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Hall of Fame Announces the Eight Candidates for the Contemporary Baseball Player Era Ballot No Sammy Sosa. That’s the first thing that jumped out at me here, and probably will jump out at you, too. With only eight slots available for the Contemporary Baseball Player Era Committee to vote on for possible future Hall of Fame induction, I suppose I can understand why Sosa was not included. There are a lot of players whose contributions have come since 1980, and who didn’t make it into the Hall on the writers’ votes for one reason or another. I guess I’m just bummed that Sosa isn’t one of the eight. Here are the eight candidates this year, the voting results for whom will be released December 7: The Contemporary Baseball Era player ballot features eight candidates for consideration in the Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Results will be announced at 7:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 7: https://t.co/V5Xyf85u9i pic.twitter.com/jdkUy2sOWs— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) November 3, 2025 The Steroid Era looms large over that ballot, obviously, and the voting will be something of a referendum on how former players are viewing that time and place in the game. My guess is that they will be as harsh on guys like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens as the writers were, but I suppose we’ll see. For me, personally, it’s hard to ignore the extent to which MLB allowed PED usage to get so out of control in the late-90s and early-2000s, and I would have that in my mind as I voted. It doesn’t mean what users did wasn’t wrong, but it’s context. On the whole, when I look at the list of eight players, I see a handful that are – by their performance results – obvious Hall of Famers, with PED usage being the only question. And then I see guys who are rightly there on the cusp of enshrinement, but whose candidacy merits debate. More about the committee process from the National Baseball Hall of Fame: “The Era Committees consist of three different electorates: The Classic Baseball Era, consisting of the period prior to 1980 and including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars; and the Contemporary Baseball Era, consisting of the period from 1980 to present day. The Contemporary Baseball Era is split into two separate ballots – one ballot to consider only players who made their greatest impact on the game since 1980, and another composite ballot consisting of managers, executives and umpires whose greatest contributions to the game have come since 1980. Eras considered for yearly induction over the upcoming years are as follows: 2026 – Contemporary Baseball Player 2027 – Contemporary Baseball Managers/Executives/Umpires 2028 – Classic Baseball 2029 – Contemporary Baseball Player 2030 – Contemporary Baseball Managers/Executives/Umpires. 2031 – Classic Baseball Both the ballot and electorate are created anew with each cycle for consideration.” Enshrinement requires a vote on at least 12 of the 16 ballots, and if you are not named on at least 5 ballots, you are ineligible for a future ballot. The committees are generally comprised of Hall of Fame players, executives, and media members. https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/11/03/hall-of-fame-announces-the-eight-candidates-for-the-contemporary-baseball-player-era-ballot/