Pair of Alumni On The 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot
The National Baseball Hall of Fame unveiled its 2025 ballot on Monday, featuring 14 newly eligible candidates, including former AquaSox Felix Hernandez and Adam Jones. Ironically both players played for Everett in 2003. King Felix spent his entire 15-year playing career with Seattle and is the best pitcher by WAR
The National Baseball Hall of Fame unveiled its 2025 ballot on Monday, featuring 14 newly eligible candidates, including former AquaSox Felix Hernandez and Adam Jones. Ironically both players played for Everett in 2003.
King Felix spent his entire 15-year playing career with Seattle and is the best pitcher by WAR in franchise history. He was just 19 when the Mariners called him up in 2005. By 2006, he was the staff ace and would soon assert his dominance on the league.
Hernandez registered a 2.90 ERA over 1,796 2/3 innings from 2008-15. He pitched at least 200 frames in each of those seasons and won an ERA title in 2010 and '14. Hernandez finished among the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting six times. He took home the Cy Young Award in '10 after recording a 2.27 ERA over 249 2/3 innings. But his career’s crowning achievement came two years later, when he threw the 23rd perfect game in AL/NL history.
King Felix earned his sixth and final All-Star selection as a 29-year-old in 2015. He had accrued 49.9 WAR by the end of that season. That is the seventh-most WAR by a pitcher before his age-30 season in the Expansion Era (since 1961). The six names in front of Hernandez on that list? Roger Clemens, Bert Blyleven, Clayton Kershaw, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux.
Besides pitching for Everett in 2003, he also made rehab appearances in 2016 and 2019.
Originally drafted by the Mariners in 2003 as a shortstop, Jones became a star during his 11 seasons with the Orioles, racking up five All-Star appearances and 263 home runs. He recorded at least 60 extra-base hits from 2012-14 and received MVP votes following each of those seasons. He also earned a Silver Slugger in 2013 after bashing a career-high 33 homers. A four-time Gold Glove award winner, Jones will also be long remembered for his iconic, homer-saving catch for Team USA during the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The ballot is being mailed this week to nearly 400 voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Candidates must be named on 75 percent of ballots cast by selected BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of MLB coverage to gain election and be part of Induction Weekend July 25-28, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Voters must return ballots by a December 31 postmark. Votes are counted jointly by BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell and Ernst & Young partner Mark Moran. Results will be announced by Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2025, live on MLB Network.
The ballot features three other former Northwest League players Carlos Beltran (Spokane), Ian Kinsler (Spokane), and Omar Vizquel (Bellingham)
ABOUT THE EVERETT AQUASOX: Celebrating 30 years as a Seattle Mariner affiliate in 2025, the Everett AquaSox (High-A) are a proud member of the Northwest League. For updates on the upcoming season, community initiatives, and Webbly appearances follow the Frogs on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, or visit our website, AquaSox.com.Season ticket packages, group outings, and picnics outings can be purchased by calling (425) 258-3673 or visiting the AquaSox Front Office at 3802 Broadway.