hitting 30 home runs, driving in 117 runs, and leading the majors batting .334. This followed a 1977 season where Parker led the NL with 215 hits, 44 doubles, batting .338. For his career, Parker batted .290, had 2,712 hits, 526 doubles, 339 home runs, and 1,493 RBI.
Ryne Sandberg (09/18/1959 - 07/28/2025) stood for induction to the Hall of Fame in 2005. “Ryno” played the first 13 games of his illustrious career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the remaining 2,151 games with the Chicago Cubs. An excellent fielder at second base, Sandberg won nine Gold Glove awards. The 10 time All Star won the National League MVP in 1984, the year the Cubs won the Eastern Division. Sandberg stroked 200 hits that year, led the NL with 114 runs scored, and led the majors with 19 triples. In two playoff series, 1984 and 1989 Sandberg batted .385, and in 1990 he led the league with 40 home runs. For his career, spanning 1981 through 1997, Sandberg batted .285, with 2,386 hits, 282 home runs, and 1,061 RBI.
May their memories be for a Blessing. May 2026 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while gaining new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.
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