| Rank |
Name |
Votes |
Pct. |
Yrs on ballot |
Pos |
Yrs active |
BTP |
BT rank |
BT pos rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | *Carlos Beltrán | 358 | 84.2 | 4 | cf | 1998‑2017 | 108.6 | 75 | 7 |
| 2 | *Andruw Jones | 333 | 78.4 | 9 | cf | 1996‑2012 | 96.5 | 103 | 14 |
| 3 | Chase Utley | 251 | 59.1 | 3 | 2b | 2003‑2018 | 78.6 | 172 | 3 |
| 4 | Andy Pettitte | 206 | 48.5 | 8 | pi sp | 1995‑2013 | 138.5 | 36 | 28 |
| 5 | Félix Hernández | 196 | 46.1 | 2 | pi sp | 2005-2019 | 175.1 | 13 | 11 |
| 6 | Álex Rodríguez | 170 | 40.0 | 5 | 3b | 1994‑2016 | 187.0 | 10 | 1 |
| 7 | ††Manny Ramírez | 165 | 38.8 | 10 | lf | 1993‑2011 | 166.2 | 17 | 1 |
| 8 | Bobby Abreu | 131 | 30.8 | 7 | rf | 1996‑2014 | 95.5 | 106 | 15 |
| 9 | Jimmy Rollins | 108 | 25.4 | 5 | ss | 2000‑2016 | 50.4 | 442 | 14 |
| 10 | Cole Hamels | 101 | 23.8 | 1 | pi sp | 2006-2020 | 174.2 | 14 | 12 |
| 11 | Dustin Pedroia | 88 | 20.7 | 2 | 2b | 2006-2019 | 39.5 | 610 | 20 |
| 12 | Mark Buehrle | 85 | 20.0 | 6 | pi sp | 2000‑2015 | 116.7 | 59 | 46 |
| 13 | Omar Vizquel | 78 | 18.4 | 9 | ss | 1989‑2012 | 42.2 | 551 | 17 |
| 14 | David Wright | 63 | 14.8 | 3 | 3b | 2004‑2018 | 75.1 | 198 | 9 |
| 15 | Francisco Rodríguez | 50 | 11.8 | 4 | pi cp | 2002‑2017 | 63.4 | 297 | 13 |
| 16 | Torii Hunter | 37 | 8.7 | 6 | cf | 1997‑2015 | 115.9 | 61 | 5 |
| 17 | †Ryan Braun | 15 | 3.5 | 1 | lf | 2007-2020 | 98.7 | 97 | 13 |
| 18 | †Edwin Encarnación | 6 | 1.4 | 1 | dh | 2005-2020 | 88.2 | 131 | 6 |
| 19 | †Shin-Soo Choo | 3 | 0.7 | 1 | rf | 2005-2020 | 65.2 | 278 | 48 |
| 20 | †Hunter Pence | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | rf | 2007-2020 | 64.2 | 287 | 51 |
| 20 | †Matt Kemp | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | lf | 2006-2020 | 68.1 | 249 | 43 |
| 20 | †Rick Porcello | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | pi sp | 2009-2020 | 64.1 | 288 | 166 |
| 23 | †Alex Gordon | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | lf | 2007-2020 | 37.0 | 656 | 126 |
| 23 | †Nick Markakis | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | rf | 2006-2020 | 53.1 | 401 | 68 |
| 25 | †Daniel Murphy | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2b | 2008-2020 | 48.5 | 467 | 14 |
| 25 | †Gio Gonzalez | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | pi sp | 2008-2020 | 108.6 | 76 | 58 |
| 25 | †Howie Kendrick | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2b | 2006-2020 | 41.5 | 565 | 19 |
† Player to be removed the Hall of Fame ballot in 2025 because he did not receive 5 percent of the vote to remain on subsequent year's ballots.
†† Players will not return to the Hall of Fame ballot in 2027 because they had been on the ballot for the maximum of 10 years without being elected.
Note: Some Hall eligible candidates (three of the 27) had careers that, in part, preceded the era of Box-Toppers player tracking, which began in 1995. However, 24 of the 27 players listed here began their career in 1995 or later, so their entire careers were tracked by Box-Toppers.
Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones voted to Hall of Fame
Two players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday—Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones.
Box-Toppers Hall of Fame ballot
Here are Box-Toppers' selections in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. The ballot requires voters to pick as many as 10 candidates—Box-Toppers chose four. (In the "official" vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America—BBWAA—voters also can pick as many as 10 candidates.)Shown first in alphabetical order by last name are the four players Box-Toppers is voting for Hall induction, along with their career Box-Toppers point total and the number of years each player has been on the ballot. A brief Box-Toppers-focused biographical synopsis is shown beneath each player.
That is followed by the list of players Box-Toppers is not voting for Hall induction, also in alphabetical order by last name.
There are 27 candidates on the official BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot and 26 on the IBWAA ballot.†
| YES: Players Box-Toppers is voting for Hall of Fame | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Career BTP | Year on ballot |
| Cole Hamels | 174.2 | 1 |
|
• 14th in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, 12th among all pitchers. • Top 10 in overall B-T points, 2016. • Top 10 AL pitcher twice. • Top 10 NL pitcher twice. | ||
| Félix Hernández | 175.1 | 2 |
|
• 13th in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, 11th among all pitchers. • Top 10 in overall B-T points five times. • Top 10 AL pitcher seven times. | ||
| Torii Hunter | 115.9 | 6 |
|
• Ranks 15th among all batters in career BTPs and 5th among all OFs since 1995. • Led AL OFs 2008 (12.4). • Top 10 AL batter four times. • Top 10 AL OF nine times. |
||
| Chase Utley | 78.6 | 3 |
|
• 3rd in career BTPs among 2Bs since 1995. • Led NL 2Bs 5 straight seasons—2005 (9.7), 2006 (12.0), 2007 (11.7), 2008 (8.5), 2009 (9.5). • Top 10 NL batter 3 times (2006, 2007, 2009). |
||
| NO: Players Box-Toppers is not voting for Hall of Fame | ||
| Player | Career BTP | Year on ballot |
| Bobby Abreu | 95.5 | 7 |
|
• Ranks 15th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 AL batter 2008. • Top 10 AL OF 3 times. • Top 10 NL OF twice. |
||
| Carlos Beltrán | 108.6 | 4 |
|
• Ranks 7th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 AL batter 2001, 2003. • Top 10 AL OF 3 times, including top AL OF 2001, 2003. • Top 10 NL OF 4 times. |
||
| Ryan Braun | 98.7 | 1 |
|
• Steroids. • Ranks 13th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Led NL batters, 2012. • Top 10 NL batter six times—2008-12, 2016. • Top 10 NL OF 6 times, including top NL OF 4 times—2009-12. | ||
| Mark Buehrle | 116.7 | 6 |
|
• Ranks 46th in career BTPs among all pitchers since 1995. • Top 10 overall 2005. • Top 10 AL pitcher twice. | ||
| Shin‑Soo Choo | 65.2 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 48th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 AL batter, 2010. • Top 10 AL OF twice—2009, 2010. • Top 10 NL OF, 2013. • Top 5 AL DH, 2017. | ||
| Edwin Encarnación | 88.2 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 6th in career BTPs among all DHs since 1995. • Top AL batter, 2017. • Top AL DH twice—2014, 2017. • Top AL 1B, 2017. • Top 10 AL batter 4 times—2013-15, 2017. • Top 5 AL DH 6 times—2013-18. • Top 5 AL 1B 4 times—2013-14, 2016-17. • Top 10 AL OF, 2014. | ||
| Gio Gonzalez | 108.6 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 58th in career BTPs among all pitchers since 1995. • Top 10 overall, 2012. • Top 10 AL pitcher, 2011. • Top 10 NL pitcher, 2012. | ||
| Alex Gordon | 37.0 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 126th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Best season, 2011, 6.5 B-T points, 11th among AL OFs. | ||
| Andruw Jones† | 96.5 | 9 |
|
• Ranks 14th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 NL batter twice. • Top 10 NL OF six times. |
||
| Matt Kemp | 68.1 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 43rd in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 NL batter, 2012. • Top 10 NL OF 4 times—2009-12, 2016. | ||
| Howie Kendrick | 41.5 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 19th in career BTPs among all 2Bs since 1995. • Top 5 NL 2B, 2015. | ||
| Nick Markakis | 53.1 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 68th in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 AL OF, 2009. | ||
| Daniel Murphy | 48.5 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 14th in career BTPs among all 2Bs since 1995. • Led NL 2Bs, 2013. • Top 10 NL batter, 2013. • Top 5 NL 2B 4 times—2013-14, 2016-17. | ||
| Dustin Pedroia | 39.5 | 2 |
|
• Ranks 20th in career BTPs among all 2Bs since 1995. • Top 5 AL 2B three times. | ||
| Hunter Pence | 64.2 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 51st in career BTPs among all OFs since 1995. • Top 10 NL OF 3 tines—2008, 2010, 2013. | ||
| Andy Pettitte | 138.5 | 8 |
|
• 28th in career BTPs among all pitchers since 1995. • Top 10 AL pitcher 4 times, never higher than 8th. |
||
| Rick Porcello | 64.1 | 1 |
|
• Ranks 166th in career BTPs among all pitchers since 1995. • Best season, 2018, 11.4 B-T points, 17th among AL pitchers. | ||
| Manny Ramirez | 166.2* | 10 |
|
• Steroids. • 17th in career BTPs among all players since 1995, 3rd among all batters. • Top 10 player twice, 1998 & 1999. • Top AL batter 1999 (19.9). • Top 10 AL batter 7 times. • Top 10 NL batter once. • Top AL OF three times 1999 (19.9), 2000 (13.2), 2005 (14.0). • Top AL 10 OF 9 times. • Top 5 AL DH three times. • Top NL OF 2008 (13.9). |
||
| Alex Rodriguez | 187.0* | 5 |
| • Steroids. • 10th in career BTPs among all players since 1995, 2nd among all batters. • Top 10 players, 2000 & 2007. • Top AL batter 2007 (18.9). • Top 10 AL batter 10 times. • Top AL shortstop 5 times, 1996 (11.2), 1999 (13.7), 2000 (17.0), 2001 (12.5), 2002 (15.2). • Top 5 AL SS 8 times. • Top AL 3B twice, 2005 (11.9), 2007 (18.9). • Top 5 AL 3B 7 times. • Top 5 AH DH 2015 (13.9). |
||
| Francisco Rodriguez | 63.4 | 4 |
|
• 13th in career BTPs among all closing pitchers since 1995. • Top 5 AL closing pitcher 2005, 2006, 2008. |
||
| Jimmy Rollins | 50.4 | 5 |
|
• 14th in career BTPs among all shortstops since 1995. • Top NL SS 2008 (7.0). • Top 5 NL SS 6 times. |
||
| Omar Vizquel | 42.2* | 9 |
|
• 17th in career BTPs among shortstops since 1995. • Top 5 AL SS twice. • Top 5 NL SS once. |
||
| David Wright | 75.1 | 3 |
|
• 9th in career BTPs among 3Bs since 1995. • Led NL 3Bs in BTPs 3 times—2006 (15.4), 2009 (8.5), 2011 (10.0). • Top 10 overall player 2006 (15.4, 10th). • Top 10 NL batter 3 times. • Top 5 NL 3B 5 times. |
||
† Internet baseball writers of the IBWAA voted Andruw Jones for induction to the Hall of Fame in 2025, so he does not appear on their ballot. However, Jones fell short of official induction by baseball writers of the BBWAA and so remains on that ballot.
Both received the necessary 75 percent support of voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
While Box-Toppers did not support either of their candidacies in separate voting by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), both were players whose achievements, accomplishments and actions nearly met our threshold of Hall of Fame worthiness.
Neither player was on the ballot for the first time and both had been passed over for Hall consideration multiple times, a sign that other voters also had their doubts. Beltrán was in his fourth year on the ballot and Jones was in his ninth year. Notably, Jones received only 7.3 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot in 2018, the lowest total for any player to remain on the ballot for 2019 and barely above the 5 percent threshold to remain on the ballot for the next season.
(Box-Toppers voted for four players for the 2026 Hall of the Fame in IBWAA balloting—Cole Hamels, Félix Hernández, Torii Hunter and Chase Utley—all of whom fell short of induction in voting by both organizations.)
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the two newly elected Hall of Famers:
Carlos Beltrán
If it weren’t for the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal of 2017, Box-Toppers would have voted Beltrán for the Hall of Fame when he first appeared on the ballot in 2023.
The outfielder played from 1998 to 2017 for the Royals, Mets, Yankees, Cardinals, Astros, Rangers and Giants and has 108.6 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all outfielders since 1995.
He received 358 votes from BBWAA’s writers, 84.2 percent, to be elected in his fourth year of eligibility.
In general, Box-Toppers favors players for Hall induction who have at least 100 career Box-Toppers points and/or have led their league’s batters or pitchers in points for at least one season. Box-Toppers also considers players whose career Box-Toppers point total puts them among the few best players of their era or players who consistently led their league in Box-Toppers points at their position.
Beltrán earned just over 100 career Box-Toppers points. He led American League outfielders in 2001 (11.2 points) and 2003 (13.9 points), both with the Royals. He was a top 10 AL batter both of those seasons, was a top 10 AL outfielder three times and a top 10 National League outfielder four times.
So, Beltrán checked all of Box-Toppers’ Hall of Fame boxes. But Beltrán was the only 2017 Astros player named in the commissioner’s report on the scandal, which resulted in sanctions against the club and the Astros firing of their manager and general manager. No players were directly punished by baseball in the report, released in 2019 and focusing on the Astros’ 2017 World Series-winning season. However, before the report, Beltrán had been hired as New York Mets manager for the 2020 season and was fired after the release of the report, before he managed any games.
Did voters hold the sign-stealing scandal against Beltrán for the first three years he was on the ballot? And if so, what changed this year?
Andruw Jones
Jones was always an edge case for the Hall for me and for many voters—he was in his ninth year on the ballot. Players are removed from ballots after 10 years, meaning this could have been his next-to-last chance if he fell short again.
The outfielder played from 1996 to 2012 primarily for the Braves and Yankees and has 96.5 career Box-Toppers points, 14th among all outfielders since 1995.
Jones nearly reached the 100-career Box-Toppers point threshold. He was among the top three NL outfielders twice (2005, third with 11.5 and 2006, first with 12.7), both seasons he was among the NL’s top 10 batters. He was among the top 10 NL outfielders six times. But Jones was not a consistent leader at his position and fell just short of the 100-point career threshold.
These days, no active batters have 100 career Box-Toppers points—Freddie Freeman leads all batters with 95.9—but Jones played in an era in which batters earned more points and batters often reached 100 points. To be considered with the greats of that era, a player needed to reach that century mark—as Beltrán did—or be consistently leading the league position in Box-Toppers points.
Yet, despite the lack of support from Box-Toppers, the IBWAA voted Jones for Hall of Fame induction last year in their 2025 vote—he garnered 76 percent support, just past the 75-percent induction threshold.
Jones saw a steady increase in official BBWAA support for his Hall candidacy over the years, with his percentage rising from less than 8 percent in his first two years on the ballot (2018 and 2019) to 58.1 percent in 2023, 61.6 percent in 2024 and 66.2 percent in 2025. (Again, 75 percent support is required for induction.)
One with majority vote but less than 75%
Chase Utley was the only other player to receive a majority of BBWAA votes—59.1 percent—but less than the 75 percent necessary for induction.
The second baseman played from 2003 to 2018 for the Phillies and Dodgers. He had 78.6 career Box-Toppers points, third among all second basemen since 1995, behind Jeff Kent (110.2) and Robinson Cano (85.4).
He led NL second basemen in Box-Toppers points for five straight seasons from 2005 to 2009 with the Phillies.
In Utley’s previous two times on the Hall of Fame ballot—2024 and 2025—Box-Toppers voted “No” on his candidacy, with the reasoning that Jeff Kent, another second baseman with far more career Box-Toppers points (110.2), had not been deemed worthy of Hall of Fame induction. Kent was on the baseball writers’ ballot for 10 seasons ending in 2023 and never received sufficient support for induction. Box-Toppers supported Kent’s candidacy each year. But if Kent was not seen as a Hall of Famer, I’m not sure how Utley could be either, so I voted “No”.
But last month, Kent was elected to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era Players Committee, removing my explicitly stated stumbling block for supporting Utley, moving him from “No” to “Yes” on my ballot.
Steroids (former future Hall of Famers)
There is a group of players, many of whom were once dubbed “future Hall of Famers” based on their playing career accomplishments. But once they were tainted either by test or by implication with baseball’s performance-enhancing drug scandal, Hall voters have blocked their election to the Hall. They include players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, who have been on Hall ballots but were not elected.
This year, that dwindling group of players includes Álex Rodríguez (40.0 percent of the vote in his fifth year—up from 37.1 percent last year) and Manny Ramírez (38.8 percent of the vote in his 10th year). Ramírez will not return to the writers’ Hall of Fame ballot in 2027 after reaching the maximum of 10 years on the ballot without being elected.
First year of eligibility
There were 12 players who were in their first year of Hall eligibility, having played at least 10 seasons and been retired for five.
Of those 12, none were voted for induction and only one received enough votes to return to the ballot for 2027—Cole Hamels.
The other 11 received less than 5 percent of the vote and will be removed from the 2027 ballot.
Hamels received 23.8 percent of the vote and he was among the four Box-Toppers supported for Hall induction. The pitcher who played from 2006 to 2020 for the Phillies, Rangers, Cubs and Braves has 174.2 career Box-Toppers points, 14th among all players since tracking began in 1995 and 12th among all pitchers in that span.
IBWAA 2026 Hall of Fame results
Here are the results of unofficial Baseball Hall of Fame voting by the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA). The internet writers group inductees often coincide with those elected in official voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).In 2026, no players received the necessary 75 percent support for election. (However, Andruw Jones, who is on the official BBWAA ballot in 2026, was voted to the Hall in 2025 by the IBWAA).
Carlos Beltrán received 73.6 percent support, highest among all players. Listed below are all 28 candidates on the IBWAA ballot and the share of votes each player received.
| Player | Vote |
|---|---|
| Carlos Beltrán | 73.6% |
| Andy Pettitte | 66.0% |
| Chase Utley | 60.4% |
| Álex Rodríguez | 58.5% |
| Manny Ramirez^ | 54.7% |
| Félix Hernández | 52.8% |
| Bobby Abreu | 50.9% |
| Jimmy Rollins | 34.0% |
| David Wright | 30.2% |
| Cole Hamels* | 28.3% |
| Francisco Rodríguez | 26.4% |
| Mark Buehrle | 24.5% |
| Dustin Pedroia | 22.6% |
| Torii Hunter | 20.8% |
| Omar Vizquel | 9.4% |
| Alex Gordon* | 7.5% |
| Ryan Braun* | 3.8% |
| Matt Kemp* | 3.8% |
| Howie Kendrick* | 3.8% |
| Daniel Murphy* | 3.8% |
| Shin-Soo Choo* | 1.9% |
| Nick Markakis* | 1.9% |
| Edwin Encarnación* | 0.0% |
| Gio González* | 0.0% |
| Hunter Pence* | 0.0% |
| Rick Porcello* | 0.0% |
| Hanley Ramírez | 0.0% |
| Fernando Rodney | 0.0% |
First year on the ballot.
^ Tenth and final year on the ballot.
Hamels ranked among the overall top 10 players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with the Rangers—his 17.8 Box-Toppers points that season was sixth among all players. He also ranked among his league’s top 10 pitchers four times.
How other Box-Toppers’ Hall choices fared
In addition to Utley and Hamels, Box-Toppers also supported Félix Hernández and Torii Hunter for the Hall of Fame. Hernández in his second year on the ballot, received 46.1 percent voter support (up from 20.6 last year). Hunter, in his sixth year on the ballot, saw his total rise slightly from 5.1 percent last year to 8.7 percent this year.
Both received the necessary 5 percent support to appear on the 2027 Hall of Fame ballot. (A look at Box-Toppers’ Hall of Fame vote.)
IBWAA vote
Box-Toppers votes in unofficial voting as a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. On Tuesday, the group announced there were no new inductees for 2026—no player received at least 75 percent support from voters.
Carlos Beltrán came closest with 73.6 percent of the vote. By my math, that means he came one vote short (possibly mine?!) of reaching 75 percent.
As previously mentioned, Andruw Jones received the necessary 75 percent for induction by the internet writers in 2025, so was not on the 2026 ballot.
The IBWAA includes more than 800 baseball writers and content creators. This is the 17th year the group has voted on Hall of Fame candidates. The group also votes on full-season awards, participates in preseason predictions and All-Star Game elections.
2026 induction ceremony
Beltrán and Jones will be inducted to the Hall of Fame in ceremonies July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with Jeff Kent, who was elected in December by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.
About Box-Toppers
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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