Are Hall of Fame Standards Declining? MLB & NFL Legends vs Modern Inductees

In all professional sports each has their version of the hall of fame. The National Football League and Major League Baseball however get the most attention when it comes time to vote new men in. Located in Canton, Ohio and Cooperstown, New York respectively, over the past 10-15 years, there have been some very controversial and head scratching inductees that make it seem that players who may not deserve to be inducted are getting voted in.

2026 is no exception with the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his long-time coach, Bill Belichick who is considered by most to be the greatest head coach in history both getting passed over leaving many to wonder why? What I believe the halls of fame should stand for is they are there for just the best of the best and the greatest of the greatest. If a year comes up and there isn’t an athlete worthy, then no one should go in.

So ahead is a look at the baseball hall of fame first then the NFL’s version and a comparison of what players were voted in for the first five years of each hall and the past five years in the effort to show that perhaps some of the athletes from the last five years really may not belong among the greatest of the great. I found it easier to compare baseball to football because with baseball every player has statistics to review. In football not all players accumulate stats obviously because offensive lineman has the sole job of blocking and protecting their quarterback and there are no stats for that. Football is also more subjective, and players are sometimes judged for their athleticism on the field rather than their numbers.

In baseball, the numbers simply do not lie. Over the past five years inductions into the Football Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame located in Canton, Ohio and Cooperstown, New York respectively have had former players voted into those hallowed halls that perhaps really didn’t belong based on the theory that halls of fame should only the greatest players should be inducted.

It seems just about any athlete with decent numbers can get honored at either of these venues while past inductees were genuinely great players of the game. Think about it…the very first induction for Major League Baseball came in 1936. The men voted in were Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Ty Cobb. That is a huge collective WOW. All five go down as some of the greatest players in history. Wagner is easily the greatest shortstop of all time, Ruth a downright legend and fantastic pitcher as well as a home run slugger, Mathewson an amazing pitcher as was Johnson. Ty Cobb? Perhaps the greatest player ever.

Those responsible for voting these men into the hall on the inaugural ballot had it right. These are the type of players that belong. Now move to 2026. Three men are in…Jeff Kent, Andruw Jones, and Carlos Beltran. Come on man. None of those three should have a bust anywhere near the original five. To try to place Kent, Jones, or Beltran anywhere near the level of ability of the first five would be not just ridiculous but stupid. There is no comparison.

Offensively in Major League Baseball in the first five inductions that took place, there were 14 players that came to the plate as position players and in the last five years another 12 were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those first 12 were Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, George Wright, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Willie Keeler, Buck Ewing, Lou Gehrig, Eddie Collins, Charlie Comisky, Cap Anson, and Rogers Hornsby.

Over the last five years the offensive guys who now have busts in Cooperstown are David Ortiz, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges, Scott Rolen, Fred McGriff, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton, Adrian Beltre, Ichiro Suzuki, Dave Parker, and Dick Allen.

What I did was total both group’s career totals in main statistical categories. Comparing the two shows that the first five years of men played in 32,277 games where the current era of inductees found themselves in 26,507 games. Those first 14 banged out a career total of 41,228 hits and the 2022-2026 group finished with 28,447 hits. The new group, despite having two less players, did hit for more homeruns, 3,391 to 2,415, but keep in mind in the older days it was more of a dead ball era. In looking at RBIs, the old group had 20,974 to their record while the last five years of players totaled 15,343.

Currently the stolen base statistic is not as prominent as it used to be. I remember the days of Lou Brock and later Rickey Henderson. These last five years of hall of famers stole 1,578 bases but the first five-year group that includes the former all-time leader in thefts, Ty Cobb accumulated 5,769 stolen bases. Next is a very telling statistic and that is batting average. The 14 players that came first had a collective career average of .336. That last five? .294. Big difference.

More telling is when the career numbers are averaged down to just what is reflected per season. For the old timers they averaged 116 games a season, but the new players came up with 123. That at-bats were close 450-440 advantage to the last five years of players. Hits? 148 to 132 for the old guys. The homeruns were doubled 18-9 for David Ortiz and his gang where the only big banger for the older gents was Babe Ruth…obviously. Ruth and his counterparts had more RBIs (75-71) and more stolen bases (21-7).

Averaging out the number of seasons each group played, the old-timers’ number was 20 while the last five years of players was 17.9. When you compare some individual numbers, leaders in both groups were as follows:

Games:

• Ty Cobb (3,034)
• Adrian Beltre (2,933)

At-Bats:

• Ty Cobb (11,440)
• Beltre (11,068)

Hits:

• Ty Cobb (4,189)
• Beltre (3,166)

Home Runs:

• Babe Ruth (714)
• David Ortiz (541)

RBIs:

• Babe Ruth (2,214)
• David Ortiz (1,768)

Stolen Bases:

• Ty Cobb (897)
• Ichiro Suzuki (509)

Batting Average:

• Rogers Hornsby (.358)
• Todd Helton (.316)

Years Played:

• Cap Anson (27)
• Adrian Beltre (21)

So, what does it all mean? While the numbers are not at a great advantage for either side, I believe it boils down to not just the stats, but what the players meant to the game. When you talk about the legends of baseball are we really going to think of Minnie Monoso or Joe Mauer? Or will you think of Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig first before the name Todd Helton comes up? Fred McGriff or Ty Cobb? Really?

Then you have the hall of fame pitchers. In the time frames talked about here, there are six pitchers that were voted into the hall of fame in the first five years, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Al Spalding, Old Hoss Radbourn, and Candy Cummings. The first three listed here are legends. Three of the greatest pitchers ever. Over the last five years, only three hurlers were voted in. CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, and Jim Kaat. Kaat had the best numbers in the group in his 25-year career and Wagner’s career E.R.A. of 2.31 comes close to Christy Mathewson’s 2.13 E.R.A. but Wagner was just a closer.

Jim Kaat had 283 victories overall but that pales in comparison to Walter Johnson’s 417. Kaat also struck out 2,461 batters whereas Walter Johnson whiffed 3,509. So, while talking only about the first five and last five hall of fame classes, certainly there are players in between deserving of a bust in Cooperstown. But the gist of this article is how the hall of fame voting seems to become less and less viable as the years go by. Again, the hall should be the best of the best. The greatest of all time. If these aforementioned players were alive today and in their prime, would you rather start CC Sabathia or Jim Kaat over Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson? I think not. Those old-time players started and finished games. All nine innings. Pitchers today either can’t do that or are not permitted to do so.

For the record, here are the entire first five-year classes and the last five years.

First five:

• Honus Wagner
• Babe Ruth
• George Wright
• Ty Cobb
• Tris Speaker
• Nap Lajoie
• George Sisler
• Willie Keeler
• Buck Ewing
• Lou Gehrig
• Eddie Collins
• Charlie Comisky
• Cap Anson
• Rogers Hornsby
• Christy Mathewson
• Walter Johnson
• Grover Alexander
• Al Spalding
• Old Hoss Radbourn
• Candy Cummings

Last five:

• David Ortiz
• Tony Oliva
• Minnie Minoso
• Gil Hodges
• Scott Rolen
• Fred McGriff
• Joe Mauer
• Todd Helton
• Adrian Beltre
• Ichiro Suzuki
• Dave Parker
• Dick Allen
• CC Sabathia
• Billy Wagner
• Jim Kaat

How about the numbers for these Hall of Famers?

Scroll/swipe to view table.

The pitchers:

Scroll/swipe to view table.

Turning to football, the National Football League didn’t start handing out yellow jackets until 1963 for a league that had been around much longer than that. That first football class had far more players than baseball did, 17 in fact. But among those men were legends of the game. Jim Thorpe included. He may be by arguments sake the greatest all-around athlete in the history of sports. The first class and those who were inducted the names just roll off one’s tongue.

• Sammy Baugh
• Bert Bell
• Joe Carr
• Earl “Dutch” Clark
• Harold “Red” Grange
• George Halas
• Mel Hein
• Wilbert “Pete” Henry
• Robert “Cal” Hubbard
• Don Hutson
• Earl “Curly” Lambeau
• Tim Mara
• George Preston Marshall
• John “Blood” McNally
• Bronko Nagurski
• Ernie Nevers

Just as it was in baseball, some of the greatest players ever made up that very first list. This year for the NFL? Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri. Brees I get. Craig was a great running back but a choice of he or any of the players from 1963? Those guys would be the easy answer. Larry Fitzgerald was a fantastic receiver, but he was no Don Hutson. Then there is Kuechly. He in no way belongs. How he got in I have no clue. And Vinatieri? Kickers are a dime a dozen and because he got in there will be a slew of kickers to follow Vinatieri into Canton.

This year brought a ton of criticism to the football writers of America responsible for voting in players to the hall of fame. As indicated before, Robert Kraft and long-time head coach Bill Bilichick, considered by most to be the greatest coach ever, did not get voted in when they should have been shoe-ins. On the baseball side because of his gambling issues Pete Rose never got voted into the baseball hall of fame but that is more on the commissioners of that sport. Based on talent alone, Rose should be in there as he is one of the greatest players ever.

Naturally, writers will keep putting players in year after year regardless of whether they are judged to have had careers that put them there. It seems the votes are more subjective than objective and from the Belichick issue it is glaringly obvious that there were writers who simply did not vote for him because they have some issue with him because without doubt, he belongs. In closing you have to ask yourself, are these players in baseball and football being voted in these days really worthy of being selected as the best of the best?