2025 HOF classic baseball era ballot preview

The National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of its 2025 Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

A 16-person committee will vote on the ballot's seven players and one manager who made their primary contributions to baseball before 1980. Like the BBWAA ballot, candidates who receive 75% of the vote will be inducted as part of the Hall's Class of 2025 on July 27.

All WAR figures are Baseball Reference's version unless otherwise noted. Negro League statistics courtesy Seamheads.

Dick Allen

Position: 1B/3B/LF
Years: 1963-1977
Teams: Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox, Athletics
JAWS: 52.3 (17th at 3B)
WAR: 58.7 (17th)
Last committee appearance: 2022 (11 of 16 votes)

Allen is one of the most dominant and feared offensive players of his time: His 155 wRC+ ranks 15th among AL/NL live-ball era hitters since 1920 and is the sixth-highest for a right-handed hitter in the same span. His accolades include the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year - one of the greatest debut campaigns ever - the 1972 AL MVP, and seven All-Star appearances. He led his league in OPS four times, slugging and OPS+ three times, and had an OBP above .370 in 10 of his 15 seasons. Allen was often misunderstood during his career - he got into frequent battles with the press and fans in Philadelphia and dealt with racism in both the minors and MLB.

Detractors may point to his low hit total - only one expansion-era player with fewer than 2,000 hits has been elected to the Hall - or his shorter career compared to other inductees. But it's worth noting that Allen's peak came during one of the most pitcher-friendly eras in baseball history. He may be a favorite for election after having missed by one vote in each of his last two appearances on a committee ballot.

Ken Boyer

Position: 3B
Years: 1955-1969
Teams: Cardinals, Mets, White Sox, Dodgers
JAWS: 54.5 (14th at 3B)
WAR: 62.8 (15th)
Last committee appearance: 2022 (fewer than 4 votes)

A rock at the hot corner during his prime with the Cardinals, Boyer won five Gold Gloves and averaged 24 homers and 93 RBIs over his first decade in the majors. He won the 1964 NL MVP while leading St. Louis to a World Series championship. Between 1955 and 1964, only seven players - Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, and Ernie Banks - had more WAR than Boyer. Unfortunately, back injuries led to a steep decline after his MVP season, and he bounced around as a bench player and de facto coach to end his career.

Third base remains the most underrepresented position in Cooperstown, and Boyer's arguably the best eligible positional player still on the outside. This would ideally help his cause, but past committee votes show he's had trouble finding enough support.

John Donaldson

Position: LHP
Primary Teams: Tennessee Rats, All Nations, Indianapolis ABCs, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, John Donaldson's All-Stars
Last committee appearance: 2022 (8 of 16 votes)

Donaldson may have been the best pitcher of his time, but he never got a chance to show it in the majors because of segregation. Research credits him with over 420 wins and 5,200 strikeouts during a career of over three decades, along with 14 no-hitters and two perfect games. He recorded at least 20 strikeouts in 32 starts and had 30 Ks twice. Donaldson crafted his legend primarily on the barnstorming circuit, most famously with the integrated All Nations club, and pitched in over 700 cities across North America. He was an original member of the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs and Hall of Famer Buck O'Neil once said Donaldson "showed Satchel Paige the way."

Though he retired long before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Donaldson shattered another important ceiling - in 1949, the Chicago White Sox hired him as MLB's first full-time Black talent scout. He signed some of that era's top Negro League talent into their organization, though the White Sox passed on a trio of Donaldson-recommended talented youngsters named Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks.

Steve Garvey

Position: 1B
Years: 1969-1987
Teams: Dodgers, Padres
JAWS: 33.4 (51st at 1B)
WAR: 38.0 (53rd)
Last committee appearance: 2020 (six of 16 votes)

Garvey was one of the NL's standard-bearers at first base for over a decade. The 1974 NL MVP won four Gold Gloves, had six 200-hit seasons, five 100-RBI campaigns, and displayed remarkable durability by appearing in an NL-record 1,207 consecutive games. He's well-known for his playoff performances, putting up a .910 OPS with 11 homers over five postseason outings while winning NLCS MVP twice. Garvey helped the Dodgers win four pennants and the 1981 World Series title, then led the Padres to their first playoff berth and pennant. His walk-off homer in Game 4 of the 1984 NLCS remains one of the most iconic moments in Padres history.

Garvey's case should appeal to older-school mindsets who like high batting average and hit totals, not to mention his playoff accolades. His advanced stats have held him back in past Hall of Fame votes, and could do so again here - they just don't measure up. If elected, Garvey would have the third-lowest JAWS and WAR scores among Hall of Fame first basemen (Negro Leaguers excepted).

Vic Harris

Position: OF/Manager
Years: 1922-1948
Primary Teams: Pittsburgh Keystones, Cleveland Browns, Chicago American Giants, Homestead Grays, Detroit Wolves, Pittsburgh Crawfords
Last committee appearance: 2022 (10 of 16 votes)

*The Grays' 1939 championships are not officially counted in some sources

Harris was one of the best managers in Negro League history, piloting the great Homestead Grays teams that featured numerous Negro League greats, including Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. He led the Grays to eight first-place finishes, seven Negro National League pennants (plus another two as a player), and the 1948 Negro World Series title. Harris amassed a .682 winning percentage across all competitions, including three Puerto Rican winter-league seasons, eight East-West All-Star Games, four postseasons, and 218 non-league contests; his 1920-48 Negro League winning percentage (.665 on Seamheads, .663 on Baseball-Reference) is now the highest in MLB history among managers with at least 500 career games.

Harris' Negro League playing career likely wouldn't qualify him for induction alone. However, it does enhance a very worthy managerial resume that's often gone overlooked whenever pre-integration Black baseball greats have come up for election.

Tommy John

Position: LHP
Years: 1963-1989
Teams: Indians, White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Angels, Athletics
S-JAWS: 47.5 (77th at SP)
WAR: 61.6 (58th)
Last committee appearance: 2020 (3 or fewer votes)

John's case includes more than just the stats. He was, of course, patient zero for the reconstructive elbow ligament surgery that now bears his name. Because of the procedure, it's easy to forget how good he was. John was a crafty and dependable left-hander for 26 seasons - only Nolan Ryan played longer - and nearly reached 300 victories while averaging 219 innings per 162 games. He was a three-time 20-game winner and had nine seasons with an ERA below three.

Statistically, John does fall short of several Hall of Fame standards: His 4.3 K/9 rate is exceptionally low; he never had a 150-strikeout season, and only reached 100 Ks three times post-surgery. He was the Cy Young runner-up twice, but only earned votes four times in 26 seasons. Despite his notoriety, John wasn't usually thought of as a top-tier pitcher while active.

Dave Parker

Position: RF
Years: 1973-1991
Teams: Pirates, Reds, Athletics, Brewers, Angels, Blue Jays
JAWS: 38.8 (42nd at RF)
WAR: 40.1 (54th)
Last committee appearance: 2020 (7 of 16 votes)

For a brief time in the late 1970s, Parker had a legitimate case as baseball's best all-around player. "The Cobra" struck fear into pitchers at the plate and wielded a powerful arm in right field. Parker won the 1978 NL MVP and had four top-five MVP finishes. He won two batting titles, three Gold Gloves, and three Silver Sluggers, and also led his league in slugging twice. Parker was a lynchpin of some great 1970s Pirates teams alongside Willie Stargell, helping them to a World Series title in 1979. He won a second ring as the Athletics' DH in 1989.

Parker's career could have been even better if not for his injuries and cocaine use. From 1980-83, he put up a 107 OPS+ in just 423 games, and those lost campaigns likely cost him 3,000 hits and 400 homers. While he eventually achieved sobriety and even briefly rediscovered his old form, Parker had just one season with an OPS above .900, and two above .800, after 1979.

Luis Tiant

Position: RHP
Years: 1964-1982
Teams: Indians, Twins, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates, Angels
S-JAWS: 53.7 (43rd at SP)
WAR: 66.1 (45th)
Last committee appearance: 2018 (fewer than 7 votes)

"El Tiante" crafted a legend as one of the iconic pitchers of his era. Tiant was a four-time 20-game winner and led his league in ERA twice. His best season came with Cleveland in 1968, but he's still best known for his eight years with the Red Sox. His performance during the 1975 playoffs in particular made Tiant a folk hero across New England, despite Boston's World Series loss. Advanced stats that weren't available during his career help Tiant's case now: he finished top-10 in ERA+ seven times and in WAR eight times. His lifetime 114 ERA+ is 10 points higher than his contemporary Catfish Hunter, who was elected by writers in 1987.

Tiant's counting stats don't jump off the page, which probably hurt him in past elections. He also only received Cy Young votes three times. The lack of award recognition left him with a much lower Hall of Fame Monitor score than some of his contemporaries.

Prediction

We expect Cooperstown to welcome at least one new member Sunday. Our virtual votes would go to Allen and Tiant, two long-overlooked legends who should have been elected before their recent deaths, as well as Donaldson, a trailblazer for Black baseball. We expect, however, that Allen's name will be the only one called.