Former Rangers ace looks toward 2026 Hall of Fame with uncertain odds

Though he's likely to pick a Philadelphia Phillies cap if he is selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, former Texas Rangers southpaw Cole Hamels is officially on the ballot for 2026.

Hamels was with the organization from 2015 to 2018, between stints with the Phillies and the Chicago Cubs.

Hamels had one of his best career seasons with the Texas Rangers

In 2016, Hamels had a Cy Young caliber season, pitching at the top of the Rangers' rotation. He went 15-5 with a 3.32 ERA. He was also a workhorse, fanning 200 hitters in 200.1 innings pitched over 32 starts.

The hard-throwing lefty with a 12-6 curveball also represented the Rangers in the All-Star game that season. It was one of his four All-Star selections over his 15-year career.

Over his time in Texas, Hamels compiled a 38-21 record with a 3.90 ERA.

Hamels remains a long shot to make the Hall of Fame

For his career, Hamels compiled of 163-122 career record with 3.43 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 2,560 strikeouts in 2,698 innings.

Aside from the one season in Texas, most of Hamels best seasons came as a Philly from 2007 to 2012, including seasons with win totals of 17, 15 and two seasons with 14.

In 2008, Hamels was the NLCS and World Series MVP as the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in a gentleman's sweep of 4-1 to claim the Commissioner's Trophy.

With a career WAR of 57.9, Hamels is better than current Hall of Famers like Whitey Ford, Mariano Rivera and Rube Waddell, but is well below 73, which is the average number of a Hall of Fame Pitcher.

The World Series MVP and 2,560 strikeouts are positive bullet points, but his 163 wins and career mid-3.00 ERA will make it tough for the affable lefty to gain the 75% of votes necessary for induction.

We will see if Hamels is inducted into the Hall of Fame when the voting results are announced at 5 p.m. CT on Jan. 20, live on MLB Network.