Matt Snyder's 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

The voting cycle for the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame class is my second as a voter. Last time around, I tried to make sure as many people as possible knew how much this means to me and how hard I'll work to respect the process. This time around, my process changed, albeit slightly. 

Last year, I voted for nine players despite being allowed a maximum of 10 selections. This time around, I filled out the entire 10, adding votes for three players I neglected to vote for last time around. No, their stats didn't change. I just changed my mind on my process. 

Ultimately, I'm a Big Hall guy and would rather see more players from my era of fandom make it to Cooperstown, especially since we continue to see a shortfall in Hall of Famers from the most recent eras of baseball. I know the popular social media talking point is that the Hall of Fame is "getting watered down," but it simply isn't even close to being true (I've discussed this so many times). Further, we see other voters mail in blank ballots or even ballots with just one or two players getting votes. Given that a player needs to reach 75% of the vote for Hall of Fame induction, one non-vote needs to be canceled out with three yes votes in order to be enshrined in the Hall. 

The confluence of all these factors caused me to decide to lower my standards for players on my ballot. I cannot stress this enough: just because I vote for a player doesn't necessarily mean I think he should definitely be a Hall of Famer. I'm not judge, jury and/or executioner. I'm just one vote of roughly 400 and a large number of other voters are much more strict. I'm voting for players who I think are somewhere in the ballpark of a Hall of Famer and then letting the proverbial chips fall where they may. 

If you disagree with my stance, that's fine, but I'd ask what's my risk here? That Jimmy Rollins and Mark Buehrle make the Hall of Fame? First off, they won't. Secondly, do you really, honestly, deep down think if something like that happened that it would be such a travesty? I've yet to hear a story about someone walking through the Hall of Fame and seeing the plaque of a lesser Hall of Famer and throwing a temper tantrum. What would the actual harm be? The answer is there isn't any.  

Finally, we've got to talk about PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, whatever you want to call them). My line is that if a player were caught my Major League Baseball using PEDs and suspended, once there was a system in place, I'm a no. Say goodbye, Alex Rodríguez, Manny Ramírez and Ryan Braun. If not, the only thing that matters was on-field performance, so Andy Pettitte is fine. You can disagree with my system here and I accept that. My rationale is that players nailed with hefty suspensions were trying to cheat and it cost their team in the process, which is unbecoming of a potential Hall of Fame player. There are a large number of fans who believe A-Rod and Manny should be in the Hall, but there's also a large contingent of fans who think they shouldn't be honored as individuals with induction. Please don't be that person who acts like everyone is on your side, because that's not just true. There's a divide.

I don't consider other off-field matters that never affected a player's team in most cases, but I reserve the right to change my mind. 

I've spent the winter discussing each player's case, but let's break down my full ballot.

Carlos Beltrán got a vote. I think this is the year he makes it and he would have already been in if not for the Astros sign-stealing scandal. As a player, he was a Hall of Famer, no question. 

In a somewhat similar ballpark is Andruw Jones, who also received my vote. He was one of the greatest defensive players in baseball history and hit 434 home runs with over 1,200 runs and RBI.

Those two players have a shot to make the Hall of Fame, even if Jones won't this time around. 

I feel pretty strongly about Chase Utley as a peak Hall candidate and voted for him again. He needs big gains this season to have a shot at induction, but it isn't off the table. 

I do not feel quite as strong on the candidacies of players like Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Dustin Pedroia and they might be in ballot purgatory, but I voted for all three this year. Again, see above in that I'm not necessarily saying I 100% think Rollins and Pedroia should be in the Hall, but they were close enough for me to throw them a vote. 

Further, I still think the standard for Hall of Fame starting pitchers needs to be lowered, even if slightly, as we move into voting on pitchers from an era where workload decreased and will continue to decrease. I was already on this train, having voted for Andy Pettitte and Mark Buehrle before, but this time around Cole Hamels was added to the ballot and I rectified a mistake I believe I made last year, adding Félix Hernández to my vote in his second year.

And that's 10. David Wright was next on my list, but my ballot was maxed out. I might've thought about Francisco Rodriguez if I had the extra spots, but given that this is a weak ballot and he was 12th on my list, at best, it's hard to see him ever getting my vote. No one else was strongly considered, again, thanks to the PED exclusions of A-Rod and Manny. 

Here's my ballot.