Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2026 are being conducted according to the rules most recently amended in 2022. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) will vote by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players, with the results to be announced on January 20.
A meeting of the Contemporary Baseball Era committee—one of a group of three rotating bodies generally referred to as the Veterans Committee and whose structure was amended in April 2022—was held in December 2025 to consider players from the era after 1980 who no longer appear on the BBWAA ballot. Jeff Kent was elected from the Veterans Committee ballot.[1]
New inductees are scheduled to be honored in a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26, 2026.
BBWAA election
The list of players appearing on the BBWAA ballot was released on November 17, 2025.[2] There were 15 players carried over from the 2025 ballot, who garnered at least 5% of the vote and are still eligible for election, as well as 12 players whose last major league appearance was in 2020, played at least 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, and were chosen by a screening committee.[3] This will be the final ballot for Manny Ramirez.[4][5]
The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee met in December 2025 at baseball's winter meetings to consider candidates from the era beginning in 1980, players who have been retired at least 15 years and played most of their careers after 1980. The 16-member committee voted on a ballot listing eight former players. The full ballot was announced on November 3, 2025, and the voting was held on December 7.[8] The results of the voting were announced on the evening of December 7, with Jeff Kent being elected.[9]
Starting with this ballot, any candidate not receiving at least five votes will be ineligible for consideration in the committee's next ballot, and any candidate who does not receive at least five votes in multiple ballots will be permanently ineligible for all of the committee's future ballots.[10][11]
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball" and has been presented annually since 1978. The 2026 award will be a composite ballot of local and national voices, as per the rules most recently amended in 2023.[13] The 2026 finalists, and the teams they are best known as broadcasters for, are:[14]
On December 10, 2025, the Hall of Fame announced Joe Buck as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.[15]
BBWAA Career Excellence Award
The BBWAA Career Excellence Award honors a baseball writer (or writers) "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and is presented during Hall of Fame Weekend by that year's President of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award is voted upon annually by the BBWAA.
On December 9, 2025, the Hall of Fame announced Paul Hoynes as the recipient of the 2026 BBWAA Career Excellence Award.[16]
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