Brewers great Ryan Braun won't appear on next Hall of Fame ballot
It's one and done for Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun , who did not receive the requisite 5% of votes to remain on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for another year.
On Jan. 20, the Baseball Writers Association of America revealed their modern-ballot Hall of Fame class for 2026, inducting Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones.
Braun, on the short list of greatest players in Milwaukee Brewers history, received just 3.5% of the vote , leaving him well shy of the mark needed to carry over.
Braun's name was checked on 15 ballots among 425 voters.
Braun was one of 12 first-time candidates, a list that also includes former Brewers pitcher Gio González , who did not receive any votes and also won't return to the ballot. Former Brewers pitcher Francisco Rodríguez , a holdover from last year's ballot, received 11.8% of the vote and will carry over to the 2027 ballot for a fifth season of consideration.
"K-Rod" saw a slight increase from 10.2% last year and 7.8% the year before. He had 10.8% of the vote in his first year.
Players on the list will need 75% of the vote to win election into the Hall of Fame, and they'll remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, so long as they receive 5% of the vote.
Braun could theoretically have one more chance as part of the Era Committee vote (often thought of as the "Veterans Committee"), which will next consider players from the "contemporary" era (1980 to the present) in late 2028. However, that remains a longshot.
Though he made six all-star teams, won an MVP and Rookie of the Year award and stands as the Brewers' all-time leader in homers (352) with top-three placements in RBIs (second), slugging (third), runs (third), hits (third), doubles (second), total bases (second), triples (third) and stolen bases (third), his overall numbers don't represent a traditional Hall of Fame resume.
And even if they did, there's an even bigger hurdle to clear. Braun's suspension for performance-enhancing drug usage and his famous denial almost certainly put him in the same camp as players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Those two are slam-dunk statistical Hall of Fame cases who have been denied enough votes, presumably due to their own connection to banned substances.
Braun, who was inducted into the Brewers Walk of Fame in 2024, has nonetheless authored some of the most iconic moments in Brewers history , including unforgettable home runs to help the Brewers wrap up playoff berths in 2008 and 2011.
The Brewers first acquired closer Rodríguez from the Mets for the 2011 stretch run, and he had a 1.86 ERA for a team that reached the National League Championship Series. He returned to the Brewers in 2012, 2013 and again in 2014 after getting traded to the Orioles, making the all-star team in both 2014 and 2015 as a Brewer. He has a 2.91 ERA in 263 games with Milwaukee. He's best known for his seven seasons with the Angels before becoming a Met and then a Brewer.
González played in Milwaukee at the end of 2018 and then in 2019, making 24 appearances and posting a 3.20 ERA.
The ballot for the Class of 2027 won't likely feature any new ex-Brewers, though Lorenzo Cain and short-term ex-Brewers Brock Holt and Stephen Vogt would be eligible in 2028. In 2029, among the possible eligible players are Nelson Cruz , Zack Greinke , Josh Donaldson , Mike Moustakas , Jean Segura and former Brewers minor-leaguer Michael Brantley .
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers great Ryan Braun won't appear on next Hall of Fame ballot
