Royals Keep's Class of 2026 Hall of Fame Roundtable

[Kevin O'Brien]

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

On December 8th, the Royals announced voting would open for the Royals Hall of Fame Class of 2026. This vote determines who will be inducted into the team's illustrious Hall of Fame, located at Kauffman Stadium.

 

Last year, Alex Gordon became the latest member inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. Gordon was the first player from the 2014-2015 squads to be voted in (manager Ned Yost was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023). 

 

This year, there are nine players on the Hall of Fame ballot, including two former Royals who are on the ballot for the first time. Here are the players Royals fans can vote for this year:

• Lorenzo Cain, OF (first-time)
• Alcides Escobar, SS (first-time)
• Greg Holland, RHP
• Wade Davis, RHP
• Kelvin Herrera, RHP
• Billy Butler, DH/1B
• Carlos Beltran, OF
• Joakim Soria, RHP
• Yordano Ventura, RHP

 

In this post, members of the Royals Keep staff, including myself, Philip Ruo, Kerry Flanagan, and Carter Lundberg, shared our ballots and why we made our selections. Fans can make their own selections at this link.

For a Royals alumnus to be elected (or stay on the ballot), they have to accomplish the following criteria, which are listed on the Royals Hall of Fame ballot:

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Any eligible alumni receiving votes on seventy-five percent (75%) of the ballots cast will be deemed an elected Royals Hall of Fame member. To remain on the ballot for the next RHOF voting cycle, eligible alumni must receive a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the ballots cast. At the discretion of the Royals Hall of Fame Executive Board a separate Veterans Committee vote will consider the candidacy of non-player personnel and alumni who previously received Royals Hall of Fame Voting (Regular Phase) votes but are no longer eligible for election in that manner.

Thus, let's take a look at our votes and our analysis for each player we voted for, organized by player and the number of votes they received from the Royals Keep staff. 

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Lorenzo Cain, OF (Four Votes)

Kevin

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Cain ranks 10th all-time in fWAR (Fangraphs) with a 20.9 mark. He was an ALCS MVP in 2014 and helped the Royals win a World Series in 2015. Of that 2013-2017 core, only Gordon has a higher career fWAR than LoCain. He was able to retire a Royal a few seasons ago, which I think solidifies his spot in the Royals HOF 

Philip

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Not far behind in fWAR in Kansas City is Cain at 24.6. Cain was the glue for the Royals' outfield during the playoff runs in 2014 and 2015, and even won an ALCS MVP in 2014. His defensive ability was always outstanding, and he was valuable at the plate, batting in the middle of the order in the most significant postseason moments.

Kerry

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LoCain 37.5 Royals bWAR, 4.44 per season. A considerable part of the legendary 14-15 run, great human, team ambassador, 100% belongs with zero doubt.

Carter

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Cain's smile was infectious during his Royals tenure; an integral part of the World Series teams in 2014 and 2015. He's right behind Beltran in all-time bWAR and roamed center field with incredible skill. He finished third in MVP voting during the 2015 championship run, and we got to experience his prime years here in KC, an excellent addition to the Hall.

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© H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY

Carlos Beltran, OF (Four Votes)

Kevin

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Beltran doesn't have the fanfare of Cain, and it seems like he's known more for being a Met than a Royal. However, he absolutely produced in KC, posting a 24.9 fWAR, which ranks 8th all-time among Royals hitters. Beltran has accolades, including a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star appearance, though he doesn't have the team success that Cain did.

Philip

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Beltran was an easy addition for me. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1999 and kept producing. While Beltran may have left the Royals to find success elsewhere, he did average 5.0 fWAR per 162 games in Kansas City. He has the most fWAR (24.8) of any Royal not yet in the Royals Hall of Fame, excluding likely eventual inductees Salvador Perez and Zack Greinke.

Kerry

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Beltran averaged 4.53 bWAR per year over 7 seasons (31.7 Royals bWAR, 70.1 career WAR), beating out LoCain narrowly. He is a likely electee to the baseball HOF this year and, therefore, should be in the HOF for the team he came up with and played exceptionally well for. He shouldn't be punished for playing on some terrible teams.

Carter

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Beltran was a member of one of the best Royals outfields of all time, along with Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon, before they all got traded away. He has the 5th-highest OPS in Royals history, top-10 in stolen bases, Rookie of the Year, a consistent 30/30 threat, and almost 25 bWAR in his time here; he's an easy addition to the Hall. 

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© Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images

Yordano Ventura, RHP (Four Votes)

Kevin

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Ventura doesn't have the statistical profile of other nominated Royals, including Escobar, who has an 11.3 fWAR (compared to Ventura's 6.9 fWAR). However, Ventura was a key part of the '14 and '15 rotations and helped solidify the Royals' reputation as one of the toughest teams in the league. Ventura is also an icon in Kansas City, as his legacy is carried in murals throughout the city and among former players. Much like Bo Jackson made the Royals HOF for being an iconic Royals player of his time, I think the same is true for Ventura, even if the stats aren't quite there (due to his tragic death).

Philip

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Ventura was a difficult decision. While he was only able to pitch in four seasons before his tragic death in a car accident in 2017, his time in Kansas City was productive. He had big moments in the postseason including his 7 shutout innings in game 6 of the 2014 World Series that kept the Royals’ season alive. Despite his short tenure, Ventura accumulated more fWAR in Kansas City (7.7) than Hall of Famers Cookie Rojas and Jackson (7.2 and 7.0, respectively). I can’t think of a better way to honor him than with an induction into the Hall of Fame.

Kerry

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2.43 WAR/season, 9.7 overall. Obviously, his life was tragically cut short, and who knows what he would have accomplished. I'm 100% in on inducting him as well because of the backstory.

Carter

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Yordano was on track for a great Royals career. He gave the team and city a fire that few Royals have achieved since. A propellant to the World Series in 2014 and a needed contributor on the 2015 team, he was on track for at least 15 bWAR with the team, and the what-ifs will always remain.

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© Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Greg Holland, RHP (Three Votes)

Kevin

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Holland is the most accomplished Royals closer, not in the Royals HOF. His 10.8 fWAR is the third-highest in Royals history, behind only Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Montgomery, two relievers in the Royals HOF. While Davis closed out the '15 World Series, Holland was the main man in '14 and was key in their turnaround in '13. He returned to Kansas City to finish his career in '20. Of HDH, he is the most deserving to be represented in the Royals HOF

Philip

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Holland was the closer for one of the most elite bullpens in recent memory. He placed in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting twice and was Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year in 2014, the year the award debuted. It’s really a shame that he was injured for the 2015 World Series run.

Carter

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Holland was one of the two H's in the days of HDH, the most dominant bullpen of my lifetime. The best years of his career were with the Royals, and he came back in 2020 for a short reprisal—fourth all-time in saves and one of the best relievers the Royals have ever fielded.

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© Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Joakim Soria, RHP (Two Votes)

Kevin

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Joakim Soria is fourth all-time in Royals reliever fWAR with a 9.8 mark. That gives him an edge over Kelvin Herrera (7.1) and Wade Davis (6.5). Unlike Herrera and Davis, Soria didn't have nearly as much help in the bullpen, yet he was solid for the Royals, making the All-Star team during his tenure. Like Beltran, his tenure is colored by bad teams, but he still produced phenomenal numbers. He is also the most accomplished Mexican-born player in Royals history.

Kerry

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Same comment regarding not being punished for playing on horrible teams, 18.6 career WAR, 14.3 Royals career WAR, better WAR per Royals season (1.79) than Holland.

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© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Alcides Escobar, SS (One Vote)

Kerry

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A considerable part of the best Royals run in recent memory, always played way better the bigger the game was, especially in the playoffs and WS, one of the steadiest defensive SSs I've seen. Generally, awful offensive metrics hurt him in comparison with the above. 1.88 WAR per Royals season, 15.0 total Royals WAR, which, looking at who is in the Royals HOF now, puts him on the margins of getting in.

 

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[Hokius]

I don't know how much y'all can control, but on mobile the ads prevent me from seeing most of the votes table. 

 

Also, I find it unconscionable that y'all didn't vote for all of HDH 

[Kevin O'Brien]

2 hours ago, Hokius said:

I don't know how much y'all can control, but on mobile the ads prevent me from seeing most of the votes table. 

 

Also, I find it unconscionable that y'all didn't vote for all of HDH 

I made the changes and made it an image file so that it's easier to see. When embedding Datawrapper, it seems like there are some viewing issues when reading an article on mobile. Will definitely see what we can do to fix the bugs.

I get it, but at end of day, Davis didn't have a really long tenure here and Herrera while good, I don't think merits inclusion based on him as an individual. I could see Herrera and/or Davis substituting for Soria (I like other Royals eras being represented) but it becomes tougher when you only have five votes. 

Could see Davis getting in on the next ballot once Holland gets in. Herrera will just be tough because he didn't have that era as a dominant closer like Davis or Holland.