The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has elected the two newest Hall of Famers, with center fielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones officially getting the call on Tuesday and joining second baseman Jeff Kent -- previously elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee -- in the Class of 2026.
Still, many big names remain outside the Hall's hallowed Plaque Gallery, so here is a roster of the best non-Hall of Fame players in baseball history at every position.
Important note: For this exercise, we only considered players who have been retired for at least five years, the waiting time required before one can appear on a BBWAA ballot. Recently retired stars sure to get a serious look once they’re eligible -- such as Buster Posey, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera -- are noted in the honorable mentions below.
C: Bill Freehan
Call this a toss-up between Freehan and Thurman Munson, both of whom could use a longer look from the Hall’s veteran committees. Freehan enjoyed a longer career because of Munson’s unfortunate passing at age 32, and thus he finished with more hits, homers, RBIs and Gold Glove Awards. But he was also just as accomplished a two-way catcher as the Yankees captain -- and just as revered a leader for the Tigers, too.
On a technical level, both Freehan and Munson (along with Gene Tenace, who nearly split his career evenly between catcher and first base) own the highest JAWS totals (Jay Jaffe’s system that combines career Wins Above Replacement with a player’s seven best seasons) among eligible backstops on the outside of Cooperstown looking in.
Honorable mentions: Munson, Tenace, Jorge Posada (Posey, Yadier Molina not yet eligible)
1B: Rafael Palmeiro
BBWAA voters strongly dismissed Palmeiro’s Cooperstown case on account of his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, but the fact remains that Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez are the only Hall-eligible player with at least 3,000 hits and 500 homers who are not enshrined (Pujols and Cabrera have yet to hit the ballot). Mark McGwire reached higher peaks, but Palmeiro nearly matched McGwire’s career homer total, almost doubled Big Mac’s hit total and was a more lauded defender, too.
Honorable mentions: McGwire, Don Mattingly (Pujols, Cabrera, Joey Votto not yet eligible)
2B: Lou Whitaker
Whitaker’s all-around game stands out. He is the owner of 2,369 hits, four Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Gloves and the most Baseball-Reference WAR (75.1 WAR) among any primary second baseman who is not in the Hall. If you include all players who played at least half of their games at the keystone position, Whitaker ranks sixth in WAR, putting him well ahead of many Hall of Famers, including Kent (55.4). As Jaffe noted for FanGraphs in 2019, Whitaker belongs to a select group of players (and is the only second baseman besides Jackie Robinson) who finished their careers at least 200 batting runs, 50 fielding runs and 25 baserunning runs above average. Plus, it just doesn’t feel right that Alan Trammell is in the Hall without his double-play partner.
Honorable mentions: Bobby Grich, Chase Utley (Robinson Canó not yet eligible)
3B: Graig Nettles
A human vacuum cleaner at the hot corner, Nettles was one of the finest defensive players of his era and was feted with two Gold Gloves and six All-Star selections. Although he was only slightly above average at the plate (110 career OPS+), he possessed good pop from the left side and recorded 390 home runs. That puts Nettles behind four Hall of Fame third basemen -- Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, Adrián Beltré, Chipper Jones -- and Darrell Evans. Nettles hit a career-best 37 homers in 1977. He won back-to-back World Series titles with the Yankees in '77 and '78 and was the MVP of the 1981 ALCS after driving in nine runs during a three-game sweep of the A's.
Honorable mentions: Ken Boyer, Sal Bando, (Evan Longoria not yet eligible)
SS: Alex Rodriguez
This is an easy decision at shortstop, but Rodriguez received only 40.0% of the vote in his fifth year on the BBWAA ballot in 2026. With 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, three AL MVP Awards, 14 All-Star Game selections and a World Series championship across his 22-year career, A-Rod’s on-field numbers legitimately rank alongside the Hall’s inner-circle members. But he faces the same hurdles that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others did thanks to multiple transgressions with performance-enhancing drugs that included over a year-long suspension from baseball from 2013-14. Rodriguez will have to endure the waiting game with BBWAA voters.
Honorable mentions: Bill Dahlen, Jimmy Rollins, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, Jim Fregosi
LF: Barry Bonds
This doesn’t require much explanation; Bonds is the greatest player many of us have seen in our lifetimes, and he had accrued surefire Hall credentials before his alleged PED use clouded the picture. His momentum with BBWAA voters stalled out, and he didn't fare any better with the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in late 2025, meaning that it's hard to see Bonds reaching Cooperstown anytime soon.
Honorable mentions: Pete Rose, Manny Ramirez
CF: Kenny Lofton
Lofton always seemed to be on the move (he played for 11 teams, and stayed one season or less with every club except Cleveland), perhaps diluting how valuable he really was. The only four players who had more bWAR from 1992-97 were Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas, and Lofton remained an offensive catalyst and stolen-base threat well into his 30s. Lofton got on base more times than Hall of Fame outfielders Larry Walker, Jim Rice and Joe DiMaggio -- and he did more damage with his legs once he got on base, too.
Honorable mentions: Jim Edmonds, Dale Murphy, Jim Wynn
RF: Shoeless Joe Jackson
On the day that Ted Williams famously played both legs of a doubleheader against the A's and clinched his .400 season in 1941, opposing manager Connie Mack said, “I wish I had a Williams. I had one once, and I lost him.”
Mack was referring to Jackson -- maybe the game’s most revered natural hitter before Williams came along -- whom Mack regrettably traded away before he became a star in Cleveland. More than 100 years have passed since Shoeless Joe’s last big league season, and his talent and numbers (a ridiculous .356 career average and 170 career OPS+) may still make him the best choice for this spot 100 years from now. Banned from baseball in 1921 for his role in the Black Sox Scandal, Jackson was reinstated from the permanently ineligible list in 2025.
Honorable mentions: Sammy Sosa, Dwight Evans, Reggie Smith, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Abreu
DH: Hal McRae
Only seven players have logged at least 7,500 career plate appearances while playing at least half their games at designated hitter. Four of them (Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz and Frank Thomas) are already in the Hall, while Nelson Cruz is still a few years away from landing on the BBWAA ballot
That leaves an even matchup between McRae and Don Baylor on the outside looking in. Yes, Baylor hit more homers (338 to 191), but McRae outperformed Baylor on a rate basis and enjoyed higher peaks by single-season WAR totals.
Honorable mentions: Baylor (Cruz not yet eligible)
Starting RHP: Roger Clemens
Seven Cy Young Awards, two pitching Triple Crowns, an AL MVP Award and the third-most strikeouts in history give Clemens a claim to best pitcher of all-time, and just like Bonds, he likely had a Hall of Fame résumé before he began his alleged use of PEDs. But like Bonds, Clemens did not have an easier time with the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee than he did with the BBWAA.
Honorable mention: Curt Schilling, Tim Lincecum, Luis Tiant, Dave Stieb, Kevin Brown, David Cone, Orel Hershiser, Roy Oswalt, Eddie Cicotte (Zack Greinke not yet eligible)
Starting LHP: Johan Santana
Santana’s one-and-done appearance on the ballot in 2018 seemed like a mistake when it happened, and it still does. It’s hard not to wonder whether Santana would be making a steady year-by-year improvement in the voting totals now if he had rightfully taken home the 2005 AL Cy Young Award that went to Bartolo Colon instead.
Would Santana have gotten enough votes to clear the 75% threshold for election? Probably not. But winning the 2005 Cy Young -- which would have given him three straight Cys from 2004-06 -- would have forced the BBWAA to give him a much longer look. Clemens, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are the only three-time winners who don’t have a plaque.
Honorable mention: Andy Pettitte, Cole Hamels, Mark Buehrle, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Jimmy Key (Kershaw not yet eligible)
Relief RHP: Dan Quisenberry
Just about every modern-day righty reliever who should be in the Hall is already there following Lee Smith’s election in 2018. Joe Nathan and Jonathan Papelbon both went one-and-done after falling shy of 5% of the BBWAA vote in their ’22 ballot debuts. Francisco Rodríguez debuted on the ballot in ’23 but has made little headway so far.
So with a lack of a real statistical standout, how about Quiz? The beloved submariner has a case for the 1980's best reliever, having won five Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Awards, finishing with a 146 ERA+ and helping the Royals claim two pennants and the 1985 World Series title.
Honorable mention: Nathan, Papelbon, Rodríguez, Keith Foulke, Tom Gordon, Tom Henke, Firpo Marberry, Troy Percival, Kent Tekulve
Relief LHP: John Franco
Now that Billy Wagner is in the Hall of Fame, the next southpaw reliever with the best chance at induction is probably Aroldis Chapman, who is still going strong entering 2026 at age 38. So for now, Franco holds this spot. He also holds the record for most saves by a left-hander (424). He produced a 2.89 ERA across 1,245 2/3 innings, was named to four All-Star teams and earned the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award twice.
Honorable mention: Sparky Lyle, Jesse Orosco, Tug McGraw, Randy Myers