The Baseball Hall of Fame announced two changes in its voting policy Saturday – first, to shorten the length of time players can stay on the ballot and secondly, to create a registration requirement for voters in response to last year’s controversy when Dan Le Batard gave his ballot to Deadspin.
Players who don’t get voted in but receive a requisite five percent of the vote can remain on the ballot for 10 years, down from 15 years. Jane Forbes Clark, Hall of Fame chairman of the board, said the change had nothing to do with trying to rush through players under steroid suspicion.
“The steroid era had nothing to do with the decision,” she said.
Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson said the decision was made for the sake of staying relevant.
“In a study of Hall of Fame voting over its history, it’s become clearly evident, especially over the last 30 years or so, that after 10 years the likelihood of election was incredibly minimal,” Idelson said. “So the idea of making it more relevant was attractive to the board. (And) we think it maintains the integrity of the process.”
Players who fall off the ballot after 10 years will go to consideration for by the expansion era committee that much sooner. A player will wait at least a year before being considered by the expansion era committee.
Bert Blyleven was the last player to be elected after having been on the ballot for more than 10 years. In 2011 he was voted in in his 14th year. The current players who have been on the ballot for more than 10 years (Don Mattingly, Alan Trammell and Lee Smith) with be grandfathered into the new system and stay on the ballot for up to 15 years.
“Initial reaction may have some people cringe because of the lack of time, but deadlines are a good thing,” said LaVelle Neal III, president of the Baseball Writers Association of America. “I think 10 years to evaluate a candidate’s Hall of Fame worthiness is enough time to make a decision.”
As for the voters, they’ll now be required to complete a registration form and sign a code of conduct, and for the first time their names will be made public.
“Each voter will still have his or her own choice whether or not they choose to reveal how they voted,” Idelson said. “But we believe the American Public deserves to know who’s voting.”
This is the first time the Hall of Fame has changed its voting policies since 1991 and only the second time since 1985.
