Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2019

Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2019 will proceed according to rules most recently amended in 2016. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) will vote by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players. The results will be announced in January 2019.

BBWAA election

The BBWAA election rules are expected to remain identical to those that were in effect for the most recent elections. The most recent rules change, announced in 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.[1]

The ballot will include two categories of players:

  • Candidates from the 2018 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 2009.
  • Selected individuals, chosen by a screening committee, whose last MLB appearance was in 2013.

Edgar Martínez and Fred McGriff are on the ballot for their final time.

Voting results from 2019:

Players eligible for consideration for the first time in 2019 include Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Andy Pettitte, Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Miguel Tejada, Placido Polanco, Freddy Garcia, Kevin Youkilis, Derek Lowe, Vernon Wells, Ted Lilly, Travis Hafner, Jason Bay, Michael Young, Ryan Dempster, Jon Garland, Ramon Hernandez, Darren Oliver, Juan Pierre, Octavio Dotel, Jake Westbrook, Jose Contreras and Yorvit Torrealba.

Today's Game Era Committee

On July 23, 2016, the Hall of Fame announced changes to the Era Committee system. The system's timeframes were restructured to place a greater emphasis on the modern game, and to reduce the frequency at which individuals from the pre-1970 game (including Negro Leagues figures) will have their careers reviewed.[2]

Separate 16-member subcommittees continue to vote on individuals from different eras of baseball, with candidates still being classified by the time periods that cover their greatest contributions:

  • Early Baseball (1871–1949)
  • Golden Days (1950–1969)
  • Modern Baseball (1970–1987)
  • Today's Game (1988 and later)

All committees' ballots include 10 candidates. At least one committee convenes every December, in the calendar year before the induction ceremony in July. The Early Baseball committee will convene decennially in years ending in 0, and the Golden Days committee will convene every five years, in years ending in 0 and 5. The Today's Game and Modern Baseball committees alternate their meetings in that order, skipping years in which the Golden Days and Early Baseball committees meet.[2]

Accordingly, the committees will meet in the following years as part of the elections for the next calendar year:

  • Today's Game – 2021, 2023
  • Modern Baseball – 2019, 2022, 2024
  • Golden Days – 2020, 2025
  • Early Baseball – 2020

The criteria for committee eligibility differ for players, managers, and executives.[3]

  • Players: Must be retired for at least 15 seasons. This means that no player will be eligible for committee consideration until a minimum of 10 years after he first becomes eligible to appear on the BBWAA ballot, regardless of whether or not he appears on a ballot.
    • The Hall has not yet established a policy on when players who die while active or during the standard 5-year waiting period for BBWAA eligibility will be eligible for committee consideration. In these instances, the standard waiting period for BBWAA eligibility of 5 years from retirement is shortened to 6 months from death.
  • Managers and umpires: Must have at least 10 years of service in that role, and either be (1) retired for at least 5 years or (2) at least age 65 and retired for 6 months.
  • Executives: Must be retired for at least 5 years, or be at least age 70. Executives who meet the age cutoff will be considered regardless of their positions in an organization or their currently active statuses.

The Hall is expected to announce the 10 candidates for the Today's Game Era Committee ballot in November 2018, with the committee scheduled to meet and vote at the 2018 winter meetings. Voting results are expected to be announced immediately after the committee meeting adjourns.[4] The cutoff for election and induction remains the standard 75%, or 12 of 16 votes.

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.[5] 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".[6] The recipients are not members of the Hall of Fame but are featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum.

The three finalists for the 2019 award were announced on July 18, 2018 during the All-Star break:[7]

Ford C. Frick Award

Various changes in July 2016 were also made to the annual Ford C. Frick Award elections, presented annually to a preeminent baseball broadcaster since 1978. According to the Hall, the new criteria for selection are "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers."

Additionally, a ballot of eight candidates is now set, down from 10 in years past. The three ballot slots previously determined by fan voting on Facebook are now filled by a committee of historians.

A new election cycle has been established, rotating annually between Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers) with the 2017 Frick Award; National Voices (broadcasters whose contributions were realized on a national level) with the 2018 Frick Award; and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers of baseball broadcasting) with the 2019 Frick Award. This cycle will repeat every three years.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Hall of Fame Announces Change to BBWAA Voting Electorate" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Hall of Fame Makes Series of Announcements" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. July 23, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Era Rules for Election". Eras Committees. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ "2018 Modern Baseball Era Ballot" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. November 6, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  5. ↑ "J.G. Taylor Spink Award". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Awards: J. G. Taylor Spink". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Star Tribune's Patrick Reusse again nominated for MLB's Spink Award". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.

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