Ted Turner Should Be In The Baseball Hall Of Fame. It’s Time To Make That Happen.

This article was written by Jason Foster and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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There’s an argument to be made that nobody did more to grow Major League Baseball’s popularity in the second half of the 20th century than former Braves owner Ted Turner.

In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that untold millions around the country are baseball fans today because of him, even if they don’t realize it. His official baseball title was “owner” (and for one day, manager), but he was much more than that.

Thanks to TBS, the network Turner built basically from scratch starting in the mid-1970s, generations came to discover nightly baseball and fall in love with the game. I’ve long believed that such a legacy deserves recognition among the game’s all-time innovators and influencers, and there’s finally a chance to make it happen.

Turner’s name was among those announced Monday on the Baseball Hall of Fame‘s Contemporary Era ballot, which recognizes managers, umpires and executives whose primary contribution to baseball came after 1980. The candidates will be judged by a 16-member panel of executives, former players, media members and historians. Results will be announced Dec. 6, and a candidate must receive at least 75 percent of the vote for induction.

The Contemporary Baseball Era ballot features four managers and four executives for consideration in the Hall of Fame Class of 2027.

Results will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 6: https://t.co/ofvHWarX4I https://t.co/xZ8WpqqgkZ

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) November 2, 2026

Turner, who died May 6 at age 87, should’ve been elected to the Hall of Fame years ago, but this is the first time he’s appeared on a ballot. Still, voters shouldn’t let the opportunity pass to honor a guy who was a significant and historic ambassador for baseball, just from an unconventional perspective.

The “Mouth of the South,” as Turner was once known because of his flamboyant, outspoken and sometimes controversial personality, is as deserving as anyone up for consideration in this cycle, including some who are considered locks. Most notably, former managers Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are virtual shoo-ins, and rightly so.

Baker was a beloved figure as a player and manager, and led his teams to multiple playoff appearances, three pennants and a World Series title with the Astros in 2022. Bochy, meanwhile, led the Giants championship dynasty of the 2010s, resulting in three World Series titles, and later won a fourth title with the Rangers in 2023.

There are other worthy candidates on the ballot, but none should overshadow Turner, whose influence will continue to be felt at least as long as there are Braves fans old enough to remember the TBS days. It’s a story that can’t be overstated.

Nightly baseball for a nation

It was Turner’s entertaining mix of businessman, innovator, maverick, and just the right amount of crazy that led him to buy a struggling local Atlanta TV station and later decide to beam it via satellite to millions of homes around the country.

When Turner bought the Braves in 1976, it just made sense to lean into the team as a programming staple for his superstation, which was rebranded as WTBS in 1979. The Braves gave Turner a reliable 150-plus nights of easy and affordable programming each year, but even he probably had no idea where that would lead.

By the mid-’80s, TBS was seen in more than 50 million homes, and the Braves had amassed a large and loyal following, despite a lot of losing. Turner dubbed them “America’s Team,” and it was only slightly hyperbolic, given that they were the only nightly baseball option for large swaths of the country.

Throughout the ’90s, after the Braves had established a culture of winning, their popularity only grew as TBS eventually reached upward of 77 million households during the decade. Enthusiasm remained strong into the 2000s as the team continued to build a streak of division titles that didn’t end until 2006.

By the time the network stopped broadcasting the team after the 2007 season, Turner no longer owned either. But the love of baseball he created and helped flourish over 20-plus years continues to endure. It really is a remarkable achievement, not quite on par with his creation of CNN or his work as a philanthropist, but a massive accomplishment in its own right.

Turner was a unique owner who worked his media magic during a unique time in history, seeing potential where nobody else saw it and creating a baseball legacy that will continue to span generations.

It’s time to reward that legacy with a permanent place in Cooperstown.