Opinion
My Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the 2026 election arrived last week.
I can’t help but wonder if President Trump received his as well.
The unpredictable nature of Trump’s influence could significantly affect Hall of Fame elections, from the upcoming 2026 Baseball Writers Hall of Fame ballot announcement on January 20 to the Contemporary Era voting scheduled for December 7.
Sports have increasingly intertwined with Trump’s agenda, highlighted by his recent comments suggesting that certain host cities for the 2026 World Cup might lose their games due to safety concerns, along with an ESPN report indicating he desires the new Washington Commanders stadium to bear his name.
The Hall of Fame has also caught his attention, as he has already initiated a notable change regarding one of baseball’s most cherished yet controversial figures.
Trump has long been a vocal supporter of Pete Rose, who holds the record for most hits in baseball history but was banned from the sport since 1989 after it was revealed he bet on games while managing and playing. Rose passed away in 2024.
A few years later, the Hall ruled that individuals on the permanently banned list were ineligible for induction. However, in April, Trump met with baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to discuss Rose’s status. Two months later, Manfred announced that permanent bans would now end upon an individual’s death, citing Trump’s influence among other factors in this decision.
The commissioner stated: “The president was one of a number of voices that supported this decision. I respect the office and took his advice into account.”
This development opens up consideration for Rose’s induction into Cooperstown for the first time. However, this vote will not occur until 2027 and will be conducted by the Contemporary Era committee rather than baseball writers.
The impact of Trump’s influence may not wait until then to be felt within the Hall.
He has made his opinions clear about one candidate currently under review by the Contemporary Era committee—Rogers Clemens.
Clemens and Barry Bonds are both regarded as some of baseball’s greatest players but are also infamous steroid users who were denied entry by writers after ten years on the ballot. Clemens was implicated in performance-enhancing drug abuse in a 2007 report while Bonds testified about his steroid use during a grand jury investigation in 2003.
In an August social media post, Trump expressed strong support for Clemens’ induction: “I played golf yesterday with Roger Clemens and his son Kacy. Roger is undoubtedly one of the greatest pitchers ever!”
This year’s ballot sent out to baseball writers lacks any standout names that might attract Trump’s interest—except for Alex Rodriguez.
This marks Rodriguez’s fifth appearance on the ballot; however, he has yet to reach even close to the required 75% approval rate for induction. Last year marked his highest total at just 37.1%.
Rodriguez boasts impressive career statistics—696 home runs, over 3,100 hits, and more than 2,000 RBIs across two decades with teams like Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees—but he is also known as one of baseball’s most notorious steroid users and faced a full-season ban in 2014 due to confirmed usage.
Recently: He has embarked on a campaign to rehabilitate his image through ownership stakes in NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and an HBO Max docuseries titled “Alex vs. A-Rod,” where he aims to present himself candidly as a “recovering narcissist.”
The president is familiar with Rodriguez and previously criticized him during his time with the Yankees before scandals emerged regarding performance-enhancing drugs. In fact, Trump once stated he would terminate Rodriguez’s contract due to drug use revelations back in 2012.
Trump remarked: “Since signing his contract under false pretenses regarding drug use… without drugs he’s merely an average player.”
The president admitted he never favored Rodriguez either professionally or personally; despite living in one of Trump’s buildings at one point and having had what Trump described as a “bad experience” with him without elaborating further.
However, opinions can shift rapidly within Trump’s world. In 2020, he sought Rodriguez’s advice concerning responses to COVID-19 according to reports. Recently they have been seen together at Mar-a-Lago events too.
No official word from Trump regarding Rodriguez’s Hall aspirations exists yet; however it seems likely that eventually it will capture his attention—and almost certainly prompt him to voice his thoughts publicly given Rodriguez fits into Trump’s celebrity mold perfectly.
