The Hall of Fame Continues To Snub A White Sox Legend

As we get closer to the conclusion of the offseason, Major League Baseball announces their inductees into the hall of fame. The last player to be selected to Cooperstown that played most of their career with the White Sox was Minnie Minoso in 2022. However, Dick Allen was elected last season, and despite just three seasons with the team, he did win a MVP award while on the White Sox.

The class of 2026 saw two new members join the hall of fame, as Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones finally got in after a few years on the ballot. Beltran secured 84% of the vote, while Jones snuck by the 75% mark with 78% of the vote. Jones spent the 2010 season with the White Sox, so they now have another hall of famer who has played for the franchise.

While these results are exciting for Beltran and Jones, they are very frustrating for a White Sox fan. This is because White Sox legend Mark Buehrle only received 20% of the vote on his 6th year on the ballot. While his number took a big jump from 11.4% in 2025, he is still a large margin away from the 75% needed to make it into the hall of fame.

"I have zero issue with being a big Hall guy."@jonmorosi discusses his ballot and makes a case for Mark Buehrle in his sixth year of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/EROpalUylw

— MLB Now (@MLBNow) January 20, 2026

While Buehrle will have four more opportunities to get into the hall of fame as voted by the Baseball Writers, he can still be elected through the veterans committee at some point down the road, which is how Minoso got into the hall of fame.

Regardless, 20% is an embarrassingly low number for a player like Buehrle, as more people need to recognize how good and durable Buehrle was throughout his career. From his first full season in the major leagues in 2001 through 2014, he pitched at least 200 innings every single season. He would have had the number in his last season in 2015, but in his last start of the year he only pitched 2/3rds of an inning, due to giving up 8 unearned runs. He finished that season with 198.2 innings. You will never see that type of longevity again.

On top of pure durability, he also has some significant accomplishments. He is the owner of four gold gloves, has five all-star appearances, and was the ace on a World Series winning team. On top of that, he has thrown one perfect game and one no-hitter. That is a pretty significant resume.

While Buehrle doesn’t have the gaudy strikeout or ERA numbers as some of the other members of the hall of fame, he was a true pitcher, as he pitched to contact, so naturally those numbers aren’t going to be the same as Randy Johnson.

Buehrle is a White Sox legend and needs to be appreciated as such outside of Chicago. It was nice to see him jump up 9% from last year’s ballot, but he will need some more significant jumps to get to the 75% threshold. Let’s hope that voters start to come to their senses and put Buehrle in the Hall, where he belongs.