Cardinals' legend Albert Pujols has the chance to make history again in 2028

The 2025 results are in, as Billy Wagner, C.C. Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki are heading to Cooperstown. The highlight of every Major League Baseball off-season is watching the drama ensuing with the voting process. New players starting the process, long-time ballot riders slowly climbing close to 75% of the vote, and voters using their power to divide the baseball world.

In the 2025 induction, Wagner squeezed in which was his tenth and final year on the ballot. Newcomer C.C. Sabathia showcased his longevity to be an easy first-time election. Ichiro is an all-time legend within the game and was expected be to inducted with ease. The problem is everyone expected him to not be a unanimous pick.

The entire voting process has been flawed since its inception. In 1936, the Baseball Writers Association of America was gifted the honor of inducting legends into the game's most prestigious museum. However, with nearly one hundred years of this implemented system, only one player has ever been a unanimous selection. It was not Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, or Pedro Martinez. The selection took place in 2019 with the best relief pitcher in MLB history named Mariano Rivera. What makes this crazy is that it took 83 years for any player to receive 100% of the votes. Another crazy stat is with Billy Wagner's induction, only nine relievers have made Cooperstown which is the most underrepresented position.

With controversial icons within MLB recently falling off the ballot in Barry Bonds and Rogers Clemens, and others still battling the ballots in Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the future outlook is thin for any sure-fire selections. Many good players will be reaching the ballot and fighting for the next ten years but will most likely not receive the call. But in 2028, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will be on the ballot for the first time. It seems like a slam dunk that Molina will be inducted as he is highly regarded as the best catcher of his generation. But given voters past, he will not come close to being a unanimous pick. But for Pujols on the other hand, he has the best chance to make history.

The best player over the past twenty years has one of the greatest resumes in MLB history. Pujols' career stands as an inner circle Hall of Famer and will be one of the most famous plaques to be on display. Pujols put up 101.1 career WAR with 703 HR, 3384 H, 2218 RBI, .296 BA, and 145 OPS+. His stretch from 2001-2010 with the St. Louis Cardinals is the most dominant in baseball history for any player. Even with the production decline in Anaheim, the career as a whole is more than enough to be inducted. But his first-decade stint in St. Louis is one of the larger-than-life stories to be told in the museum until the end of time. Voters have three years to think their process over, but they cannot get this one wrong. It is time to induct the first unanimous position player into the Hall of Fame. The first player to receive this historic recognition needs to be Albert Pujols.