2027 Election
The discussion thread for the 2027 HOM class is active now. Preliminary ballots and reasoning should be posted to the discussion thread before voting.
We welcome new voters for the Hall of Merit (and Most Meritorious Player) elections but be sure to follow the guidelines set out for these elections. *
2027 Newly Eligible Players
2027 represents one of the weakest debut classes in many years, with very few players even worthy of mention in passing. Buster Posey is a strong candidate and likely to make the HOM immediately. After that, there are very few candidates who will even make voters' rankings. Jon Lester is interesting in that he has a sensational playoff record to go with a borderline-at-best regular season case, so he may make some ballots. Brett Gardner, Ryan Zimmerman, and Kyle Seager round out the class, with four All-Star appearances, three Silver Slugger awards, and three Gold Gloves between them, however, they are unlikely to ever make a HOM ballot. All three, however, played their whole careers for a single team, and their careers will be remembered fondly in their hometown halls of fame.
The 2027 election will be another backlog year with Posey all but guaranteed.
2026 Top Backloggers
David Ortiz and Kevin Appier headline the top 10 returners, both of whom were extremely close to making the cut in 2026. Bob Johnson is also in a strong position, but he has been in a similar spot numerous times in the past and as of yet has has not been able to get over the hump. Relative newcomers Martin, Oswalt, Hudson, and Hernández are in a solid position to potentially get to the HOM someday, but it likely won't be in 2027. Joining the top ten returners this year for the first time are John Olerud and Dwight Gooden. Olerud's case has gradually been gaining ground, little by little, while Gooden has a somewhat fractured support that is starting to draw closer scrutiny now that he is among the required mentions. Newcombe remains in the top ten to round out the group.
2027 is an elect-three year, and the only newcomer with a chance is Buster Posey, who will in all likelihood take one of the spots. David Ortiz is a very strong bet to take the second spot. Appier, for the second year in a row, was on the most ballots of any non-electee, and tentatively looks like the best bet for the third spot, going neck-and-neck with Ortiz in the 2026 race. However, Johnson has a long-standing and loyal backing, Russell Martin and Roy Oswalt are on the periphery, and even Hudson and Hernández can't be ruled out entirely, as voters sort through what to do with modern pitchers.
Posey will take one spot, Ortiz will take another, and I will bet on Appier's broad support for the final spot. Johnson will have to wait yet another year.
* There are several steps to take if you would like to participate in voting. The preliminary step is to post your ballot in the 2027 ballot discussion thread on the HOM site. As mentioned in the guidelines, this is more than a mere formality. Voters are expected to display thoughtfulness and logical/internal consistency on their ballots, and first time voters are required to post a preliminary ballot in the discussion which they may be asked to defend (seasoned voters are asked to defend as well, sometimes!). Ballots that are inconsistent or that do not follow the voting guidelines won't be counted.
In short, the HOM asks for voters who take the project seriously and put more than passing thought into the ballot. In particular, it requires being able to appropriately rank or appraise historical players fairly (this is usually the hard part), so unless you are a walking baseball encyclopedia, research is going to be a necessary part of the process. If you're passionate about baseball past and present, then hopefully that sounds like more fun to you than it does work, and the HOM looks forward to your contributions and perspective. Start here: