The San Francisco Giants saw two of their former players get elected to be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y. and more could be on the way as soon as next year.
The 2026 Hall of Fame election has come and gone, and the San Francisco Giants saw former players Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran earn their spot in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Now, talk has already begun about which former Giant will make it next.
Recently, Jayson Stark of The Athletic visited the topic, and named former Giants catcher and current president of baseball operations, Buster Posey.
“A fellow named Buster Posey is the biggest attraction on the writers’ ballot next year,” Stark wrote. “And he’s now the ultimate modern-day San Francisco Giant.
Won three World Series as a player. Now running the show in their front office. He may not have the traditional numbers once associated with first-ballot Hall of Famers, but he has every other ingredient a first-ballot icon ought to have.”
Stark is quick to recognize that Posey falls short of other candidates in career hits, but the rest of his resume supplements a strong argument for him to be elected in 2027.
“On one hand, Posey is kind of a tricky candidate,” Stark added. “He finished with only 1,500 career hits. And the writers haven’t elected anybody with fewer than 1,600 hits since 1962. The man they honored that year? A legend named Jackie Robinson.
But if you’re just staring at Posey’s hits column, or his Wins Above Replacement column (he’s at 45.0 on Baseball Reference, 57.9 via the more catcher-friendly FanGraphs WAR), you’re missing the big picture.”
Stark proceeded to lay out Posey’s accolades, which include an MVP, a Rookie of the Year award, a gold glove and a batting title to go along with his three World Series rings.
“He may not be the first player ever with a Gold Glove, batting title, multiple World Series triumphs and both an MVP and Rookie of the Year trophy, but … you can count the entire group without needing a whole hand’s worth of fingers.”
The other players who have achieved a similar resume are Pete Rose, Frank Robinson and Albert Pujols, meaning Posey is among elite company.
According to ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney, Posey’s chances are getting into the Hall of Fame next year are strong.
“Two candidates who should be slam-dunk choices will appear on the ballot over the next two years -- Buster Posey, the backbone of the San Francisco Giants' dynasty, will head the 2027 class of Hall of Famers, and 2028 will be the year of Albert Pujols, one of history's all-time great hitters,” he wrote.
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