Should Manny Ramírez ever be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, his path will deviate from the conventional route.
On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame declared that the erstwhile Boston Red Sox power hitter failed to secure induction for the tenth consecutive ballot. Requiring a 75% majority from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Ramírez garnered merely 38.8% of the vote.
Given this was his tenth appearance on the ballot, Ramírez will cease to be evaluated on subsequent BBWAA voting cycles. His sole remaining avenue for Hall enshrinement is via its Contemporary Baseball Era committee, scheduled to reconvene in December 2028.
Concurrently, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones each exceeded the 75% threshold and are set to join Jeff Kent, who was chosen by the Contemporary Era committee just last month, in Cooperstown later this summer.
Ramírez first became eligible in 2017, securing 23.8% of the votes then. Although numerous athletes have ascended from modest vote counts to induction, Ramírez’s figures remained largely static, climbing merely to 34.3% in the previous year. He achieved a better outcome this round, but it was far from sufficient.
The reasons behind this outcome are quite apparent.
Manny Ramírez Could Not Outrun the Performance-Enhancing Drug Controversy
In typical situations, an athlete possessing Ramírez’s career achievements would be an undeniable candidate for first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame.
Ramírez earned 12 All-Star selections, nine Silver Slugger awards, a batting title, and two World Series championships. A significant ring was acquired with the 2004 Red Sox, who famously broke their curse, and he was named World Series MVP during that triumph. He concluded his career amassing 2,574 hits and 555 home runs. He continues to hold the record for most postseason home runs. According to the reputable JAWS metric, which assesses Hall of Fame candidacies, he stands as the tenth greatest left fielder in baseball history.
Naturally, Ramírez’s situation is anything but typical. More accurately, it exemplifies a common negative narrative.
Similar to numerous contemporaries, Ramírez is recognized for using steroids. He registered a positive result for performance-enhancing substances in an MLB-conducted survey in 2003, the findings of which were intended to stay private. In 2009, he faced a 50-game ban after a positive test for a fertility medication frequently employed during steroid regimens. Subsequently, in 2011, he tested positive for testosterone, incurring an additional suspension that led to a temporary cessation of his career.
Suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs has largely proved to be a fatal impediment in Hall of Fame balloting. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, athletes whose career achievements arguably surpassed Ramírez’s, never exceeded 66% of the votes and now depend on the Era Committee for consideration. Mark McGwire never surpassed 23.6%, Sammy Sosa peaked at 18.5% in his last year of eligibility, and Rafael Palmeiro was removed from the ballot in his fourth attempt. Alex Rodriguez is presently undergoing a similar evaluation; he achieved 40% in the current voting period.
Nearly the sole player demonstrably linked to steroid usage who gained entry into Cooperstown is Ramírez’s former teammate, David Ortiz, who was also purportedly found positive in the 2003 study but still achieved induction on his initial BBWAA ballot.
Other individuals inducted, including Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, and Mike Piazza, encountered allegations during their careers, but without the concrete evidence that confronted Ramírez.
It’s Improbable Manny Ramírez Will Be Inducted into the Hall of Fame via Committee
It is still conceivable for Ramírez to secure a place in the Hall of Fame. However, at this juncture, it appears improbable.
To be direct, the Hall of Fame evidently seeks to prevent individuals associated with performance-enhancing drugs from tarnishing its stature as a revered institution of baseball. This stance became quite apparent when the Hall reduced the maximum number of BBWAA ballots an individual’s name could be listed on from 15 to 10, precisely as Bonds and Clemens became eligible.
The Contemporary Era Committee has, to date, demonstrated even less leniency toward the PED-linked cohort than the BBWAA. Bonds and Clemens have undergone two committee votes in 2022 and 2025, each time receiving fewer than five out of 16 possible votes. For induction through committee voting, a candidate requires 12 out of 16 votes.
Due to a regulatory amendment enacted in 2025, Bonds and Clemens will not appear on a committee ballot again until 2031. Should they subsequently fail to garner at least five votes once more, their opportunity will conclude. They will be ineligible for any subsequent ballots, unless further rule modifications occur.
The Hall of Fame is unaccustomed to such definitive exclusions, yet the debate surrounding performance-enhancing drugs has cast a long shadow over the voting process in Cooperstown for many decades. Consequently, rather than candidates linked to steroids appearing for consideration every three years, the Hall has structured the process such that they will likely be considered twice after their BBWAA eligibility concludes—and then permanently excluded, barring an exceptionally sympathetic committee decision.
A comparable outcome is anticipated for Ramírez.
