Inside The Red Sox

How Former Red Sox Stars Fared on 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot

No Sox in the Hall this time
Apr 19, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) looks on from the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Apr 19, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) looks on from the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

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No former Boston Red Sox players made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2026, but there were still some positive developments.

Three ex-Red Sox were on the ballot, and two of the three fell off, which most would have predicted based on their situations. The third, Dustin Pedroia, was the player under a microscope from the Red Sox's perspective this year.

When the results were announced on Tuesday night, Pedroia had made some marginal progress from last year in his second trip to the ballot, and he'll have eight more potential attempts to achieve baseball's highest honor. Here's a full recap of the takeaways, from a Red Sox angle.

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Pedroia gains; Ramírez, Porcello off ballot

The Red Sox's leading vote-getter was Manny Ramírez, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, who still fell well short of the 75% threshold required to get in. The 12-time All-Star had career totals that easily cleared the typical markers to indicate a player's worthiness, but his performance-enhancing drug suspension likely sealed his fate.

Pedroia got just 20.7% of the vote, but compared to his 11.9% share a year ago, that's a fairly significant jump. He also saw fellow second baseman Chase Utley rise to 59.1% in his third year, and the sooner Utley gets in (assuming it happens eventually), the argument will become, "Well, if Utley got in, why shouldn't Pedroia?"

Finally, former Red Sox Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello fell off the ballot in year one, receiving just two total votes. Congrats on a fantastic overall career, but a 4.40 ERA and 18.8 bWAR simply aren't going to pass the voters' sniff test.

Pedroia was one of the all-time Red Sox fan favorites, and his induction would mean a lot to the player, the organization, and those who watched him intently during the height of the Red Sox's championship era.

Unfortunately, injuries stopped him from reaching the 2,000 hit barrier, as his career essentially came to an end after his age-33 season. He's still a former Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, World Series winner, and Gold Glove winner, but Cooperstown looks to be a bit of a long shot at this point.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org