2025 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
| New inductees | 2 |
|---|---|
| via BBWAA | TBA |
| via Classic Baseball Era Committee | 2 |
| Total inductees | 348 |
| Induction date | July 27, 2025 (scheduled) |
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2025 will be conducted according to the rules most recently amended in 2022. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) will vote by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players, and the results will be announced on January 21.
A meeting of the Classic Baseball Era committee—one of a group of three rotating bodies generally referred to as the Veterans Committee and whose structure was amended in April 2022—was held in December 2024 to consider players from the era before 1980 who no longer appear on the BBWAA ballot. Dave Parker and Dick Allen were elected from the Veterans Committee ballot.[1]
The inductees will be honored in a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday, July 27, 2025.
BBWAA ballot
[edit]The list of players appearing on the BBWAA ballot was released on November 18, 2024. There were 14 players carried over from the 2024 ballot,[2][3] who garnered at least 5% of the vote and were still eligible for election, as well as 14 players whose last major league appearance was in 2019, played at least 10 seasons of Major League Baseball, and were chosen by a screening committee.[4] This will be the final ballot for Billy Wagner.[5]
|
L-R: Félix Hernández, Dustin Pedroia, CC Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki made their debut on the ballot this year
|
Players who met first-year eligibility requirements but were not selected by the screening committee for inclusion on the ballot were: Matt Albers, Yonder Alonso, Gordon Beckham, Jerry Blevins, Peter Bourjos, Clay Buchholz, Melky Cabrera, Andrew Cashner, Welington Castillo, Rajai Davis, Daniel Descalso, Ian Desmond, Lucas Duda, Zach Duke, Mike Dunn, Marco Estrada, David Freese, Luke Gregerson, Carlos Gómez, Jeanmar Gómez, Jeremy Hellickson, David Hernandez, Nick Hundley, Chris Iannetta, Edwin Jackson, Shawn Kelley, Mike Leake, Francisco Liriano, Kendrys Morales, Pat Neshek, Steve Pearce, Martín Prado, Mark Reynolds, Clayton Richard, Tyson Ross, Fernando Salas, Tony Sipp, Carlos Torres, Mark Trumbo, Jason Vargas, and Bobby Wilson.[6][7][8]
Classic Baseball Committee
[edit]
The Classic Baseball Era Committee met at the Winter Meetings in December 2024 to consider the election of eight players who made their greatest impact on the game through 1979.[9] The full ballot was announced on November 4, 2024, and the voting was held on December 8. Of the eight candidates, only Steve Garvey, Tommy John, and Dave Parker were still alive.[10]
| Candidate | Category | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Parker | Player | 14 | 87.5% |
| Dick Allen | Player | 13 | 81.3% |
| Tommy John | Player | 7 | 43.8% |
| Ken Boyer | Player | <5 | |
| John Donaldson | Player | <5 | |
| Steve Garvey | Player | <5 | |
| Vic Harris | Manager | <5 | |
| Luis Tiant | Player | <5 |
The 16-member committee (of which, 75% or 12 votes were required for election) consisted of the following individuals:[11]
- Hall of Famers: Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Pérez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre
- Executives: Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno, Brian Sabean
- Media and historians: Bob Elliott, Leslie Heaphy, Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel, Larry Lester
Each member of the committee could vote for a maximum of three players.[12]
Ford C. Frick Award
[edit]The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball" and has been presented annually since 1978. The 2025 award will be a composite ballot of local and national voices, as per the rules most recently amended in 2023.[13][14] The 2025 finalists, and the teams they are best known as broadcasters for, are:[15]
- Skip Caray (1939–2008), Atlanta Braves
- René Cárdenas (born 1930), Spanish-language announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, and Texas Rangers
- Gary Cohen (born 1958), New York Mets
- Jacques Doucet (born 1940), French-language announcer for the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays
- Tom Hamilton (born 1954), Cleveland Indians / Guardians
- Ernie Johnson Sr. (1924–2011), Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves
- Mike Krukow (born 1952), San Francisco Giants
- Duane Kuiper (born 1950), San Francisco Giants
- Dave Sims (born 1953), Seattle Mariners
- John Sterling (born 1938), New York Yankees
On December 11, 2024, the Hall of Fame declared Tom Hamilton as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.[16]
BBWAA Career Excellence Award
[edit]The BBWAA Career Excellence Award honors a baseball writer (or writers) "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and is presented during Hall of Fame Weekend by that year's President of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award is voted upon annually by the BBWAA.
On December 10, 2024, the Hall of Fame announced Thomas Boswell as the recipient of the 2025 BBWAA Career Excellence Award.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Dick Allen, Dave Parker elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame by Classic Baseball Era Committee". baseballhall.org. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ Brian Murphy. "Standouts of their era highlight 2025 Hall of Fame ballot". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- ^ "2025 Potential Hall of Fame Ballot". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Future Eligibles". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Snyder, Matt (December 16, 2024). "Will Billy Wagner finally make the Baseball Hall of Fame in 10th year? Plus what that means for other closers". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "2019 Major League Baseball Retirements". baseballreference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Yomtov, Jesse (January 25, 2024). "Who's on the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot? Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia lead the way". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent. "A look ahead at the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame ballot: Ichiro, Pedroia, Sabathia and more". The Athletic. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Era Committees". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Classic Baseball Era Committee Candidates Announced". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. November 4, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
- ^ "Molitor, Murray, Pérez among voters on Hall of Fame panel considering players bypassed by writers". Associated Press. December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Kepner, Tyler (November 5, 2024). "The case for — and against — each of the Classic Baseball Era Hall of Fame candidates". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via nytimes.com.
- ^ "Ford C. Frick Award". baseballhall.org. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Yoder, Matt (October 4, 2024). "Tom Hamilton, John Sterling, Gary Cohen among star-studded Ford C. Frick finalists". awfulannouncing.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "2025 Ford C. Frick Award Ballot". baseballhall.org. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton named Frick Award winner". mlb.com. MLB. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Camerato, Jessica (December 10, 2024). "Thomas Boswell wins BBWAA Excellence Award after 52-year career". mlb.com. MLB. Retrieved December 11, 2024.