Baseball Hall of Fame 2025 - Whose Rookie Card Gets a Call to the Hall?

While the weather outside is unbearable for most at the moment, conditions in Cooperstown, NY will soon be warming up as the Baseball Hall of Fame is set to announce the newest class of inductees to its distinguished brotherhood of legends.

To the former major leaguer, Cooperstown means immortality with a spot in the hall to live forever. For the modern day card collector, it can mean that some of those cards in your personal collection from the last 15-20yrs ago could be on the verge of gaining some additional value.

On January 21st around 6 p.m. EST the results of the 2025 BBWAA election will be revealed by the museum's president. Official results will not be known until then, but in the meantime there is a way to see who is trending toward enshrinement through the ingenious work and website of Ryan Thibodaux at bbhoftracker.com.

Since 2014 Ryan has been keeping track of all ballots made public and anonymous by the baseball writers as his own project. Typically writers will publish a picture of their ballot to social media, sometimes directly to Ryan himself as his project has become more well known over the years. Others writers dissect their ballot and reveal via an article. Ryan and his staff file all results directly into the tracker to see who may have a chance at achieving 75% of the vote or better.

At the time of publication roughly 44% of ballots have been made know, so with the help of data already compiled in the tracker here are 5 candidates that have the potential to have their rookie cards elevated to the next level over the following days/weeks:

Andruw Jones - A fan favorite by most of my generation, Andrew Jones made his MLB debut in 1996 at the age of 19. He appears on a 'Prospects' card alongside HOF'er Vladimir Guerrero Sr. in the 1996 Topps set, card #435, but also has two Bowman cards in 1995 that have better eye appeal. 1995 Bowman (#23) and Bowman's Best (#7) have a cleaner look. With an impressive 10 consecutive Gold Gloves awarded between 1998-2007, 5x All-Star appearances, and 434 home runs, Jones is registering slightly below the 75% mark in his 8th year on the ballot. At 72.1% will one of these cards become more iconic than the other?

Carlos Beltrán - Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1995, Beltrán exists in the Topps Traded set for that year as card #18T but it's the picture of his fellow draft pick Juan LeBron showing with his name. Beltrán actually appears on card #12T as Juan LeBron in error. However, the1997 Bowman (#377) carries the ever popular '1st Bowman Card' insignia along with an international parallel that could see a jump in popularity if the former 1999 AL Rookie of the Year is elected in his 3rd year on the ballot. Currently tracking at 80.2% of all revealed ballots, it's only a matter of time for Beltrán?

First HOF’er with ‘1st Bowman Card’? | eBay

Billy Wagner - Unfortunately 'Billy the Kid' was drafted and debuted towards the end of the Junk Wax Era, so there's a lot of paper stock of Wagner between him being drafted by the Houston Astros in 1993 and his debut with the team in '96. Having a PSA 10 copy could hold the key in finding any value here, but I like the 1994 Bowman's Best (#19) the most of any of his early cards. Interesting circumstances surround Wagner this year as it's his 10th and final year on the ballot. With 422 saves, which places him at 8th All-Time in that category, is it Cooperstown or bust for Billy in 2025 who clocks in at 84.9%?

The Kid Rides Off into the Sunset? | eBay

C.C. Sabathia - I have too much to say about Carsten Charles Sabathia. This 6'6" 300lbs lefty defined the word 'workhorse' for nearly two decades almost exclusively in the American League. Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1998, Sabathia had an immediate debut in quality Topps products such as Bowman Chrome (#344), Topps Chrome Traded (#T33), and Topps Finest (#294) the following year. Any of these in gem mint condition should have instant increase in demand, but his one card with a more unique appeal is the on-card certified autograph issue of 1999 Topps Traded (#T33). Before autographed rookies became a trend, this seems like a cool card to own. Showing off at the moment with a modest 93% in his first year on the ballot, will we be C.C.'ing his cards in dealer cases at The National this summer?

Ichiro Suzuki - Often known simply as 'Ichiro', like Sabathia, there's a lot to say here too. After playing the first 10 season of his professional career in Japan, Suzuki burst onto the MLB scene with the Seattle Mariners in 2001 winning not only the AL Rookie of the Year award, but also taking home the league MVP as well as the stolen base crown for that season. Many would consider Ichiro's best card to be the iconic dual image of himself next to Albert Pujols on the 2001 Topps Traded card #T99. Though it's almost assured to go up in value due to the subject matter, it may get out of reach for the average collector. A currently undervalued variation of his rookie card comes from 2001 Bowman Heritage (#352). Printed as a black & white portrait on simple stock, this copy seems so nostalgic and ahead of its time with all of the contemporary throw-back products produced in the last 5-10 years. One of the greatest to play the game, Ichiro is tracking on pace to join Mariano Rivera as another unanimous induction at 100% of the vote.

Which card(s) will get the call on Tuesday January 21st, 2025?

Check your shoe boxes!

RIP - Man of Steal - Rickey Henderson #24