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The membership of the Hall of Fame doubled with the Class of 2026, and for a change, none of the inductees were lefthanded pitchers. Nine-time All-Star catcher Bill Freehan was tabbed on his third time on the ballot with 83%. Two-time MVP Dave Parker was inducted after pulling 78% of the vote on his second try. And righthander Jack Chesbro - the all-time leader in WAR for pitchers -- drew an overwhelming 93% on his initial time on the ballot.

Freehan combined tremendous defense with strong offense, winning nine straight Gold Gloves between 2012 and 2020, while winning five Silver Slugger awards, as he blasted 275 homers, with a single-season high of 45. He spent a majority of his career with the Charlotte Aviators, before spending two years with the San Francisco Longshoremen, and finishing his career with the Seattle Whales, where he anchored the 2020 world champions behind the plate. He had a career average of .286, a slugging percentage of .491, and 70.1 WAR, currently second all-time among catchers.

Parker dominated the Continental League during its formative seasons of 2011 and 2012, hitting over .400 each season, and winning the 2012 triple crown. But he was hardly a two-year wonder; he topped 30 homers eight times, and 100 RBI's six times, and made four All-Star teams. Parker spent most of his career with the Dallas Wildcatters, before joining the Montreal Knights for three seasons. He ended his career with 1931 hits, 360 homers in ten full seasons and portions of two more, 1115 RBI's, 175 steals, a career average of .314, a .559 slugging percentage, and 61.0 WAR. He remains the all-time single season leader in batting average (.422), homers (56), RBI's (173), slugging percentage (.782), and WAR (14.5).

Chesbro, a nine-time All-Star, won the 2014 Cy Young Award, and finished in the top three four other times; he also finished in the top three of the MVP voting twice. Chesbro had 12 straight seasons with at least 5.0 WAR, and his ERA was below 3.00 in 11 of his 13 seasons. He spent a majority of his career with the Cleveland Rocks, before spending two seasons apiece with the Boston Minutemen and the New Orleans Crawfish. He ended his career with a 214-106 record, a 2.35 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, 2660 strikeouts, and 108.1 WAR- more than any pitcher in history, as of the time of his induction.

The leading vote recipients are as follows:

Jack Chesbro, RHP, CLE/ BOS/ NO: 93.4%
Bill Freehan, C, CHA/ SF/ SEA: 83.0%
Dave Parker, RF, DAL/ MON: 78.2%
Clay Buchholz, RHP, BAL/ LV/ STL: 61.9%
Brad Lidge, RHP, SF/ BUF/ OKC/ CHI: 56.0%
Troy Tulowitzki, SS: BUF/ ATL/ SF/ SEA: 49.1%
Aaron Judge, RF: CLE/ BOS: 46.9%
Joe Hesketh, RHP, KC/ NAS/ LON/ OMA: 35.8%
Kent Hrbek, 1B, DEN/ JAX/ MIN: 34.3%
Nomar Garciaparra, SS, OTT: 28.0%

Notable players who dropped off the ballot after failing to receive 2% include Vean Gregg, Hong-Chih Kuo, David Cone, Deion Sanders, and Frank Chance.

Here's a look at the Hall of Fame careers of Freehan, Parker, and Chesbro: