Laura Albanese: How I became a baseball lifer Newsday's Mets beat writer on how the game has impacted her life from a young age.

People sometimes ask if I actually love baseball. And yes, absolutely I do. But maybe not for the regular reasons. It gave me something to hold on to during a childhood of brief homelessness, isolation and abuse. I'll always be grateful. Happy Opening Day. www.newsday.com/sports/colum...

5 Things We Learned From Public 2026 Baseball Hall Of Fame Votes J.J. Cooper digs into Baseball Hall of Faming voting data from this year's balloting to identify a number of key trends about voters.

Public results from 2026 Hall of Fame voters are now fully available.

Here are five things we learned:

Here is the BBWAA ballot release: bbwaa.com/26-hof-ballo...

Looks like about 100 ballots that will be new to the Tracker. We'll have them in the Tracker later this afternoon.

Carlos Beltran on trying not to think too much about his HOF chance the last few weeks: "Let me tell you, my wife Jessica, she spent hours and time trying to basically stay in contact with the Hall of Fame baseball tracker." CC: @notmrtibbs.com @tonycal.bsky.social @shutthedore.bsky.social

Carlos Beltrán, left, and Andruw Jones pose in Hall of Fame caps and jerseys at the site of their future plaques. (Nancy Ford/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)

Center stage with our newest Hall of Famers.

Carlos Beltrán's wife intently followed Hall of Fame vote-tracker Carlos Beltrán's wife closely followed the Hall of Fame vote-tracker, celebrating each gain. Beltrán received 84.2% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, surpassing the 75% n...

Good lede, in my opinion. apnews.com/article/hall...

Five things we learned from the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame election Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have changed the landscape of modern Hall of Fame voting. But there is so much more to discuss.

New from me:

5 Things We Learned from the Hall of Fame election
www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

We finish at 245 pre-results ballots. Thank you for following!

Ballot 245 from Anthony McCarron: Beltrán, Félix, Andruw, Pedroia, Pettitte, Utley, Wright

Ballot #245 is from Anthony McCarron, via SNY’s Baseball Night in NY. He votes again for his seven holdovers, with no changes. Carlos Beltrán ends the pre portion of the program at 89.8%, Andruw Jones at 83.3%.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

John Harper HOF Ballot (3): Beltrán, Jones, Pettitte

Ballot #244 is from John Harper, live on SNY’s Baseball Night in New York. He selects Beltrán, Jones, and Pettitte. No adds or drops for returning candidates and no first-timers selected

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Table of Hall of Fame projections showing Carlos Beltrán as a sure thing and Andruw Jones being elected 97% of the time.

For posterity, here are my final 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame projections. Thanks as ever to @notmrtibbs.com, @shutthedore.bsky.social, and @tonycal.bsky.social for all their hard work. Hall of Fame season wouldn’t really exist without them!

Update at 243 ballots. Less than a half hour to go. We think we'll have our usual final two ballots from SNY right at the top of the hour. Anything else...?

Ballot 243 from Bob Nightengale: Beltrán, Andruw, Vizquel

Ballot #243 is from Bob Nightengale. He again votes for his three holdovers - Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, and Omar Vizquel - with no adds, drops, or first-timers selected.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

My 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot—and Why I’ve Changed My Approach to Voting Tom Verducci explains why he voted for three returning candidates he’d previously passed on.

And here’s a column to accompany Verducci’s ballot: www.si.com/mlb/tom-verd...

Tom Verducci HOF Ballot (4): Beltrán, Jones(+1), Rollins(+1), Utley(+1)

Ballot #242 is from Tom Verducci, revealed moments ago on MLB Network’s pre-announcement special. After voting for Wagner, CC, Ichiro and Beltrán last year, he adds Jones (+16), Rollins (+17), and Utley (+26)

Current %:
Beltrán 89.7
Jones 83.1
Utley 69.4
Rollins 27.3

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

John Shea's HOF ballot: Andruw, Pettitte (+1), Rollins, Utley (+1)

Ballot #241 is from John Shea. Holdovers Andruw Jones and Jimmy Rollins get carried over and are joined by Andy Pettitte (now +37) and Chase Utley (+25). Shea's column on his ballot will be published in the coming days at the San Francisco Standard.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Pleasure is all mine, Boss!

Handful of others I will continue to heavily consider

So very close, really tough call

Ballot 240 from Ryan Fagan: Abreu, Beltrán, Buehrle, Hamels, Félix, Andruw, Pettitte, Manny, Utley

Félix displaying tied for 9th in all-time net gain with +49

Félix displaying alone in 2nd place for pre-announce net gain at +49

Ballot #240 is from Ryan Fagan. Félix gains again for his 50th add (net +49). Hamels gets a vote & is at 31.7%. This is the 3rd time (1st since ‘18) with 240 pre ballots. Félix now t-9th ever in full cycle net gain & 2nd pre-announce.

His column: theanalyst.com/articles/bas...

Tracker: tracker.fyi

It's a weird feeling, measuring time in decades.

My ballot for the @baseballhall.org Class of 2026 marks a full decade of having the honor/privilege of voting for the Hall. Never, ever something I'll take for granted. My ballot column, on @optaanalyst.optajoe.com

theanalyst.com/articles/bas...

Joe Smith HOF Ballot (7): Beltrán, Jones, Pettitte, Manny, A-Rod, Rollins, Utley

Ballot #239 is from Joe Smith. He selects seven holdovers following the election of three candidates from his group of ten last year. No adds, drops, or first-year candidates selected

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Jon Meoli HOF Ballot (10): Abreu, Beltrán, Hamels, Félix, Jones, Pedroia, Pettitte, Manny, A-Rod, Utley

Ballot #238 is from Jon Meoli, our 37th first-time voter. He selects ten candidates. Beltrán remains perfect here, while Jones is at 91.9%, Utley 83.8%, Félix 75.7% and Pettitte 70.7%

Meoli’s column: www.thebanner.com/sports/oriol...

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Tom Haudricourt's HOF ballot: Beltrán, Andruw, K-Rod, Utley. Pedrioa dropped.

Ballot #237 is from Tom Haudricourt. Four of his holdover make it back to his 2026 ballot, but Pedroia is dropped and falls to net +21. Carlos Beltrán inches closer to 90%.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Ballot 236 from Ben Reiter: Abreu add to +19, Beltrán, Buehrle add to +13, Hamels, Félix, Andruw, Pettitte, Manny, A-Rod, Utley

Ballot #236 is from Ben Reiter. Bobby Abreu (+19), Mark Buehrle (+13), and Cole Hamels (31.4%) join seven holdovers. This is the most common 10-player ballot, submitted now 8 times.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

Here’s my 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. I continue to think starting pitchers haven’t received enough recognition in recent years.

Ballot 235 from Troy Renck: Beltrán, Andruw, Rollins, and Utley add to +24

Ballot #235 is from Troy Renck. Chase Utley joins holdovers Beltrán, Jones, and Rollins. He moves to +24 and sits at 68.5% overall in his third year of eligibility.

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi

It’s that time of year. My @officialBBWAA Hall of Fame ballot:
@DPostSports
The 2026 class is announced today

Randy Miller HOF Ballot (6): Beltrán(+1), Pettitte(+1), Rollins, Utley, Vizquel, Wright

Ballot #234 is from Randy Miller. Beltrán (+13) and Pettitte (+36) both gain votes, however, Andruw Jones suffers his first drop and falls back to +15. He sits at 82.5%

In the Tracker: tracker.fyi