Mets' Daniel Murphy among new additions to 2026 Hall of Fame ballot as Carlos Beltrán eyes induction

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Nov 17, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Daniel Murphy, a New York Mets postseason hero and one of the top second basemen of his era, is up for Hall of Fame consideration for the first time.

Murphy is among the 12 first-time entries on the 2026 ballot, which the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) unveiled Monday.

Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun and Cole Hamels are among the others.

Murphy batted .296 with 138 home runs and a .796 OPS over 12 MLB seasons from 2008-2020.

He spent his first seven seasons with the Mets and immortalized himself in franchise lore by hitting seven home runs during their run to the 2015 World Series. Murphy was the 2015 NLCS MVP.

The following season, Murphy finished second in National League MVP voting as a member of the Washington Nationals by batting .347 with 25 home runs, 104 RBI and a .985 OPS, all of which marked career highs.

Murphy was a three-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger.

The ballot’s other first-time additions include slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who had a brief stint with the Yankees, and right-hander Rick Porcello, who spent his final season with the Mets.

Howie Kendrick, Alex Gordon, Gio Gonzalez, Shin-Soo Choo, Nick Markakis and Hunter Pence round out the list of first-timers.

Murphy is not, however, the most high-profile former Met on the ballot. That would be Carlos Beltrán, who fell just short of induction in 2025 by receiving 70.3% of the vote.

A candidate must appear on 75% of ballots to be elected, and each gets 10 years of eligibility.

Beltrán is appearing on the ballot for a fourth time and is considered the most likely person to be inducted next year. He is one of five players ever with at least 500 doubles, 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases.

Andruw Jones, who received 66.2% of the vote in 2025, is also a strong contender in his ninth year on the ballot.

This should be an intriguing year for former Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte, who received 27.9% of the vote in 2025 but was that ballot’s biggest riser with a 14.4% increase from 2024.

His candidacy has received renewed attention in his eighth year of eligibility following the first-ballot induction of former teammate CC Sabathia in July.

Pettitte was 256-153 with a 3.85 ERA and a 117 ERA+, compared to Sabathia’s 251-161 record, 3.74 ERA and 116 ERA+, though Sabathia is one of only four lefties to record at least 3,000 strikeouts.

Pettitte admitted to using human growth hormone (HGH) in 2002 and 2004 in attempts to recover from injuries. MLB did not test for the substance at the time, nor was it banned.

Alex Rodriguez, who appeared on 37.1% of the ballots in 2025, is now in his fifth year of eligibility. The former Yankees star served a season-long suspension in 2014 for his violation of MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

The results of this year’s vote are set to be revealed on Jan. 20.

In a separate vote by the Hall’s contemporary era committee, Yankees great Don Mattingly is up for consideration, as are Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, Fernando Valenzuela, Carlos Delgado and Jeff Kent.

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