By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: USA TODAY
Buster Posey and Jon Lester will be entering their first year on the ballot for the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame candidacy.
On Tuesday night, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones got elected into the Hall of Fame. They will join Jeff Kent in Cooperstown in July now that we are all set for 2026. We must shift our attention to next year’s class.
Posey will most likely get in the first year. He’s the frontrunner to represent the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame. Buster is a three-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants (2010, 2012, 2014). He won the National League MvP in 2012 after putting up numbers of 24 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a slash line of .336/.408/.549/.957.
The amazement of Posey is that he never had a 100-strikeout season. His plate discipline is outstanding.
Posey spent his entire 12-year MLB career with the Giants. In five of his 12 seasons, he’s hit .300 or higher in a season. He finished his career with 158 home runs, 1,500 hits, and a lifetime .302 batting average.
Although Posey never reached huge milestones like collecting 3,000 hits, he has won championships, made the All-Star team seven times, won the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year award, and won the Silver Slugger award five times. With those achievements, it should be enough for consideration, but the Baseball Writers’ Association tends to be harsh graders and might make him wait a little.
Lester played for five different teams in his 16-year big league career. He found success mostly with the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Jon helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2007 and 2013, and then the Cubs in 2016, ending the 106-year curse.
The 2016 season was a dream season for Lester and the Cubs. Lester went 19-5 in the year. The Cubs won over 100 games. During that 2016 postseason run, Lester was dynamite. He won NLCS MVP alongside Javy Báez. Throughout his career, he has tossed a no-hitter and made five trips to the All-Star Game.
Lester finished his career winning 200 games, reaching almost 2,500 strikeouts, and a 3.66 ERA. The 42-year-old will get in the Hall of Fame someday, but there’s a doubt that he will get in his first year on the ballot. He was a great leader and pitcher in the 2010s.
Other players who will be joining them on the ballot are: Brett Gardner, Kyle Seager, Jake Arrieta, Ryan Zimmerman, and more.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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