New Hall of Fame ballot sports numerous Cleveland Guardians icons

Two players punched their ticket to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

But neither were former Cleveland players.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, four former members of the Cleveland Indians were listed down on the 27-man ballot: Manny Ramirez, Omar Vizquel, Edwin Encarnacion and Shin-Soo Choo; none of them ended up being elected. While the two who received enough votes to be elected were Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, Ramirez and Vizquel weren't terribly far behind.

Ramirez, whose 10-year time on the ballot has come to a close, came in at 165 votes for 38.8%. He can no longer be inducted into the Hall, needing to have hit a 75% mark. Vizquel has one year remaining, but his chances don't look very high, as he received just 18.4% of the vote with 78 votes in total.

The likes of Encarnacion and Choo, unfortunately, only got nine total votes altogether, which is far below the bar of remaining on the ballot moving forward.

As of now, the only former Cleveland ball player that'll be listed for sure next year is Vizquel, with Ramirez, Encarnacion and Choo all missing out on a chance to go to Cooperstown.

Manny Ramirez showed up on 38.8% of the Hall of Fame ballots this year, his highest in the 10 years he was on the ballot.

(via Paul Hoynes | https://t.co/FDzJXaKGwN) pic.twitter.com/8cHOUKe3X9
— Guardians Nation (@GuardiansNation) January 21, 2026

Manny Ramirez (OF) - Eight Seasons

Across his 10 years on the ballot, this was by far the 53-year-old's best voting percentage. His illustrious career, highlighted by 12 All-Star selections, nine Silver Sluggers, two World Series titles, and numerous other individual accolades, spanned eight years in Cleveland.

While there, he was excellent, slashing .313/.407/.592 for an OPS of .998. He crushed 236 home runs, just one shy of his total number of doubles.

That should've been enough to warrant an induction into Cooperstown, but testing positive for steroids twice cast a negative cloud over his success on the diamond. He will go down as yet another baseball great whose Hall of Fame induction never came.

Omar Vizquel (SS) - 11 Seasons

Vizquel was teammates with Ramirez for seven seasons from 1994 through 2000.

He's one of the league's greatest infielders, snagging 11 Golden Glove awards, but his lack of hitting production has tinted the outlook on his potential induction into the Hall. He finished his career with a .283 batting average, never breaking into the upper echelon of baseball's best hitters. His best season with Cleveland was in 1999, when he was named an All-Star with a .333 batting average and a career-high 36 doubles.

Just a few years ago, he was nearly inducted, receiving a promising 52.6% vote, but off-the-field concerns and issues started arising. That dropped his chances of slowly gaining more votes each year drastically, and now, it would be an incredible feat to be inducted in his 10th year, which will be next cycle.

Edwin Encarnacion (DH/1B/3B) - Two Seasons

Encarnacion played for Cleveland the least of the four players who represent the organization on the ballot.

He never really fit Cleveland's mold, slashing .252/.358/.490 for an OPS of .848. He had immense power, but his consistency wavered. He finished his time with Cleveland, knocking 70 total home runs on 266 hits.

His appearance on the ballot was never really expected to go far, receiving just six votes out of 425 ballots sent in.

Shin-Soo Choo (OF) - Seven Seasons

Choo played for Cleveland from 2006 to 2012, being a staple in right field for the team. He hit .292 with 83 deep balls and nearly 300 RBIs while with the Indians. His highest career bWAR was 5.9 back in the 2010 season.

Following his time in Cleveland, though, his career started trending downward and he never reached that high he had at Progressive Field. He finished his 16-year stint in MLB with a .275 batting average, not getting close enough to that beloved .300 mark to warrant eyeballs for votes.

He netted three votes, less than 1% of ballots had Choo's name on it.

With Vizquel returning, the only other former Cleveland baseball players who could also end up on the 2027 ballot are Asdrubal Cabrera and Scott Kazmir.

Only time will tell who the next player from The Land to end up at Cooperstown will be. However, the city will at least be able to rejoice as they receive a bit of recognition this summer, as long-time writer Paul Hoynes receives the BBWAA Career Excellence Award. He will be honored at the July 25 Awards Presentation.