Cardlines Guide To The Returning Candidates On The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Spring training is just a few weeks away with Opening Day not too far behind.

It’s also one of our favorite times of year around here at Cardlines, Hall of Fame season. Ballots have started to be released by some voters, allowing us to get a feel for where things are headed.

It’s the time to debate the merits of some of the great players in the recent history of the game, and advocate for those we think deserve the ultimate honor that can be bestowed on to a player – election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In this article, we will examine the returning candidates on the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, including their credentials, negative aspects of their candidacy, and, of course, their rookie cards!

A quick refresher on the Hall of Fame Election process

The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY has 348 elected members. Of those 348, 275 are former players. 40 executives/pioneers, 23 managers and 10 umpires comprise the rest of the membership.

The Hall of Fame holds elections every year, with the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) who have been active for 10 or more years receiving the right to vote.

These voters received their ballot on December 1^st and had to return their ballot in by the 31^st. Voters can vote for up to 10 candidates, submit a blank ballot, or vote for any number in between.

To become eligible to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot, a player must appear in parts of 10 major league seasons and be nominated to the ballot by the selection committee. The player is first eligible to appear on the ballot five years after they retire.

A player is elected to the Hall of Fame if they receive 75% or more of the vote. Players fall off the ballot if they receive less than 5% of the vote. A player receiving between 5% and 75% of the vote can remain on the ballot for up to 10 years.

The Hall of Fame voting results will be announced on January 21, 2024. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on July 27, 2024 in Cooperstown, NY.

The returning candidates

Let’s look closer at the 14 returning candidates on this year’s BBWAA ballot, and examine their Hall of Fame prospects of joining 2024 Hall of Fame inductees Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland and Joe Mauer.

The final year candidate on the brink

Closer Billy Wagner is on the BBWAA ballot for the 10^th and final time. He came tantalizingly close to election last year, appearing on 73.8% of ballots. Wagner’s 422 career saves rank 8^th all time, and he combined those with a 2.31 career ERA that was good for an ERA+ of 187.

If you believe that there’s room in the Hall of Fame for a modern closer beyond just Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, than Wagner is the most logical and deserving candidate.

The Best Rookie Cards and Early Career Cards Of Flamethrowing Reliever Billy Wagner

Trending upward

There are a handful of returning candidates that, while perhaps not likely to pass the 75% threshold in 2025, are trending upward in their vote totals and are likely to get elected within the next several years.

Andruw Jones hit 434 home runs in his career and was one of the best defensive center fielders in history with 10 Gold Glove awards. He was worth 62.7 WAR in his career, His Hall of Fame case is very much based on peak, though, as after age 30 he was only worth 1.7 WAR. His .254 career average is also on the low side, meaning he’s not a slam-dunk candidate, which explains his continued presence on the ballot.

Jones is on the ballot for the eighth time, and his vote total of 61.6% last year suggests he’ll get in before his time on the ballot is done. I expect him to see another small rise in his vote total this year.

The Best Rookie Cards And Early Career Cards Of Hall Of Fame Candidate Andruw Jones

Speaking of center fielders, Carlos Beltran only won 3 Gold Glove awards to Jones’ 10, but he may be a better all-around candidate. He topped Jones by one home run, finishing with 435 in his career, to go with 2,725 career hits, 312 stolen bases, and a career line of .279/.350/.486.

His 70.1 WAR ranks him 8th all-time among centerfielders, ahead of 13 of the 19 centerfielders currently in the Hall of Fame.

Beltran, though, isn’t a perfect candidate, either. He was perhaps a bit of a compiler, being very, very good for a long time as opposed to Jones’ case which is built on peak value.

He also was involved in the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing ordeal, which I’m sure gives some voters pause. Still, going into his 3^rd year on the ballot, he’s already got a vote total of 57.1% to build on, which suggests he’ll get in.

The Best Rookie Cards Of Hall Of Fame Candidate Carlos Beltran

Chase Utley, a second baseman, made six All-Star teams and won four Silver Slugger awards. Along the way, he put up a line of .275/.358/.465, goof for an OPS of .823 and OPS+ of 117. He hit over 250 home runs in his career, and stole over 150 bases, as well.

Utley was worth 64.5 WAR in his career. Utley debuted on the Hall of Fame ballot last year with a solid 28.8% of the vote. If he can get a bit of a bump this year, he’ll set himself up well for future induction, if his vote total stagnates, it will raise question marks.

The Best Rookie And Early Career Cards Of Hall Of Fame Candidate Chase Utley

The ballot cloggers

One interesting element of the current ballot is the appearance of not one, but three players who are getting a significant number of votes, but will not get elected on the BBWAA ballot.

These players are in a bit of a no-man’s land of their own doing. Their playing careers are all well within the Hall of Fame standard, but off-field issues muddy their cases.

I’m talking about Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and Omar Vizquel. Last year, they received 34.8%, 32.5%, and 17.7% of the vote, respectively. But due to the stain of PED accusations (Arod and Manny) and other offenses (Vizquel), they are highly unlikely to get close to 75% before dropping off the ballot. While Manny is in his 9^th year on the ballot, and Vizquel his 8^th, Arod is only on his 4^th.

Of course, these aren’t the only players on the ballot with some “character clause” issues. Jones had a domestic violence incident in his past, Beltran was involved in the cheating scandal, and Andy Pettitte admitted to HGH use.

I miss the old days when we just had the on-field considerations to weigh. That was plenty of baseball to argue about on a cold winter night!

Solid, but not close

The next segment of the ballot includes several solid players, all of whom have solid Hall of Fame cases. It’ll be a long climb for them to have a chance at election via the writers, but perhaps some of them will eventually gain some momentum with the various veterans committees.

This list includes former teammates Jimmy Rollins (47.6 WAR) and Bobby Abreu (60 WAR), plus starting pitchers Andy Pettitte (60.2 WAR) and Mark Buehrle (59.1 WAR). Closer Francisco Rodriguez had 437 career saves, but Wagner shows how tough voters are on closers.

Both Torii Hunter (50.7 WAR) and David Wright (49.2 WAR) were long-term fan favorites who had great careers but are more likely to fall below the 5% threshold and fall off the ballot than they are to be elected.

Who gets elected?

We’ve already got two new 2025 Hall of Famers Dick Allen and Dave Parker. There are also two players among the new candidates for the Hall of Fame who have a good chance of getting in Ichiro Suzuki and C.C. Sabathia.

But will any returning candidates be on the stage? I think Billy Wagner will get over the 75% threshold after several years of getting very close. I suspect that Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, and Chase Utley will all see increases in their vote totals as they march toward an eventual election (although not likely this year).

Final thoughts on returning candidates for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame is the ultimate achievement and puts a bookend on a player’s career. Sometimes, the journey is an exciting part of the story.

What’s your take on the returning candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame? Who do you think gets elected? And whose rookie cards do you own? Which ones are you looking to acquire? Tell us all about it at card_lines on X (Twitter).

More Cardlines Hall of Fame Coverage

Cardlines Guide To The New Candidates On The 2025 Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot

Dick Allen Elected To The Baseball Hall Of Fame

The Dave Parker Rookie Card: The 1974 Topps Card Of Baseball’s Latest Hall Of Famer

The Ultimate Guide to Ichiro Suzuki Rookie Cards – Worth Chasing?

The Top 9 CC Sabathia Rookie Cards

Baseball Hall of Fame Announces 2024 Hall of Fame Voting Results