The Release of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Recently, the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was released. The candidates who are selected to be part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 25, 2025. According to the Baseball Hall of Fame's website, players can be on the ballot for up to 10 years if they receive at least five percent of the vote. For example, relief pitcher Billy Wagner is in his final year of eligibility to be considered into the Hall.

Who are the candidates on the ballot?

The list of candidates are 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 Ramírez, Manny Ramírez, Fernando Rodney, Álex Rodríguez, Francisco Rodríguez, Jimmy Rollins, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Tulowitzki, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, David Wright, and Ben Zobrist.

I'm going to share my opinions about some of these candidates and my criticism of one of them, who appears on this ballot.

Ian Kinsler

As a long time Rangers fan, I grew up watching Ian Kinsler on TV. He had one of the best post-game handshakes he would give to his fellow teammates after a Rangers win. Kinsler played 14 seasons with not only the Rangers, but also with the Tigers, Angels, Red Sox, and Padres. However, he'll always be a Texas Ranger to me. One interesting fact that's new to me is that Kinsler won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2018. The four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner's presence on the field was a positive force that fans will remember forever.

CC Sabathia

CC is one the few Yankees players I not only like, but respect greatly to this day. Starting his career in 2001, he also played for the Brewers and the then Cleveland Indians (now known as the Guardians). Sabathia appears on the ballot in his first year of eligibility. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2001. Sabathia had a career ERA of 3.74 and won the Cy Young Award in 2007. He was named 2009 ALCS MVP, which the Yankees would go on to win their 27th World Series title.

Ichiro Suzuki

He needs absolutely no introduction, but I might as well do it. Known as simply Ichiro, he started his Major League career in 2001. He became the second player to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in the same season. Also, he was the first player in MLB to have only his first name on the back of his jersey. Besides, there can only be one Ichiro. His stats include a .311 batting average, 3089 hits, and 117 home runs. I loved his batting stance so much and everyone adored him. Ichiro will always be known for his long career with the Seattle Mariners, but he also played for the Yankees and Marlins in his 19 years in MLB. Ichiro spent the last nine years playing in his home country of Japan, for a total of 28 seasons. He has won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards and was a 10-time All-Star from 2001-2010. Plus, a remarkable three Silver Slugger Awards. He'll always be a legend, with or without a Hall of Fame induction.

David Wright

The final candidate on this list I'm going to talk about is a player who was a ray of beaming light. I'm talking about none other than David Wright. He played all of his 14 seasons with the New York Mets. The seven-time All-Star was part of the 2015 National League Championship team. While he didn't win a World Series title, he'll always be well-loved and respected among Mets fans and baseball fans in general. His many stats include a .296 batting average, two Silver Slugger Awards, and finished in the Top 10 in the NL Most Valuable Player four times.

Let's talk about Álex Rodríguez

I refused to highlight his accomplishments and stats, or show a picture of him, like the players you have seen on this list for one reason. For over the last 15 years, I've been very critical of the man known as A-Rod or A-Roid. You can see where this is going. Álex using steroids and then continuously denying ever doing them was the moment where I lost all respect for him. While I do commend him for having a career outside of baseball, seeing his name on this ballot angered me. Why is the Baseball Hall of Fame have this cheat and fraud, because that's what he is, on the ballot? I despised A-Rod back then and still do now. My opinions about him hasn't changed. Sure, he was full of talent. However, his steroid use was too severe to ignore. To me, it's a form a cheating. Many baseball fans don't take too kindly to stuff like this and usually aren't forgiving. You are basically shunned by the voice of public baseball fan opinion. I highly doubt that he'll be among the many players to be inducted. Even if he were, I'll always be in opposition of it. I don't care if he used steroids a long time ago or was a great player. I'll always condemn him forever. Plus, I'll never acknowledge him as a World Series champion, because he probably won it under false pretenses. As I've stated in my previous stories about the Houston Astros: cheating is an unforgivable act that can't be forgotten. Álex Rodríguez will always have the Cheater label attached to him for life, regardless of the positive things he's done.

To check out the rest of the candidates and career highlights for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame, you can click the link below:

https://baseballhall.org/2025-bbwaa-hall-of-fame-ballot

The results of the candidates selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced on January 21, 2025.

Which players would you want to see inducted into the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame? What would your dream Hall of Fame ballot consist of? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. Be sure to follow me on my socials, subscribe to my page on Vocal, and please leave a generous one-off tip at the end of this story. You'll be supporting creators on Vocal like myself.