It’s time to continue digging into the 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. We’ve already covered most of the dozen new players who are appearing on the ballot for the first time. Those paying attention might have noticed there are two we’ve yet to touch on. One of them we’ll cover now.

Today, we’re going to explore a trio of southpaw pitchers on the ballot.

First, for fun, let’s stack their stat lines up side-by-side:

Comparatively speaking, the three hurlers are pretty similar on the surface. Each of the trio presents an interesting case for the Hall of Fame.

The Philadelphia Phillies used the 17th overall pick in the 2002 Draft to select Cole Hamels out of Rancho Bernardo High School (San Diego, CA). Hamels’s minor league career was marred by injuries (elbow tendinitis, back spasms, and a broken hand suffered in a preseason bar fight). Still, Hamels climbed to the top of the Phillies’ prospect rankings before making his debut in May 2006, and he quickly established himself as a fixture in the team’s rotation.

Hamels spent 10 years with the Phillies, going 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA (124 ERA+) and 1,844 strikeouts over 1930.0 IP while appearing in three All-Star Games and finishing in the top 10 in Cy Young voting four times. He was a key reason behind the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series, collecting both the NLCS and WS MVP along the way.

Hamels pitched a no-hitter on July 25, 2015, against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, striking out 13 while walking two. Philadelphia traded him days later to Texas along with left-hander Jake Diekman for a six-player return: catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams, left-hander Matt Harrison, and right-handers Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, and Jake Thompson.

The southpaw spent four seasons with the Rangers, going 38-21 with a 3.90 ERA (118 ERA+) over 546.2 IP while making another All-Star appearance. Texas traded him at the 2018 deadline to the Cubs (for first baseman Alexander Ovalles and right-handers Rollie Lacy and Eddie Butler). Hamels made one final start with the Braves at the end of 2020, after missing almost the whole season to a shoulder injury he suffered during spring training. He underwent multiple subsequent surgeries in an effort to get back on the mound, but never returned to the majors.

Hamels spent 15 seasons in the majors, going 163-122 with a 3.43 ERA (123 ERA+) and 2,560 strikeouts over 2698.0 IP. He made four All-Star appearances, had four Top 10 finishes in NL Cy Young voting, and won multiple playoff series awards en route to a 2008 World Series championship. He totaled 57.9 WAR.

The New York Yankees used their 22nd-round pick in the 1990 Draft to select Andy Pettitte out of Deer Park High School (Deer Park, TX). Pettitte enrolled at San Jacinto College North that fall, but New York retained draft-and-follow rights and ultimately signed him to a deal in May 1991. He made a dozen starts in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League before moving up to Low-A Oneonta, where he’d pair up with catcher Jorge Posada for the first time. The duo would make up half of the famed “Core Four” of the Yankees’ dynasty (also including Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera).

Pettitte made his debut in April 1995, initially being used as a reliever before a brief demotion to Triple-A. A mid-May injury to Jimmy Key opened a door for Pettitte to return in the starting rotation. He’d make 26 starts that rookie season (31 appearances), going 12-9 with a 4.17 ERA (111 ERA+) over 175.0 IP and would finish third in AL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Marty Cordova and Garret Anderson).

The next season would be one of Pettitte’s best. He’d lead the AL with 21 wins (the first of two 20-win seasons in his career) with a 3.87 ERA (129 ERA+) and 162 strikeouts over 221.0 IP. He was an All-Star, received some down-ballot MVP votes, and finished second in Cy Young Award voting (narrowly losing to Toronto’s Pat Hentgen).

Pettitte spent nine seasons with the Yankees during his first stint with the team. He was 149-78 with a 3.94 ERA (117 ERA+) over 1792.2 IP in that stretch, making a pair of All-Star appearances and finishing in the top six of Cy Young voting four times.

Wanting to play closer to his Texas home, Pettitte signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Houston Astros following the 2003 season. A torn flexor tendon would cause him to miss much of the 2004 season, but over his three years in Houston, Pettitte was 37-26 with a 3.38 ERA (129 ERA+) over 519.2 IP with another top-five Cy Young finish (and some down-ballot MVP consideration) in 2005.

Pettitte once again hit free agency and returned home to New York, beginning a series of six consecutive one-year contracts (technically, he retired in February 2011 and sat out a season, but he’d return the next spring) with the Yankees. Pettitte was 70-49 with a 3.93 ERA (111 ERA+) in 1003.2 IP, making one final All-Star appearance, during his return stint in New York.

At the end of an 18-year career, Pettitte was 256-153 with a 3.85 ERA (117 ERA+) and 2,448 strikeouts over 3316.0 IP. He was a three-time All-Star and had five top-five finishes in Cy Young voting. All told, he generated 60.7 WAR during his career.

Of course, Pettitte’s case for the Hall of Fame can’t be properly considered without also noting his postseason record and connection to performance-enhancing drugs.

Pettitte benefited from spending most of his career with perennial playoff contenders. Coupled with the expansion of the postseason in recent years, he holds or ranks highly in many playoff career pitching stats. Pettitte made 44 postseason starts during his career, winning 19 games with a 3.81 ERA and 183 strikeouts over 276.2 IP. He won the ALCS MVP in 2001. The Yankees won five World Series titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009) with Pettitte on the roster.

In September 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that former reliever Jason Grimsley was arrested in a federal raid investigating steroid use in baseball. Grimsley reportedly provided investigators with several names of other players involved, including Pettitte. Several days later, a report from The Washington Post confirms the raid and investigation but clears Pettitte’s (and Roger Clemens’) involvement.

Pettitte’s name was included in the Mitchell Report, which was released just weeks later in December 2007. Former Yankees trainer Brian McNamee had told George Mitchell that he had injected Pettitte with HGH on “2-4 occasions” in 2002 to help an elbow injury heal. Pettitte released a statement through his lawyer admitting to the use, verifying that McNamee had injected him twice and he had also done so himself once, using HGH obtained from and prescribed to his ill father. Upon arriving at spring training in 2008, he will apologize to the Yankees, Astros, and fans in both cities. He would never receive a suspension from the league.

The Chicago White Sox used their 38th-round pick in the 1998 Draft to select Mark Buehrle out of Jefferson College (Hillsboro, MO). Buehrle made just 36 appearances in the minors, with none coming above Double-A, before making his debut with the White Sox in June 2000. Much of that first season was spent working out of the bullpen, but Buehrle quickly became a central piece of Chicago’s rotation the next season.

He would spend a dozen years with the White Sox, going 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA (120 ERA+) over 2476.2 IP, while playing in four All-Star Games and winning a trio of Gold Glove Awards. Buehrle also helped Chicago win the 2005 World Series and threw a no-hitter in 2007 (vs. Texas) and a perfect game in 2009 (vs. Tampa Bay).

After the 2011 season, Buehrle left Chicago to sign a four-year, $58 million contract with the Miami Marlins. The innings-eater would only spend one season in Miami, going 13-13 with a 3.74 ERA (109 ERA+) over 202.1 IP while winning a fourth Gold Glove Award, before he was a part of the Marlins’ fire sale. Buehrle, right-hander Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck, and infielders José Reyes and Emilio Bonifácio were all shipped to the Toronto Blue Jays for a seven-player return: infielders Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria, catcher Jeff Mathis, outfielder Jake Marisnick, left-hander Justin Nicolino, and right-handers Henderson Alvarez III and Anthony DeSclafani.

Buehrle continued to be a consistent workhorse on the mound for Toronto, falling only an out short of the 200-inning mark each season. He was 40-28 with a 3.78 ERA (106 ERA+) over those final three seasons.

All in, Buehrle spent 16 years in the big leagues, going 214-160 with a 3.81 ERA (117 ERA+) over 3283.1 IP, with five All-Star appearances and a quartet of Gold Glove Awards. He totaled 60.0 WAR.