The three are all making their first appearance on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot.
A trio of American Legion Baseball alumni are among the candidates for enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026, after the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) ballot was released this week.
Voting by the BBWAA will take place over the next months, with results being announced Jan. 20. Those who receive 75 percent of the vote will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., the weekend of July 24-27, 2026.
All three Legion Baseball alumni on the ballot are in their first year of eligibility for the Hall.
Alex Gordon, who played Legion Baseball for Lincoln (Neb.) Post 3, was the 2015 American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year. It was a great time in my life, of his Legion experience.
Gordon spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the Kansas City Royals, helping them win the 2015 World Series. He was a three-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, and led American League leftfielders in putouts five times, fielding percentage four times, and assists three times.
Matt Kemp played Legion Baseball for Midwest City (Okla.) Post 170 before going on to a 15-year major league career with the Dodgers, Padres, Braves, Reds and Rockies. He was a three-time All-Star and won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards twice.
Rick Porcello played Legion Baseball in Vailsburg, N.J. He pitched 12 years in the majors with the Tigers, Red Sox and Mets, winning the 2016 American League Cy Young Award and Comeback Player of the Year Award and the 2018 World Series, all with Boston.
Gordon, Kemp and Porcello join six players on the Contemporary Era ballot as Legion Baseball alumni under consideration for the Class of 2026. Barry Bonds, who played Legion Baseball in San Mateo, Calif.; Roger Clemens (Spring Woods, Texas); Jeff Kent (Bellflower, Calif.); Don Mattingly (Evansville (Ind.) Post 8); Dale Murphy (Portland (Ore.) Post 52); and Gary Sheffield (Tampa (Fla.) Post 248) are under consideration by the Hall of Fames Eras Committee. Results of that ballot will be announced Dec. 7.
- Baseball