Cooperstown or bust: 3 biggest snubs who can break through depressing 2026 HOF class

The Baseball Hall of Fame elected its newest class of inductees on Tuesday night, and as always, it's a star-studded group, with outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, lefty CC Sabathia and closer Billy Wagner all set to take their place among the game's greats in Cooperstown this summer. But while we'll have plenty of time to celebrate those three and their myriad accomplishments in the days, weeks and months to come, it's also worth taking some time to highlight the players who fell just short despite their own Hall-worthy resumes.

The Hall is no stranger to snubs, and this year is no exception. But while some stars unjustly fell short this time around, there is a silver lining: The 2026 ballot features an usually weak crop of first-timers — outside of Cole Hamels, the only other candidate worthy of consideration is ... Ryan Braun? — meaning that voters might have a little extra space to consider candidates they didn't vote for this time around.

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3. RHP Felix Hernandez

King Felix didn't sniff enshrinement in his first year on the ballot, finishing up at just over 20 percent of the vote. But we've seen other players, especially starting pitchers, overcome inauspicious starts to eventually earn a place in Cooperstown, and the former Seattle Mariners righty could — and should — be the latest.

Hamels' addition to the ballot could help. While the Philadelphia Phillies lefty proved more durable than Hernandez over his career, his peak wasn't as sensational: Unlike Hernandez, he never won a Cy Young or an ERA title, and he made just four All-Star appearances to Hernandez's six. Without a ton of other candidates crowding the ballot, Hernandez's candidacy figures to get some more attention, and if he makes a sizable gain next year, he could be on track for the Hall.

2. 2B Chase Utley

It's frankly a shame that Utley fell this far short of the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Sure, he got a later start to his career, but if you spend six seasons as the consensus best player at your position — and add several other solid years on top of that — you deserve to get in, or at least deserve more than the 40 percent of the vote Utley garnered.

Now, though, the floor is pretty much his and his alone. Unless the BBWAA has a drastic change of heart regarding candidates linked to steroid use, there won't be many position players competing for attention on the 2026 ballot, which should allow a groundswell of support for Utley to (hopefully) get him over the line. Even if he doesn't make it in next year, he should at least get close, and be well-positioned to make it to Cooperstown in 2027 or 2028.

1. OF Andruw Jones

It's been a long, slow climb for Jones since he first appeared on the ballot back in 2018, but after finishing with 66.2 percent of the vote in his seventh year of eligibility, 2026 should finally be his time. Jones spent a full decade as one of the best all-around center fielders in the sport for the Atlanta Braves, combining an all-world glove with well-above-average bat, and that profile should be enough to get him to Cooperstown even if we're just now starting to understand how to properly value elite defense. As more voters become eligible and the field thins a bit, he should get much more attention next time around, and that can only help.