Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2017

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Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2017 will proceed according to rules most recently amended in 2015. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) will vote by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players, with results to be announced in January 2017.

The Expansion Era Committee, one of three voting panels that replaced the more broadly defined Veterans Committee following the July 2010 rules change, will convene early in December 2016 to select from a ballot of retired players and non-playing personnel who made their greatest contributions to the sport after 1972, a time frame that the Hall of Fame calls the "Expansion Era".[1][2]

BBWAA election

On July 26, 2014, the Hall announced changes to the rules for election for recently retired players, reducing the number of years a player will be eligible to be on the ballot from fifteen years to ten. One candidate presently on the BBWAA ballot (Lee Smith) in years 10-15 was grandfathered into this system and retained his previous 15 years of eligibility. In addition, BBWAA members who were otherwise eligible to cast ballots were required to complete a registration form and sign a code of conduct before receiving their ballots, and the Hall will make public the names of all members who cast ballots (but not their individual votes) when it announces the election results.[3] The code of conduct specifically states that the ballot is non-transferable, a direct reaction to Dan Le Batard turning his 2014 Hall of Fame ballot over to the sports website Deadspin and allowing the site's readers to make his Hall votes (an act that drew him a lifetime ban from future Hall voting). Violation of the code of conduct will result in a lifetime ban from BBWAA voting.[4]

The most recent rules change, announced on July 28, 2015, tightened the qualifications for the BBWAA electorate. Beginning with the 2016 election, eligible voters must not only have 10 years of continuous BBWAA membership, but also be currently active members, or have held active status within the 10 years prior to the election. A BBWAA member who has not been active for more than 10 years can regain voting status by covering MLB in the year preceding the election.[5] As a result of the new rule, the vote total in 2016 decreased by 109 from the previous year, to 440.[6]

The ballot will include two categories of players:

  • Candidates from the 2016 ballot who received at least 5% of the vote but were not elected, as long as they first appeared on the BBWAA ballot no earlier than 2003.
  • Selected individuals, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 2011.

All BBWAA members with at least 10 years of continuous membership and active membership status at any time in the preceding 10 years will be eligible to vote.

Tim Raines and Lee Smith are on the ballot for their final time.

Players who are eligible for the first time and could potentially be included on this ballot include: Danys Báez, Casey Blake, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Doug Davis, J. D. Drew, Ryan Franklin, Ross Gload, Vladimir Guerrero, Carlos Guillén, Derrek Lee, Julio Lugo, Trever Miller, Melvin Mora, Magglio Ordóñez, Jorge Posada, Manny Ramirez, Édgar Rentería, Dennys Reyes, Arthur Rhodes, Iván Rodríguez, Aaron Rowand, Freddy Sanchez, Matt Stairs, Brett Tomko, Jason Varitek, Javier Vázquez, and Tim Wakefield.[7]

Expansion Era Committee

In keeping with the current voting procedure by eras, the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee, made up of 11 BBWAA members, will identify 12 Expansion Era candidates who were judged to have made their greatest contributions after 1972; this group was previously considered in 2014. Although several managers and executives and one umpire from this period were selected between 1993 and 2014, no player from this period has yet been elected by any of the forms of the Veterans Committee. Along with the post-1972 era, these criteria defined the consideration set:[2]

  • Players who were active for at least 10 seasons, are not on baseball's ineligible list (e.g., Pete Rose) and were last active in 1993 or earlier.
  • Managers and umpires who have served for at least 10 years and are either (a) retired for at least 5 years or (b) at least 65 years old and retired for at least 6 months.
  • Executives who have been retired for 5 years, or are at least 65 years old.

J. G. Taylor Spink Award

The J. G. Taylor Spink Award has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962.[8] Through 2010, it was awarded during the main induction ceremony, but is now given the previous day at the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation. It recognizes a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing".[9] The recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum.

Ford C. Frick Award

The Ford C. Frick Award, honoring excellence in baseball broadcasting, has been presented at the induction ceremonies since 1978.[10] Through 2010, it had been presented at the main induction ceremony, but is now awarded at the Awards Presentation. Recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum. To be eligible, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, a network, or a combination of the two. The honor is based on four criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.

This will be the fourth Frick Award selection under a process similar to that instituted for Veterans Committee balloting in 2010. Candidates are now considered every third year, based on the era in which they made their most significant contributions:[11]

  • "High Tide Era" — Mid-1980s to present, including the rise of regional cable networks. Individuals from this era, last considered in 2014, will be considered for the 2017 award.
  • "Living Room Era" — Mid-1950s to early 1980s, including the rise of television. Individuals from this era were last considered for the 2015 award, and will next be considered for the 2018 award.
  • "Broadcasting Dawn Era" — 1920s to early 1950s, including the early radio broadcasters. Individuals from this era were last considered for the 2016 award, and will next be considered for the 2019 award.

Ten finalists from the "High Tide Era" will be announced in October 2016. In accord with the current guidelines, seven will be chosen by a Hall of Fame research committee, while the other three will be selected from a list of candidates by fan voting at the Hall's Facebook page.

Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award

Another Hall of Fame honor, the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, is expected to be presented at the 2017 Awards Presentation. The award was created in 2008 in honor of Buck O'Neil, a Negro leagues star who went on to become one of baseball's leading ambassadors until his death in 2006. It was first presented posthumously to O'Neil at the 2008 induction ceremony, and most recently in 2014 to Joe Garagiola, whose career as a player and broadcaster spanned nearly 70 years. According to the Hall,

The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball's positive impact on society, broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O'Neil.[12]

If a 2017 recipient is named, the announcement is expected to be made during the 2016 winter meetings.

As with the media awards, recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are permanently recognized by the Hall. In this case, the recipients are listed alongside a life-size statue of O'Neil that stands at the entrance to the museum. Written nominations for the award are accepted by mail at any time; the nomination must specifically state how the nominee meets the traits exemplified by O'Neil.[12]

Notes and references

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ "Ken Griffey Jr. (99 percent of vote), Mike Piazza head to Cooperstown". espn.go.com. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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