Lamar Odom was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Las Vegas over the weekend after a Nevada State Police trooper spotted the 46-year-old, two-time NBA champion driving more than 100 mph, according to KTNV 13 Action News’ Tuesday report.
Around 2:20 a.m. on Saturday, the trooper saw a black SUV speeding on Interstate 15, where the speed limit was posted at 65 mph. When the trooper pulled over the car, which also changed lanes without signaling, they found Odom and an unidentified male passenger, per KTNV, which reported that both had red, watery eyes and smelled of marijuana.
On Saturday, when Odom was searching for his registration and insurance, he tried to initiate conversation with the trooper, according 8 News Now, which cited documents it obtained Tuesday. He asked how the trooper’s night was going besides him “driving like he was ‘in Back to the Future,'” the report stated, via 8 News Now.
Lamar Odom, flanked here by Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza at a Los Angeles Lakers at a Christmas Day game in 2023, was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of DUI over the weekend. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Allen Berezovsky via Getty Images
When Odom was asked why he was speeding — 8 News Now reported that his SUV was tracked going as fast as 106 mph — he reportedly changed his story multiple times, first noting that he was “almost home” and then later saying that he was headed to his friend’s house.
Odom reportedly followed a similar pattern when he was asked about the last time he consumed marijuana. At one point, he quickly changed his answer from he “doesn’t really smoke” to saying he “does not smoke,” according to the report 8 News Now obtained. Eventually, Odom admitted he smoked “maybe earlier today.”
The report showed that Odom failed the sobriety tests he was given and then was arrested, per 8 News Now.
As of Tuesday, Odom was no longer in custody, per The Associated Press, which cited Clark County jail records. He was booked there on charges of DUI, driving more than 41 miles per hour over the speed limit and failing to maintain travel in a street lane/improper lane change, as reported by USA Today.
Odom was part of the NBA All-Rookie first team with the Los Angeles Clippers, who drafted him No. 4 overall out of Rhode Island in 1999. He became the league’s Sixth Man of the Year with the Lakers in 2011 after helping the franchise win back-to-back titles in 2009-10.
SALFORD, England (AP) — Salford City set up a meeting with Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating Swindon Town 3-2 on Tuesday.
Luke Garbutt curled in a 68th-minute free kick for the winner for the fourth-tier club owned by a consortium containing former Manchester United players David Beckham and Gary Neville.
Salford advanced from the third round for the first time and the reward is another trip to Etihad Stadium on Feb. 14.
City beat Salford 8-0 in the third round last season.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted them in by simply relying on their eyesight from watching them play, while also listening to what their teammates and peers said about them during and after their careers.
If you watched Beltrán and Jones play, you knew these two center fielders were Hall of Famers.
If you asked their former teammates, managers, coaches and opponents, you knew these two players — born just a day apart — were Hall of Famers.
If you still needed to validate your belief, a quick glance at the most basic of statistics would tell you these players were Hall of Famers.
All you had to do is watch. And listen.
Jones was a meteor who burst onto the scene in 1996, won 10 Gold Glove awards in his first 10 seasons, and was widely considered not only the greatest defensive outfielder of his era, but one of the best iin history.
Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente are the only outfielders in history to win more Gold Glove awards. If his career didn’t crater after 11 years in Atlanta, hitting just .210 with a .740 OPS and 66 homers his last five seasons covering 434 games, he might have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Beltrán was a fabulous five-tool player who could hit, run, play defense, and had one of the greatest baseball acumens of anyone in the game. Beltrán, a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, hit .279 with 435 homers and 1,587 RBIs in 20 seasons. He also had one of the greatest resumes in postseason history (.307, 16 homers, 42 RBIs).
He not only was a Roberto Clemente Award winner for his humanitarian efforts off the field, but was considered one of the game’s finest clubhouse leaders.
If Beltrán had retired just one year earlier and didn’t play for the 2017 Houston Astros, who were later caught illegally stealing signs during the entire season, he likely would have been a first-ballot inductee.
Beltrán and Jones had to wait, but it should only make them appreciate the honor even more on this day.
Besides, once you’re in the Hall of Fame, all that matters is that you’re in baseball’s most prestigious club.
There are no designations on your plaque how many years it took for election.
All that matters is that you have a plaque hanging in the gallery, just like Babe Ruth Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., Cool Papa Bell and Joe DiMaggio.
Sure, are there warts?
Absolutely.
It’s no different than anyone else in the Hall of Fame.
Jones is one of only four players to hit at least 400 homers and win 10 Gold Gloves, but he also has the second-lowest batting average (.254) of any Hall of Famer. He is also the first Hall of Famer with fewer than 2,000 hits in 50 years.
Could Beltran, one of only five players in history to hit 500 doubles (565), 400 homers (435) and steal 300 bases (312), have done a better job apologizing for his role in the cheating scandal? Sure.
It doesn’t matter now.
They are authentic Hall of Famers, and their inclusion might open the door for others behind them.
Now that Beltran is the first player to be elected into the Hall of Fame from the Astros’ cheating scandal, how can All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve be blocked from the Hall when his time arrives, and anyone else from that team?
And now that Jones is in with his 10 Gold Gloves and 434 homers, this could assist Torii Hunter’s candidacy with his nine Gold Gloves, 353 homers and 2,452 hits — 519 more than Jones. Certainly, it has to be a boost for Kenny Lofton (six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, 2,428 hits) who was off the BBWAA ballot after one year, but remains eligible for election on the contemporary era committee when it meets again in three years.
We’ll discover the ramifications of their inclusion in future Hall of Fame elections.
All that matters in this 2026 election is that Beltran and Jones are Hall of Famers now, and forever.
Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in results announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday afternoon.
Beltrán was named on 358 of 425 ballots (84.2 percent) by the BBWAA, surpassing the 75-percent threshold required for induction in his fourth year on the ballot. For Jones, his rise in support was more methodical, starting with only 7.3 percent and 7.5 percent in 2018-19, his first two tries, barely above the five-percent needed to remain on the ballot. Jones this year received 78.4-percent support, clearing induction by 14 votes in his ninth year on the ballot.
Beltrán hit .279/.350/.486 with a 118 wRC+ with 435 home runs and 312 stolen bases in 20 big league seasons for the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers. A nine-time All-Star, Beltran also won three Gold Glove Awards in center field and two Silver Slugger Awards, and hit .307/.412/.609 with 16 home runs and a 169 wRC+ in 65 postseason games.
Jones is one of the best defensive center fielders ever and hit .263/.342/.497 with a 111 wRC+ and 434 home runs in his 17-year career, though was basically finished as a productive player after age 30. The Dodgers signed him to a two-year deal in 2008, his age-31 season, and he hit .158/.256/.249 in 75 games, his 35 OPS+ tied for the worst in Dodgers history in the live ball era, with a minimum of 200 plate appearances.
The biggest jump on the 2026 ballot was from pitcher Félix Hernández, who was named on 46.1 percent of ballots in his second try on the ballot, up from 20.6 percent in his first year. Chase Utley also had a sizable jump, going from 39.8 percent last year to 59.1 percent this year on his third ballot. Utley had the most votes on this ballot among players not inducted.
Cole Hamels got the most support of any first-year player on the ballot with 101 votes, 23.8 percent of the total.
Manny Ramírez received only 38.8 percent in his 10th and final year on the writers’ ballot, his 555 career home runs outweighed by his two suspensions under the MLB joint drug policy. This was his highest support in any of his 10 years on the ballot.
Torii Hunter isn’t anywhere close to induction and only got 8.7 percent of the vote this year, but that’s 16 votes more than the five-percent required for remaining on the ballot what for Hunter in 2027 will be his seventh year.
Carlos Beltrán dazzled Royals fans with highlight-reel catches, amazing power, and blazing speed, providing a rare bright spot during some otherwise gloomy seasons. Anyone who watched him during that stretch was watching a future Hall of Famer.
Beltrán was officially elected into the Hall of Fame in results announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. Beltrán was on 84.2 percent of ballots, clearing the 75 percent threshold on his fourth ballot. Joining him in the 2026 class will be outfielder Andruw Jones, who appeared on 78.4 percent of ballots in his ninth year.
Chase Utley continues to build support, but fell short with support on just 59.1 percent of the ballots. Manny Ramirez was not elected in his tenth and final year on the ballot, earning just 38.8 percent of the vote. Cole Hamels did the best among first-time candidates, named on 23.8 percent of ballots. Former Royals outfielder Alex Gordon was named on just one ballot and will not be eligible on next year’s ballot.
Beltrán spent 20 years in the big leagues, starting with the Royals. He won Rookie of the Year in 1999, becoming just the eighth rookie in MLB history to score 100 runs and drive in 100 runs. He went on to play for the Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers before re-joining the Astros at the end of his career. He finished his MLB career with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, and a line of .279/.350/.486 with 70.1 rWAR. He was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and one of the more respected players in the game. His candidacy was later complicated by his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, likely delaying his induction.
Andruw Jones is regarded as one of the best defensive outfielders of all time and was a key member of the great Braves teams of the late 90s and early 2000s. In 17 seasons, he hit .254/.337/.486 with 434 homers, 1,289 RBIs, and 152 stolen bases with the Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees. He was a five-time All-Star, a ten-time Gold Glove winner, and he won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005 when he led the league in home runs (51) and RBI (128). His 24.4 defensive WAR is the most ever by an outfielder.
What cap Beltrán wears in Cooperstown remains to be seen. Players can request a certain team, but it is still at the discretion of the Hall, and sometimes a player enters with no logo. Beltrán spent seven years each with the Royals and Mets. He played 839 games with the Mets and 795 with the Royals. His most memorable postseason came in 2006 with the Mets, although he was known for making the last out in the NLCS. He later reached the World Series with the Cardinals in 2013 and won a championship with the Astros in 2017.
On sporting merit, Beltrán’s inclusion is a no-brainer. His statistical résumé is robust, inarguable. A dual-threat in his younger years, Beltrán’s power-speed combo helped him become one of just five players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 300 steals. Two of his companions in that group, Willie Mays and Andre Dawson, are Hall of Famers. The others, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, would be if not for their histories with steroids.
Beltrán too had a run-in with baseball’s rules, as the Puerto Rican’s central role in the 2017 Houston Astros can-banging, sign-stealing scandal long muddied the waters of his Cooperstown candidacy. When he first appeared on the ballot in 2023, Beltrán garnered 46.5% of the vote, a sign that the voting base had yet to forgive his late-career malfeasance. But unlike those tainted by performance-enhancing drugs, Beltrán was able to gradually shed the stench and ascend the mountain.
The nine-time All-Star was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the 1995 amateur draft out of Fernando Callejo High School in Puerto Rico. Originally a right-handed hitter, Beltrán learned how to hit lefty one season in the minors, a decision that changed the course of his life. He debuted with the Royals late in 1998 and impressed enough the following spring training to win the starting center-field job by Opening Day. That year, he hit .293, launched 22 homers and swiped 27 bags, earning him the American League Rookie of the Year Award.
After an injury-marred sophomore season, Beltrán solidified himself as a young star on some very lackluster early-2000s Royals clubs. As he grew into more strength in his mid-20s, the power numbers ticked up, leading to a ninth-place MVP finish in 2003. In 2004, Beltrán nearly went 40/40, finishing two long balls short in a year that also saw him get dealt to the World Series-bound Astros. After a strong summer, Beltrán then delivered an autumn for the ages, going 20-for-46 with 8 homers and 6 steals in 12 playoff games with Houston.
He parlayed that into a seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets, a franchise-record contract at the time. Beltrán’s time in Queens was uneven but undeniably productive. After a relatively lackluster first season that drew ire from Mets fans, he exploded for a career-best campaign (8.2 bWAR, 41 homers, .982 OPS) in 2006. Unfortunately, that postseason ended in woe, with Beltrán famously caught looking at the plate in the ninth inning of NLCS Game 7 against the Cardinals. That was his last postseason plate appearance as a Met.
Despite battling through injuries, Beltrán posted exactly 20 bWAR during his last five years in New York, with an adjusted OPS 34% better than league average. When he played, he almost always hit. But with his contract set to expire at the end of 2011, the Mets traded him at the deadline to San Francisco for a young pitching prospect named Zack Wheeler. Beltrán, then a 35-year-old vet, signed with the Cardinals that winter and became a key part of two consecutive St. Louis playoff teams. The ultimate goal continued to elude him, however, as the Cards lost to the Red Sox in the 2013 Fall Classic.
From there, Beltrán moved on to the Bronx, where he spent two-and-a-half solid, unremarkable seasons with the Yankees before a 2016 deadline deal sent him to the Rangers for a few months.
While voters held Carlos Beltrán’s involvement in the Astros sign-stealing scandal against him initially, enough eventually decided that his involvement did not warrant lifelong banishment from the Hall.
Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports
At this point, Beltrán was one of the most respected characters in the game, a beloved veteran aging gracefully toward retirement. So just before his 40th birthday, Beltrán latched on with a young, upstart Astros team looking for an experienced presence. On the field, he failed to make an impact in what turned out to be his final season, with a .666 OPS, 14 homers and -0.8 bWAR. Beyond the lines, though, Beltrán proved to be quite valuable as the club stampeded to the first title in franchise history. It seemed like a storybook ending, a well-deserved first ring.
But a few years down the road, the truth spoiled the party.
In the fall of 2019, The Athletic published a story about how the 2017 Astros had used a video camera to steal opponents’ pitch signs in real time, relaying the information to batters via a trash can in the dugout tunnel. That bombshell and subsequent reporting framed Beltrán, who had recently been named manager of the Mets, as a ringleader of the rule-breaking operation. The Athletic reported that at one point during the season, when catcher Brian McCann approached Beltrán about calling off the scheme, Beltrán refused.
“He disregarded it and steamrolled everybody,” a member of the 2017 club told The Athletic. “Where do you go if you’re a young, impressionable player with the Astros and this guy says, ‘We’re doing this’? What do you do?”
While no players involved in the can-banging were suspended by the league, Beltrán was swiftly relieved of his duties as Mets skipper, without his having managed a game. He became persona non grata in the blink of an eye. It was a shocking turn of events, one that threatened to dampen his Hall of Fame chances.
And while voters clearly held Beltrán’s misdeeds against him initially, enough of them eventually decided that his involvement in the 2017 scandal was not, on its own, a transgression that warranted lifelong banishment from the Hall. It’s a fascinating contrast to alleged PED users such as Bonds, Rodriguez and Roger Clemens, who have failed to make significant headway toward Cooperstown.
The difference, most likely, is that Beltrán’s sign-stealing malfeasance does not cast a pall over his on-field accomplishments. Can-banging in 2017 did not help him blast 421 career home runs between 1998 and 2016. In other words, Beltrán’s conduct was dirty, but his statistical résumé remains clean. The same cannot be said for steroid users, whose palmarès are colored by their use of the juice.
Beltrán’s relative waltz to enshrinement might also offer a preview of how voters will treat other 2017 Astros when they join the ballot in future years. José Altuve — who was vehemently opposed to the scheme and refused to participate but has received more vitriol over the saga than any other Astro — has Cooperstown-worthy numbers. Alex Bregman, too, has a chance. George Springer, if he continues hitting like he did in 2025, has an outside shot. At this point, we can deduce that those characters likely won’t be barred inclusion based on what happened in 2017.
Whether you see Beltrán as a scapegoat or a villain depends on your point of view. He was clearly a mastermind of the sign-stealing scheme, but, like Altuve, he probably received an inordinate amount of flack. With his induction in the Hall of Fame, the stain is all but cleaned from Beltrán’s legacy. He was forced to wait longer than he otherwise would have, but in the end, voters were willing to forgive.
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Beltrán fielded a question about the impact of his role in the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal as deftly as he grabbed so many balls hit to him in center field.
“There’s no doubt the Astros situation has been a topic,” he said, “not positive toward my way. … There’s no doubt that in baseball you’re going to go through ups an downs and you’re going to make good decisions, so-so decisions, right, and also you’re going to make bad decisions.”
Beltrán was elected Tuesday along with Andruw Jones, center fielders who excelled at the plate and with their gloves.
Making his fourth appearance of the ballot, Beltrán received 358 of 425 votes for 84.2% from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, 39 above the 319 needed for the 75% threshold. Jones, in the ninth of 10 possible appearances, was picked on 333 ballots for 78.4%.
He was hired by the Mets as a special assistant before the 2023 season.
“When I retired from baseball, I thought everything that I built in baseball, like relationships … I thought that was going to be lost,” he said. “Being back in baseball, I still receive love from the people, I still receive love from the players. The teammates that I had inside the clubhouse, they know the type of person that I am. But at the same time I understand that that’s also a story that I have to deal with.”
Jones received just 7.3% in his first appearance in 2018 and didn’t get half the total until receiving 58.1% in 2023. He increased to 61.6% and 66.2%, falling 35 votes short last year.
BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years in the organization were eligible to vote.
Chase Utley (59.1%) was the only other candidate to get at least half the vote, improving from 39.8% last year. He was followed by Andy Pettitte at 48.5%, an increase from 27.9% last year, and Félix Hernández at 46.1%, up from 20.6%.
Cole Hamels topped first-time candidates at 23.8%. The other first-time players were all under 5% and will be dropped from future votes.
Steroids-tainted players again were kept from the hall. Alex Rodriguez received 40% in his fifth appearance, up from 7.1%, and Manny Ramirez 38.8% in his 10th and final appearance.
David Wright increased to 14.8% from 8.1%.
There were 11 blank ballots.
A nine-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Beltrán batted .279 with 435 homers and 1,587 RBIs over 20 seasons with Kansas City (1999-2004), Houston (2004, ’17), the Mets (2005-11), San Francisco (2011), St. Louis (2012-13), the New York Yankees (20014-16) and Texas (2016). He had 124 homers hitting right-handed and 311 batting left — crediting coach Kevin Long for his left-handed success.
While the hall makes the decision on the cap for his plaque, Beltrán said “there’s no doubt the Mets are a big part of my identity.”
Beltrán was the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year and won three Gold Gloves, also hitting .307 in the postseason with 16 homers and 42 RBIs in 65 games.
Jones batted .254 with 434 homers, 1,289 RBIs and 152 stolen bases in 17 seasons with Atlanta (1996-2007), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas (2009), the Chicago White Sox (2010) and the Yankees (2011-12). He finished his career with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League from 2013-14.
His batting average is the second-lowest for a position player voted to the Hall of Fame, just above the .253 of Ray Schalk, a superior defensive catcher, and just below the .256 of Harmon Killebrew, who hit 573 homers.
A five-time All-Star, Jones earned 10 Gold Gloves. He joins Braves teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff in the hall along with manager Bobby Cox.
In the 1996 World Series opener at Yankee Stadium, Jones at 19 years, 5 months became the youngest player to homer in a Series game, beating Mickey Mantle’s old mark by 18 months. Going deep against Pettitte in the second inning and Brian Boehringer in the third of a 12-1 rout, Jones became the second player to homer in his first two Series at-bats after Gene Tenace in 1972.
Because it was his 10th time on the ballot, Ramírez will no longer be considered on future BBWAA ballots. The only way he can make the Hall now is through its Contemporary Baseball Era committee, which next convenes in December 2028.
Ramírez was first eligible in 2017, receiving 23.8% of the vote at the time. While many players have risen from a lower number into induction, Ramírez’s numbers were stagnant, rising only to 34.3% last year. He did better this cycle but not nearly well enough.
It’s fairly obvious why that happened.
Manny Ramírez never escaped the steroid scandal
Under normal circumstances, any player with Ramírez’s résumé would be a shoo-in for first-ballot Hall of Fame induction.
Ramírez was a 12-time All-Star, a nine-time Silver Slugger, a batting champion and a two-time World Series champion. One of those rings came with the curse-breaking 2004 Red Sox, for whom he won World Series MVP. He retired with 2,574 hits and 555 home runs. He remains the all-time leader in postseason homers. Going off the respected JAWS metric that evaluates Hall of Fame cases, he is the 10th-best left fielder of all time.
Of course, Ramírez’s case is far from ordinary. Or rather, it’s ordinary in a bad way.
Like many of his peers at the time, Ramírez is known as a steroid user. He tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in a 2003 survey performed by MLB, the results of which were supposed to remain confidential. He was suspended 50 games in 2009 after testing positive for a fertility drug often used in steroid cycles. And in 2011, he tested positive for testosterone, receiving another suspension that pushed him into a brief retirement.
Alleged steroid use has proven to largely be a case-killer in Hall of Fame voting. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two players with even better résumés than Ramírez, never got above 66% of the vote and are now at the mercy of the Era Committee. Mark McGwire never got above 23.6%, Sammy Sosa topped out at 18.5% in his final year of eligibility, and Rafael Palmeiro fell off the ballot in his fourth go-around. Alex Rodriguez is currently going through the same process; he reached 40% this cycle.
Pretty much the only player to be substantively tied to steroid use and make it into Cooperstown is Ramírez’s teammate David Ortiz, who was also alleged to have tested positive in that 2003 study but still made it in on his first BBWAA ballot.
Other inductees such as Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza faced accusations in their careers but never with the proof that Ramírez faced.
Don’t bet on Manny Ramírez making the Hall of Fame by committee
It remains possible for Ramírez to reach the Hall of Fame. But as of this moment, it’s not likely.
Simply put, the Hall of Fame clearly doesn’t want steroid users to cloud its operations as the hallowed ground of baseball. That was made fairly clear when the Hall decreased the maximum number of BBWAA ballots on which a name can appear from 15 to 10 right as Bonds and Clemens hit the scene.
The Contemporary Era Committee has so far been even less kind to the PED group than the BBWAA. Bonds and Clemens have gone through two committee votes in 2022 and 2025, and they got fewer than five out of 16 votes both times. In committee votes, you need 12 of 16 votes to receive induction.
Because of a rule change instituted in 2025, Bonds and Clemens won’t be on a committee ballot again until 2031. After that, if they fail to crack five votes one more time, it’s the end of the line. They will not be eligible for any future ballots, barring another rule change.
The Hall of Fame isn’t used to closing doors like this, but the discourse over steroids has overshadowed the voting in Cooperstown for decades now. So instead of steroid users appearing among the candidates every three years, the Hall has made it so they are likely to come up twice once they’re passed the BBWAA voting — and then never again, barring a favorable committee.
Carlos Beltrán spearheaded the 2017 Astros’ cheating scheme. It didn’t stop him from reaching the Hall of Fame. (Photo by Justin Heiman/Getty Images)
Justin Heiman via Getty Images
Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones will join Jeff Kent in the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
The two outfielders were tapped for induction Tuesday through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s annual vote. Needing 75% support from the 425-voter electorate to reach Cooperstown, Beltrán got 84.2% and Jones got 78.4%.
Beltrán was in his fourth year on the ballot, while Jones was on his ninth, meaning he was two unsuccessful votes away from falling off the BBWAA ballot.
Both men needed a steady increase in support over the years to make it. Beltrán received 46.5% of the vote in his first year and saw double-digit increases every cycle up to now. Jones sat at only 7.3%, then 7.5% in his first two years, but he began to rise as the field thinned out.
The past couple of years featured an overwhelming favorite to get in on the first ballot, with Ichiro Suzuki (2025) and Adrian Beltré (2024), but there was no such player this year. In fact, the only first-year player who got enough votes to stay on the ballot was Cole Hamels, who landed 23.8%. Given the rises of Beltrán and Jones, that sets the Philadelphia Phillies great up for election down the line.
Among the first-year players who failed to reach a second ballot was Ryan Braun, whose performance-enhancing drug use made him a nonstarter with voters.
Manny Ramirez, another player who was suspended for PEDs, received only 38.8% of the vote in his 10th year on the ballot. The only way the all-time postseason home run leader can reach the Hall now is via the Contemporary Era Committee, which has so far been even more hostile to steroid users than BBWAA voters.
On a related note, Alex Rodriguez’s numbers held steady with 40%, a small increase from his 37.1% last year. Barring a stunning reversal, it appears he will see the same fate as Ramirez, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Beltrán and Jones never faced serious PED allegations in their career, but they both had issues with their candidacy that likely came up for voters considering the Hall’s character clause.
Beltrán was a nine-time All-Star who was excellent on both sides of the ball and had impressive postseason stats. However, he was also one of the central organizers of the 2017 Houston Astros’ cheating scheme, which helped him win the only World Series of his career. He was the only player named in the commissioner’s report on the scandal and would have likely made the Hall far earlier had he reached the ballot before those allegations came to light.
Jones is one of the best defensive center fielders in the history of baseball, with 10 Gold Gloves to his name, and he had enough power for 51 homers in 2005, but he also pleaded guilty to domestic battery charges after being accused of pulling his wife down a stairway, putting his hands around her neck and threatening to kill her.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for July 26 in Cooperstown.
MIAMI (AP) — He had to start somewhere. So, when coach Curt Cignetti started his rebuilding project at Indiana, he turned to what he knew.
Cignetti recruited 13 players from his old school, James Madison, over to his new program with the Hoosiers. They formed the backbone of at what he called “one of the greatest sports stories of all time” — the rise of college football’s losingest program into a national champion.
Former James Madison players Elijah Sarratt, Kaelon Black, Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara were among the baker’s dozen — some call them “Cignetti’s Dozen” — who contributed to Indiana’s undefeated season and the national title.
The players came in dribs and drabs, starting shortly after Cignetti accepted the job on Nov. 30, 2023.
“They understood the program, the culture, and they had that championship attitude,” Cignetti said. “They were able to answer questions for the guys to decide to return and the right guys returned. And the new transfers, too, they could answer their questions and lead, and they were good players.”
In a testament to what Cignetti built during his five years at James Madison, it was the Dukes of the Sun Belt Conference who snagged the fifth and final automatic bid to this year’s College Football Playoff under his successor, Bob Chesney.
Chesney recently got hired away by UCLA, and at least seven players from the playoff team have followed him to Westwood.
The Indiana story is a super-charged version of what’s happening across college football these days. The transfer portal has allowed players who don’t get looks from the big programs in high school a chance to start small, get better, then maybe get their chance at the big time.
Regarding Indiana’s lack of four and five-star recruits, Cignetti said, “I’ve never looked at a star in my life.”
Some refer to the smaller programs the unheralded players start with as “feeder schools.” The one at James Madison helped the Hoosiers become champions. In this case, Cignetti had a role in both — finding the players out of high school, then luring them to the Big Ten.
“You take those 13 guys, I don’t think any of them had great offers coming out of high school,” Fisher said. “We had a coach that took a chance on us once, and then the opportunity rose to do it again. For me, it changed my life.”
Here’s a look at ‘Cignetti’s Dozen’
Mikail Kamara: The defensive lineman’s blocked punt resulted in a touchdown that gave Indiana a 17-7 lead in the third quarter against Miami.
Kaelon Black: The running back led the Hoosiers with 81 yards rushing against the Hurricanes. This season, he formed a one-two punch with Roman Hemby. Both finished with 1,000-plus yards.
D’Angelo Ponds: The lockdown cornerback had five tackles in the championship game. Ponds’ pick-6 of Oregon’s Dante Moore helped the Hoosiers get off to a fast start in the Peach Bowl. He was named defensive MVP in the Rose and Peach Bowls.
Tyrique Tucker: The junior defensive lineman has been a strong presence on Indiana’s defensive line. His six sacks ranked third on the roster behind Rolijah Hardy (eight) and Isaiah Jones (seven). Tucker also finished the season with 38 total tackles and two pass deflections.
Aiden Fisher: One of Indiana’s star linebackers, Fisher finished second on the roster with 95 tackles. He also had 4 1/2 sacks for a loss of 25 yards, a pass deflection, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-6. He had four tackles and a sack against Miami.
Solomon Vanhorse: The senior added depth to the Hoosiers’ running back room and finished the season with nine carries for 48 yards. He had a season-long 12-yard rush in Indiana’s 63-10 win against Illinois.
Elijah Sarratt: The senior receiver led the Hoosiers and FBS with 15 receiving touchdowns and had 830 receiving yards. He had three receptions for 28 yards on Monday night.
James Carpenter: After leaving Indiana, the defensive lineman signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in April 2025. He was recently picked up by the UFL Birmingham Stallions.
Jailin Walker: The linebacker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in the spring. In January, he was drafted by the new UFL franchise, the Columbus Aviators.
Nick Kidwell: The former Hoosiers offensive lineman is now the offensive line coach at Shepherd University.
Zach Horton: The tight end signed with Detroit Lions in April. He spent the season on the practice squad.
Tyler Stephens: The former offensive lineman is happily engaged and enjoying post-graduate life in Virginia.
Ty Son Lawton: The running back played in 13 games with six starts during his final year of eligibility in 2024. He was a key contributor with 668 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 141 carries.
