Former Texas Rangers Pitcher First-Year Eligible for Hall of Fame Next Year

A former Texas Rangers pitcher will be eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time in 2026.

Jul 23, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) reacts during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The most recent trio of Hall of Fame inductees has been announced, and while none of the three spent any time with the Texas Rangers, they have all spent an ample amount of time playing against the Rangers.

Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, and CC Sabathia are all deserving of their Hall of Fame induction, and that is more than what most of the new entrants to the ballot next year can say.

Next year's incoming talent to the Hall of Fame ballot marks one of the weaker classes in quite some time, but it is headlined by one former pitcher who has a better chance than most of making it in, Cole Hamels.

Despite how his tenure with Texas went, he served as one of the four aces for the Philadelphia Phillies in their brief run of dominance from 2008 through 2011 and was a key piece of their 2008 World Series Championship team.

The Rangers acquired Hamels in a trade with the Phillies ahead of the 2015 MLB trade deadline, along with Jake Diekman for Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Matt Harrison, Jake Thompson, and Nick Williams.

Alfaro has shown the most Major League staying power from that group, though he is on his last legs at the top level.

Hamels spent parts of four years with Texas, and it would go down as the worst stretch of his career, though it was still better than most pitchers can say.

During his tenure with the Rangers, Hamels pitched to a 3.90 ERA across 546 2/3 innings in 88 starts with 497 strikeouts and a 118 ERA+. The lefty would earn his fourth and final All-Star nod in 2016, his first full season in Texas.

For his career, Hamels pitched to a 3.43 ERA across 2,698 innings in 423 games with 2,560 strikeouts and a 123 ERA+. Along with his four All-Star nods, the pitcher would finish top-ten in Cy Young voting four times.

It is a weak crop of talent that will be debuting on the ballot in 2026, but Cole Hamels stands head and shoulders above the rest and could serve as the lone Hall of Fame representative from that class.