Ichiro, Sabathia headline 2025 Baseball HOF ballot newcomers

The Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Monday the ballot for the 2025 Hall of Fame class, highlighted by newcomers Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Félix Hernández, Ian Kinsler, and Dustin Pedroia.

BBWAA voters with 10 years of active membership have until Dec. 31 to submit their ballots. The results will be revealed Jan. 21 on MLB Network. Eligible candidates that receive 75% of the vote will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on July 27. Candidates who receive less than 5% of the vote will be dropped from future ballots.

Billy Wagner (73.8% of the vote in 2024), Andruw Jones (61.6%), and Carlos Beltrán (57.1%) are among 14 holdovers from last year's ballot that remain eligible for election.

Note: This portion of the article was previously published in July.

The newcomers

First-ballot lock

Ichiro owns the single-season hit record, compiled 10 straight 200-hit campaigns, and led the majors in hits seven times. His trophy case includes two batting titles, 10 Gold Gloves, and the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in 2001. He's a member of the 3,000-hit club despite not debuting in the majors until age 27. If you include his years in Japan, he recorded over 4,300 hits across 28 professional seasons. The only question is whether Ichiro will make even more history as the first position player to be elected unanimously. It's a real possibility.

Likely first-ballot inductee

Sabathia's career includes almost everything you could ask of a Hall of Fame pitcher: a Cy Young, 3,000 strikeouts, 250 wins, and playoff heroics that include an ALCS MVP and World Series ring. He was also one of the last true workhorse starters, standing out as a virtual lock for 200 innings during his prime and often putting teams on his back like a true ace. However, Sabathia's not necessarily a first-ballot lock like Ichiro, and some may balk at his rather high 3.74 ERA. Still, the combination of his on-field accolades and the respect he garnered around the baseball world should be enough. It won't be by much if Sabathia isn't elected in January.

Most intriguing newcomers

During his all-too-brief peak, "King Félix" was indisputably one of the best in the business. Hernández won a Cy Young, claimed two ERA titles, earned six All-Star berths, tallied over 2,500 strikeouts, and threw a perfect game. But his drop-off was incredibly fast, with Hernández out of the majors before his 35th birthday. He also never got the chance to boost his resume by pitching in the playoffs. Voters have often spurned short-peak, high-value pitchers, but Hernández probably did enough to at least warrant a second look. As the first true "modern" starter to hit the ballot, his upcoming candidacy could help us define what makes a Hall of Fame pitcher in today's game.

Kinsler and Pedroia, two of the best second basemen of their era, both sit in the top 20 at their position in JAWS and the top 25 in WAR. Pedroia owns an MVP and was a staple of the Red Sox during their most successful era, while Kinsler has a pair of 30-30 seasons and multiple Gold Gloves. Yet the pair fell short of the standards in many other important areas, and both missed out on 2,000 hits, usually a benchmark for expansion-era Hall of Famers (Kinsler retired with 1,999). Kinsler and Pedroia also sit well behind the pack in many other more traditional stats, meaning their cases likely rest on metrics, peak performance, or other outside factors. They could rise or fall on the ballot together.

Other notable first-timers

Martin and McCann were important cogs of winners at each stop. But they also retired with low counting stats, even by catcher's standards. Zobrist's HOF case rests almost entirely on him being arguably the best true utility player in MLB history - a unique distinction, but one that's hardly getting him into Cooperstown on its own. Still, Zobrist had a far better career than you might have realized and left an impact on the sport.

Granderson was a three-time All-Star, a key contributor to multiple playoff teams, and one of the most respected players of his era by peers and fans. He could get some courtesy votes, which wouldn't be out of place. Ramirez and Tulowitzki will go down as two of the biggest "what-ifs" in modern history. Both had a litany of injuries, and Tulowitzki, in particular, seemed snakebitten at times with his health struggles. However, they also ranked among the top shortstops of the 2010s when healthy.

While they're unlikely to receive anywhere close to 5% of the vote, González, Jones, and Rodney each earned a spot on the ballot after excellent careers with multiple franchises.