Yankees And The Hall of Fame

By James Vlietstra

February 10, 2026

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During the offseason, the baseball  writers and other dignitaries of the sport determine who will be included in the upcoming Hall Of Fame class.  I used to excitedly watch the release of ballots, each year.  I would keep track of the chances of some of the biggest stars from my childhood and the likelihood of them getting elected.  Unfortunately, many of them never were.

There was a time in the post-1994 strike era when an estimated 70%+ of Major League players were using steroids.  There was no test and no specific rule against it. The sport celebrated, profited from, and encouraged the resulting accomplishments. The likelihood that perhaps several dozen players who have already been inducted into the HOF that played during this era at least experimented with steroids and other performance enhancers is near 100%. 

There was a time in the 60s and 70s when players would pop amphetamines like candy from a bowl in the clubhouse.  They are now illegal, but at the time it was accepted.

The museum that is supposed to celebrate the sport, including some of its flaws, is instead trying to pretend like a large chunk of its history never happened.  I feel like it should be revamped. 

In the history of MLB, there have been 20,780 players at the top level.   To put that into perspective, If Yankees Stadium was about 40% filled, that is all that has ever played. Only 279 players have been inducted into the Hall Of Fame. That's about 1.3% of all players from roughly 150 years of play. That seems very low.

I am also a fan of inducting people while they are still alive and able to enjoy it.  Is it that big of a deal to put in an additional 2-300 players?  Maybe make a special wing for the cream of the crop, inner circle Hall members, I am good with that too.

The first change I would like to see is include the induction weekend to be a part of All-Star week.   A few years ago I proposed having the draft to be a part of the festivities.  That brings together the present and the future.  Why not also include the past?  WWE has their induction the night before their All Star event, Wrestlemania.  They could have the biggest stars of the sport all gathered in one location for one week every year.

The next part is going to be a touchy subject.  I know our Editor in Chief is completely against the suggestion.  But I feel it is time to move the location of the Hall of Fame.  It's currently in a small sleepy upstate New York town of Cooperstown, a beautiful quaint little village that you've stepped back in town.  However, it is so far away from civilization, the sport is doing itself a disservice by having it there.  Also, there are more artifacts buried underground than there are actually on display.  Baseball's most hallowed ground is the site of the original Yankee Stadium.  Let's build a museum on that site.  The current yearly attendance, in Cooperstown, is around 325,000 annually.  I believe that total would increase ten fold at this new location.  Probably more. 

Current players could visit it daily. Inductees could regularly be onsite signing autographs and telling stories.  A new museum in the biggest city would become a destination and would also be very profitable. I would love to see it happen.  I think it would also increase interest in the sport.

In my next series of articles, a series that will run over several months, I am going to review the credentials of a large collection of former Yankees and other players who were associated with the Yankees.

Together, we can discuss if we believe that they are deserving of being included in the Hall of Fame or not. 

I hope you read along and share your opinions.