The National Baseball Hall of Fame won't be calling for former Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia when the Class of 2026 is announced Tuesday. But his chances of eventually being enshrined in Cooperstown aren't too shabby.
Pedroia is appearing on 26.5% of the 211 ballots made public. That's a long way from the 75% needed for induction. But it's up from the 11.9% he received last year , which was his first on the ballot. Players have 10 years to reach the magic number needed for enshrinement.
You want more good news? Then let's take a look at former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley , who is appearing on 68.2% of the ballots. This is his third year of eligibility and he's getting a big bump from the 39.8% he received in 2025.
Taking a look at the numbers, Utley has a decent case for Cooperstown. He played 16 MLB seasons and collected 1,885 hits and 259 home runs with a lifetime .275 batting average and 64.6 WAR.
Pedroia played 14 seasons, although he took the field in a total of just nine games over his last two years thanks to Manny Machado's ill-fated takeout slide . Pedroia had 1,805 hits, 140 home runs and a lifetime .299 batting average with 51.8 WAR.
But if you compare their 162-game averages, Pedroia fares much better.
Pedroia: .299, 15 home runs, 42 doubles, 193 hits, 99 runs, 78 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, .365/.439/.805, 5.6 WAR.
Utley: .275, 22 home runs, 34 doubles, 158 hits, 92 runs, 86 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, .358/.465/.823, 5.4 WAR.
Now take into account their resume honors.
Pedroia: Two World Series titles, four All-Star selections, four Gold Glove Awards, one Silver Slugger Award, 2007 American League Rookie of the Year , 2008 AL MVP .
Utley: One World Series title, six All-Star selections, four Silver Slugger Awards.
That's it for Utley. No MVP, no Gold Glove Awards.
However Masslive.com's Sean McAdam believes neither player is worthy of the Hall of Fame.
"(I)n each case, both had their careers severely limited by injuries," McAdam wrote. "In Utley's case, he played more than 125 games just four times in his last 10 seasons. With Pedroia, he cracked the 100-game plateau just twice in his final five years.
"Both had periods of greatness. But to me, they weren't great long enough, though it should be noted that was beyond their control," McAdam concluded.
Oh and by the way, former Red Sox World Series MVP Manny Ramirez won't be joining the other legends in Cooperstown. This is his last year of eligibility and he's appearing on just 40.4% of the ballots.
Ramirez certainly has a Hall-of-Fame resume : 555 home runs, .312 batting average, 12-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger Award winner, two-time World Series champion.
But members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America continue to resist voting for Ramirez, who failed multiple tests for performance-enhancing drugs.
