National Baseball Hall of Fame Releases Names of 27 Finalists for Class of 2026

The National Baseball Hall of Fame released the ballot of finalists for the Class of 2026 on Monday, a list which includes 12 newcomers in a total of 27 names on the list.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) is the voting body for the 2026 Hall of Fame election, and players must receive 75% of votes from the BBWAA in order to be elected. The results will be announced on Jan. 20 of next year.

Here is the complete list of newcomers as released by the Hall of Fame on X.

The list of 12 newcomers are highlighted in bold on the graphic.

Of those names, one is a former Boston Red Sox player, starting pitcher Rick Porcello. He joins second baseman Dustin Pedroia in his second year, and left fielder Manny Ramirez in his 10th – and final – year on the ballot.

Here's the complete game story from Red Sox Roundtable writer Tom Carroll.

There’s reason to have hope for Porcello and the other 11 new names, as in the last two years, the BBWAA has elected three players each, and two were on the ballot for the first time.

In 2024, it was newcomers Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer, alongside Todd Helton in his sixth year. In 2025, first-timers Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia joined Billy Wagner in his 10th and final year – much like former Red Sox Ramirez hopes to accomplish.

Players have ten years of eligibility to remain on the ballot as long as they receive 5% of the vote. For Ramirez, the announcement on Jan. 20 will be the last in which he can hope to hear his name called.