Baseball Hall of Fame reader survey results: How Ichiro, Wagner, Sabathia and more fared

Here is something you and I likely have in common: I do not yet have an official Baseball Hall of Fame vote. (You have to be a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for 10 years before you’re given that privilege.) That doesn’t stop me from filling out a practice ballot every year though, and if I can do it, you should be able to join in the fun. So after the 2025 ballot was announced, we gave you all a shot at crowd-sourcing a Hall of Fame vote of your own.

We also did this last year, when you collectively voted in only Adrián Beltré. In last year’s official Hall of Fame voting, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer also made it in via the writers’ ballot, which means — in a small sample — our readers tend to be “small hall” voters. Let’s see if that trend holds this year.

Before we start, here’s the full list of 28 candidates (up from 26 last year).

Bobby Abreu
Carlos Beltrán
Mark Buehrle
Carlos González
Curtis Granderson
Félix Hernández
Torii Hunter
Adam Jones
Andruw Jones
Ian Kinsler
Russell Martin
Brian McCann
Dustin Pedroia
Andy Pettitte
Hanley Ramirez
Manny Ramirez
Fernando Rodney
Alex Rodriguez
Francisco Rodríguez
Jimmy Rollins
CC Sabathia
Ichiro Suzuki
Troy Tulowitzki
Chase Utley
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
David Wright
Ben Zobrist

As with the official ballot, our voters were allowed to select up to 10 names. So what did you decide? Let’s start from the bottom and then we’ll share the full results of our unscientific poll, which generated nearly 4,900 responses, at the end. As we go through the tiers, I’ll reveal my hypothetical ballot by putting those names in italics.

One-and-Dones — 0 percent to 4.99 percent

Curtis Granderson: 4.8 percent
Brian McCann: 3.8 percent
Russell Martin: 3.2 percent
Ian Kinsler: 3 percent
Adam Jones: 2.6 percent
Ben Zobrist: 2.5 percent
Hanley Ramirez: 1.3 percent
Fernando Rodney: 1.3 percent
Carlos González: 1.2 percent

Wow. You guys were ready to clear some names out before next year’s ballot. (Players must receive 5 percent of the vote to remain on the ballot.) I think you mostly got this right, though I’m going to make a case for one guy I would have voted for, simply to give voters a little more time to consider his candidacy.

Ian Kinsler (2B): Is Kinsler a Hall of Famer? No, probably not. But he gives me a chance to talk about strategic voting.

There are some who believe it’s nonsense — either a player is a Hall of Famer, or he’s not; just vote accordingly. I respect that stance, but after seeing, for instance, Billy Wagner jump from 10.5 percent in Year 1 to 73.8 percent — five votes short of induction — last year, I think there’s room for a strategic vote to keep someone on the ballot and give voters more time to weigh their case. If there are 10 players you believe should be in, I don’t think you should leave a deserving player off your ballot in favor of a strategic vote. But if there are only four or five whom you feel strongly about, I’m good with using the rest of your slots on strategy.

As for Kinsler, here’s a comp: If Jose Altuve retired right now — and for this exercise, let’s assume there was no Astros cheating scandal — would he be a Hall of Famer? I think the answer is somewhere in the “Yeah, probably” range. While Altuve’s postseason record is a big part of that, consider that Kinsler’s 54.1 bWAR is higher than Altuve’s 52.8, with both having played 14 seasons in the big leagues. Kinsler also ranks 21st (one behind Altuve) in JAWS among second basemen — higher than eight Hall of Fame second basemen.

I’m not arguing that Kinsler was better than Altuve — the numbers are fairly clear there.

(Comparison by Stathead on Baseball Reference)

But I think he deserves more than a one-and-done candidacy, so I would have voted for him strategically. You could make similar cases for Russell Martin and Brian McCann, if you wanted to. (I don’t, but you can!)

Also, if you’re wondering why Dustin Pedroia is up there, well …

Hangin’ Around — 5.0 percent to 19.9 percent

Dustin Pedroia: 19.1 percent
Bobby Abreu: 13.5 percent
David Wright: 13.1 percent
Omar Vizquel: 12 percent
Torii Hunter: 10.4 percent
Mark Buehrle: 9.9 percent
Francisco Rodríguez: 6.5 percent
Troy Tulowitzki: 5.5 percent

19.1 percent for Pedroia! Plot twist: I actually think that’s just about right. I would also have voted for Pedroia, for the same reason as Kinsler. I just want to point out that a not-insignificant number of you went on vibes here, rather than numbers.

If you’re a “big hall” guy, there are cases to be made for Bobby Abreu, David Wright and Troy Tulowitzki, whose 5.6 bWAR/162 games is above average for Hall of Fame shortstops (4.9). But the shortstop position has changed a lot in the last few decades, and Tulowitzki’s 44.5 career WAR is significantly below the 67.7 average for Hall of Fame shortstops.

The Middling Conundrums — 20.0 percent to 49.9 percent

Alex Rodriguez: 47.1 percent
Manny Ramirez: 46 percent
Félix Hernández: 36.5 percent
Andy Pettitte: 34.9 percent
Chase Utley: 29.4 percent
Jimmy Rollins: 24.3 percent

The “Steroid Era” guys are an interesting study in how votes can fluctuate from year to year — A-Rod was at 48.9 percent in our reader survey last year and lost votes, while Manny Ramirez was at 44.7 percent and jumped a little. (In last year’s official vote, Rodriguez garnered 34.8 percent while Ramirez was at 32.5 percent.)

Also: I’ve come around on Utley. He should be in. Compared to other Hall of Fame second baseman, he’s right there. I guess I also fluctuated a bit from year to year, so I’m not judging.

And to whatever extent “vibes” count, he was either the biggest villain in the game (hello, Mets fans) or a guy worthy of a love letter or WWII fan fiction. Either way, that’s fame, on top of career excellence.

While we’re at it, I’m adding Pettitte to my hypothetical list. His regular-season numbers are a little shy of the Hall of Fame averages, but he was also 19-11 with a 3.88 ERA in 44 postseason starts. That’s a lot of extra work — 276 2/3 innings that aren’t reflected on the back of his baseball card — and while it’s a fringe case for me, winning five World Series has to count for something.

As for Rollins, I had one strategy vote left, and I need more time to decide on him.

Oh, So Close — 50.0 percent to 74.9 percent

CC Sabathia: 68.4 percent
Billy Wagner: 62.7 percent
Carlos Beltrán: 51.1 percent
Andruw Jones: 54.7 percent

After just missing out last year (in the official vote — he only got 45.6 percent of the vote in our mock election), Wagner would appear to be on track to make it in this year, his 10th and final year of eligibility. If I had a vote, he would be the second name I’d check. Relief pitchers are tricky — there are only eight in the Hall now — but he ranks sixth all-time in JAWS among them, ahead of Rollie Fingers and Bruce Sutter (and just behind Trevor Hoffman).

And to whatever extent this matters, I think it’s an open-and-shut case that Wagner has had the best career of any left-handed reliever in baseball history. His career 27.7 WAR is better than any other except Bobby Shantz (who started 171 of his 537 career games).

As for the other three: I said last year that Jones was a generational talent on defense and I’d vote for him, so that hasn’t changed. After a one-year wait-and-see on Beltrán, I’m putting him on my ballot, even though I’m still conflicted about his role in the Astros scandal, and if my ballot counted, I would probably send a few e-mails to other voters to get more insight on his case.

Lastly, if Pettitte is in, so is Sabathia, even with “only” 130 1/3 postseason innings pitched (10-7, 4.28). I probably would have said Sabathia was a Hall of Famer even without this comparison, but according to Baseball-Reference, Pettitte’s “most similar to” pitcher is Sabathia. So they come as a package deal. If one is worthy, so is the other.

(Comparison by Stathead on Baseball Reference)

If you’re keeping track, this brings my total to nine. Let’s make it 10, because…

Heading to Cooperstown: 75 percent to 100 percent

Ichiro Suzuki: 97.5 percent

For the second year in a row, our readers have hypothetically inducted just one player: Ichiro, the man with 4,367 hits (3,089 of them stateside).

My only beef here? I am convinced that 2.5 percent of you are trolls who love nothing but chaos and disruption — which I can appreciate, but your plan did not accomplish anything except proving there are always contrarians and goofballs among us. God love ya. (Unless you’re a member of the BBWAA with a vote this year. In which case, c’mon; let’s be professional about this. He should be unanimous.)

To keep you from having to scroll and compile, here’s my hypothetical ballot:

Carlos Beltrán
Andruw Jones
Ian Kinsler
Dustin Pedroia
Andy Pettitte
Jimmy Rollins
CC Sabathia
Ichiro Suzuki
Chase Utley
Billy Wagner

Roast away if you need to, but just remember: it doesn’t matter. I don’t get a real vote for a few more years.

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(Top photo of Ichiro Suzuki: Dan Levine / AFP via Getty Images)