For player
candidates who are no longer eligible for the BBWAA ballot, the Era Committee
provides another opportunity to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Era Committee also represents the only
avenue for non-player candidates such as executives, managers, umpires, and
pioneers to gain entry into Cooperstown.
The Era Committee is made up of three separate 16-member sub-committees,
tasked with judging candidates from a specific era with the Expansion Era in
charge of the time period after 1972, the Golden Era covering 1947 to 1972, and
the Pre-Integration Era representing the origins of the game to 1946. Each Era sub-committee meets once every three
years in a rotating cycle with elections held in early December. Thus far, each sub-committee has convened
twice with the Expansion Era voting in 2010 and 2013, the Golden Era voting in
2011 and 2014, and the Pre-Integration Era voting in 2012 and 2015. However, in its short history the Era
Committee process has drawn a fair share of criticism for a variety of reasons
and with December's Pre-Integration Era vote representing two full cycles under
the current format it is likely that the Hall of Fame board members will review
and possibly modify to the system. The
following are seven changes that would improve the Era Committee election
process:
1. Hold separate elections for player and non-player candidates.
Below are the results from the six Era Committee elections with player candidates in black, non-player candidates in red, and candidates voted into the Hall of Fame italicized:
1. Hold separate elections for player and non-player candidates.
Below are the results from the six Era Committee elections with player candidates in black, non-player candidates in red, and candidates voted into the Hall of Fame italicized:
Dec '10
|
Dec '11
|
Dec '12
|
|||||
Exp Era
|
Vote %
|
Golden Era
|
Vote %
|
Pre Int Era
|
Vote %
|
||
Gillick
|
81.3%
|
Santo
|
93.8%
|
O'Day
|
93.8%
|
||
Miller
|
68.8%
|
Kaat
|
62.5%
|
Ruppert
|
93.8%
|
||
Concepcion
|
50.0%
|
Hodges
|
56.3%
|
White
|
87.5%
|
||
Blue
|
<50.0%
|
Minoso
|
56.3%
|
Dahlen
|
62.5%
|
||
Garvey
|
<50.0%
|
Oliva
|
50.0%
|
Breadon
|
<25.0%
|
||
Guidry
|
<50.0%
|
Bavasi
|
<18.8%
|
Ferrell
|
<25.0%
|
||
John
|
<50.0%
|
Boyer
|
<18.8%
|
Marion
|
<25.0%
|
||
Martin
|
<50.0%
|
Finley
|
<18.8%
|
Mullane
|
<25.0%
|
||
Oliver
|
<50.0%
|
Reynolds
|
<18.8%
|
Reach
|
<25.0%
|
||
Simmons
|
<50.0%
|
Tiant
|
<18.8%
|
Walters
|
<25.0%
|
||
Staub
|
<50.0%
|
||||||
Steinbrenner
|
<50.0%
|
||||||
Dec '13
|
Dec '14
|
Dec '15
|
|||||
Exp Era
|
Vote %
|
Golden Era
|
Vote %
|
Pre Int Era
|
Vote %
|
||
Cox
|
100%
|
Allen
|
68.8%
|
Adams
|
62.5%
|
||
LaRussa
|
100%
|
Oliva
|
68.8%
|
Dahlen
|
50.0%
|
||
Torre
|
100%
|
Kaat
|
62.5%
|
Stovey
|
50.0%
|
||
Concepcion
|
<43.8%
|
Wills
|
56.3%
|
Breadon
|
<25.0%
|
||
Garvey
|
<43.8%
|
Minoso
|
50.0%
|
Ferrell
|
<25.0%
|
||
John
|
<43.8%
|
Boyer
|
<18.8%
|
Herrmann
|
<25.0%
|
||
Martin
|
<43.8%
|
Hodges
|
<18.8%
|
Marion
|
<25.0%
|
||
Miller
|
<43.8%
|
Howsam
|
<18.8%
|
McCormick
|
<25.0%
|
||
Parker
|
<43.8%
|
Pierce
|
<18.8%
|
von der Ahe
|
<25.0%
|
||
Quisenberry
|
<43.8%
|
Tiant
|
<18.8%
|
Walters
|
<25.0%
|
||
Simmons
|
<43.8%
|
||||||
Steinbrenner
|
<43.8%
|
Despite having
contributions to the game that are very difficult to measure against each
other, player and non-player candidates are evaluated alongside one another on
a composite ballot by the Era Committee.
Through six elections the Era Committee has voted in six non-player
candidates but only two player candidates.
The presence of non-player candidates appears to have particularly
affected the player candidates from the Expansion Era as they have to contend
with newly eligible non-player candidates who have never appeared on a Hall of
Fame ballot before. In 2010, first-time
candidate Pat Gillick, an executive, was voted in on the initial Expansion Era
ballot while the managerial trio of Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe
Torre--respectively the third, fourth, and fifth winningest managers in
baseball history--were unanimously elected on their first try in 2013. Player candidates have truly been an
afterthought on the Expansion Era ballot, as only Dave Concepcion has gained
fifty percent of the vote. By contrast,
few non-player candidates have appeared on the Golden Era ballot as the
strongest non-player candidates from that particular era such as Walter Alston,
Al López, and Bill Veeck were long ago elected by the Veterans Committee, the
predecessor to the Era Committee. As a
result, the Golden Era elections have been dominated by player candidates with
Ron Santo gaining entry into Cooperstown and Dick Allen, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat,
Minnie Miñoso, Gil Hodges, and Maury Wills each garnering at least fifty
percent of the vote in one or both of the elections.
The disadvantage created by having Expansion Era player candidates share the
ballot with their non-player peers is underscored by the disparity in vote
totals between Jim Kaat and Tommy John. Kaat
and John have comparable career totals in wins, ERA, innings pitched, and
strikeouts. Moreover, Kaat and John are
the number one most similar pitcher for each other on Baseball Reference's
Similarity Scores and also garnered about the same amount of support from
voters while they were eligible for the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Kaat's and John's lengthy careers even
overlapped for more than two decades. However,
because John's career started just a few seasons after Kaat's, he is eligible
for the Expansion Era ballot while his colleague's Hall of Fame case falls
under the Golden Era Committee's jurisdiction.
John has been a non-factor on the Expansion Era ballot with his support
ambiguously described as receiving "less than eight votes" in 2010
and "fewer than six votes" in 2013.
By contrast, Kaat has come just two marks shy of election with 62.5% of
the vote on each of his appearances on the Golden Era ballot. Had John not appeared on ballots shared with
first-time non-player candidates, it is likely he would have gained support
similar to Kaat's and may have even been elected.
 |
| Kaat & John have drawn vastly different totals on the Era ballots |
W
|
L
|
W-L%
|
ERA
|
IP
|
SO
|
||
Kaat
|
283
|
237
|
0.544
|
3.45
|
4530.1
|
2461
|
|
John
|
288
|
231
|
0.555
|
3.34
|
4710.1
|
2245
|
Having player
and non-player candidates appear on the same ballot is also creating a backlog
of candidates from the Expansion Era who have either been overlooked for one of
the previous ballots or are slated to become eligible for the next ballot. While the time periods for the
Pre-Integration and Golden Eras are fixed, the Expansion Era adds three years’
worth of new candidates to consider for each election. Thus far, limited ballot space caused by
having players and non-players on the same ballot has played a role in the
overlooking of impressive candidates such as Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, and
Keith Hernandez who have yet to appear on an Expansion Era ballot. What's more, with the Hall of Fame reducing
the maximum number of years a candidate is eligible on BBWAA ballot from 15 to
10, player candidates who were previously eligible for the Era ballot after
being retired 21 seasons are now eligible after just 16--meaning that eight
years’ worth of new candidates including Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Jack Morris,
and Lou Whitaker will each become eligible for this fall's Expansion Era
ballot. Having player and non-player
candidates on separate ballots would create more space for worthy
candidates--particularly those from the Expansion Era--to appear on their
respective ballot and reduce the growing backlog. Increased ballot space would also allow for
intriguing non-player candidates such as Johnny Sain, Dave Duncan, and Leo
Mazzone--each of whom made their mark as pitching coaches--to make their way
onto their respective Era Committee ballot.
Revising the voting process and holding separate elections for players and non-players would not be an unprecedented move by the Hall of Fame. In fact, from 2003 to 2009, the Hall of Fame ran several Veterans Committee elections with player and non-player candidates on separate ballots.
2. Have more continuity in the voting body.
Each Era Committee ballot is voted on by a 16-member electorate comprised of Hall of Fame players, Hall of Fame managers, front office executives, veteran baseball writers, and historians. One odd characteristic of the 16-member Era Committee electorates is the lack of continuity in the voting body and how rarely the same voters are retained to sit on the same sub-committee. For example, each of the 16-member electorates for the Expansion Era Committee's 2013 and Golden Era Committee's 2014 ballots included only four repeat voters from their respective 2010 and 2011 elections. Most recently, the Pre-Integration Era Committee brought back just nine returning voters from their 2012 ballot for 2015's election. In stark contrast to the Era Committee, the BBWAA retains almost the exact same voting body for their Hall of Fame ballot each year. Throughout the history of BBWAA voting, the top holdovers from previous elections have generally built momentum and gained more support each year until ultimately being elected. Some recent examples of this pattern have been the elections of Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, and Barry Larkin in which each candidate's increasing support saw them make it into Cooperstown after just a few ballots. Last year, the Hall of Fame made its biggest change to the BBWAA's electorate with the elimination of voters who have not actively covered the game in more than 10 years. Yet, even this change in the electorate was miniscule in comparison to the ones on each Era sub-committee. This lack of continuity in the voting bodies of the Era sub-committees has likely played a role in the Golden and Pre-Integration Era Committee's failure to vote any candidate in on their most recent elections.
For their initial 2011 election the Golden Era Committee voted in Ron Santo
(93.8%) and had four candidates collect at least 50% of the vote--Jim Kaat
(62.5%), Gil Hodges (56.3%), Minnie Miñoso (56.3%), and Tony Oliva (50%). With Santo no longer on the ballot it
appeared that one or more of the holdovers would pick up the extra support for
the 2014 ballot and be voted in. However, just a quarter of the Golden Era
Committee's 2011 electorate was retained for 2014, with many of the older
voters such as Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson, Billy Williams, Juan Marichal, and
Tommy Lasorda being replaced by younger voters like Rod Carew, Joe Morgan,
Ozzie Smith, Ferguson Jenkins, and Pat Gillick.
The resulting outcome saw holdover Oliva and newcomer Dick Allen--two
younger candidates whose career peaks came towards the latter part of the
Golden Era--vault to the top of the ballot with each coming frustratingly close
to being voted in at 68.8%, a single tally shy of a bronze plaque in
Cooperstown. Kaat, the top holdover from
the 2011 ballot, stagnated at 62.5% as another newcomer, Maury Wills garnered
56.3%. While the younger electorate
seemed to aid Oliva and Allen, the opposite was true for Miñoso and Hodges--two
of the more elder candidates on the ballot who made their mark towards the
beginning on the Golden Era. Still alive
at the time of the vote, the 89-year old Miñoso unexpectedly saw his vote
percentage slip back to 50%. More
shocking though was the absolute free fall in support for Hodges who plummeted
to below 25% after regularly drawing over 50% during his time on the BBWAA and
Veterans Committee ballots, in addition to the 56.3% he picked up on the 2011
Golden Era ballot. The strong showings
for newcomers Allen and Wills were somewhat surprising since each had
historically been less popular Hall of Fame candidates with BBWAA and Veterans
Committee voters than most of the top holdovers from 2011 Golden Era ballot.
Although the overhaul in the Pre-Integration Era Committee's voting body between elections was not nearly as drastic as the Expansion and Golden Era Committees’, the resulting outcome of a second straight election with no candidate being voted in underscored the need for continuity in the sub-committees. For their initial 2012 election, the Pre-Integration Era Committee easily voted in three candidates--Jacob Ruppert (93.8%), Hank O'Day (93.8%), and Deacon White (87.5%). The Pre-Integration Era Committee also came close to voting in a fourth candidate as Bill Dahlen garnered 62.5%--just two marks shy of the Hall of Fame. Aside from Ruppert, O'Day, White, and Dahlen, no other candidate collected more than 18.8%. As the only strong holdover from the 2012 ballot, Dahlen seemed to be a lock to make it to Cooperstown on the 2015 vote as he was poised to benefit from the departures of Ruppert, O'Day, and White. However, in a stunning twist, Dahlen not only fell short of election on the 2015 ballot but actually lost support--dropping down to 50%. With barely half of the Pre-Integration Era's 2012 electorate retained for 2015, the changes in the voting body had undoubtedly affected Dahlen's support. Newcomer to the ballot Doc Adams came closest to being voted in with 62.5% while another newcomer, Harry Stovey, matched Dahlen's 50% total. No other candidate garnered more than 18.8%. Unlike in 2012, the 2015 Pre-Integration Era Committee electorate seemed uninspired to vote in candidates. In fact, the top-four finishing candidates in the 2012 election amassed 54 votes, compared to just 29 for the top-four from the 2015 election.
For most of its time as a voting body, the Veterans Committee used a 15-member electorate similar to that of the Era Committee made up of Hall of Fame players, managers, executives, and sportswriters. However, like the BBWAA, the Veterans Committee electorate rarely changed between elections as voters were selected by the Hall of Fame for multi-year terms and often served on the panel for decades. Although the BBWAA and Veterans Committee used vastly different voting formats, continuity was a hallmark in each of their electorates, as was the ability to regularly vote in candidates. By contrast, the Era Committee--which massively overhauls each sub-committee between elections--has yielded no Hall of Fame inductees in their past two elections. Undoubtedly, strong newcomers to the ballot affect the support of the top holdovers. However, by having more continuity in the voting body, Era Committee elections would be less haphazard and more closely reflect BBWAA elections where strong holdover candidates build momentum and generally increase support from one election to another until ultimately being voted in.
3. Lessen the BBWAA's influence over the Era Committee by having a greater presence of non-BBWAA sabermetricians and historians on the Historical Overview Committee screening panel and Era Committee voting body.
While the Era Committee provides an alternate path to the Hall of Fame for candidates not eligible for the BBWAA ballot, the BBWAA itself still carries a fair amount of influence over the Era Committee. For instance, eligible candidates from each Era sub-committee are screened by the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee which makes the final selections for each ballot. The Historical Overview Committee is a small screening panel of no more than 9 to 12 representatives--each of whom are veteran BBWAA members. The Hall of Fame would benefit from expanding the Historical Overview Committee from solely veteran BBWAA members to include sabermetricians like Bill James, Total Baseball publisher Pete Palmer, and Baseball Reference founder Sean Forman as well as historians such as Official Major League Baseball Historian John Thorn and David S. Neft, the driving force behind the groundbreaking publishing of The Baseball Encyclopedia. However, it is doubtful the Hall of Fame will alter the Historical Overview Committee, as unlike the Era sub-committee voting bodies--which are almost completely overhauled after each election--the Historical Overview Committee rarely changes its members. In fact, only 15 representatives have served on the Historical Overview Committee, which actually predates the Era Committee as it acted as the screening committee for the last several Veterans Committee ballots. Moreover, seven of the most recent 11-member Historical Overview Committee, served on the initial Historical Overview Committee in 2003.
Another example of the BBWAA's influence within the Era Committee is the Hall of Fame's use of BBWAA members as voters on the Era Committee ballots. The Hall of Fame often lists these BBWAA members as "veteran media members" or classifies them as "historians." In six Era Committee elections, 31 of the 96 voting panel spots have been occupied by one these "veteran media members" or "historians." Twenty-six of those 31 spots were held by BBWAA members--11 of which had also served on the Historical Overview Committee that screened the same ballot they voted on. By contrast, only four voting spots were given to non-BBWAA historians. Each of those four spots given to non-BBWAA historians were part of the Pre-Integration Era Committee's electorate with Peter Morris and Tom Simon voting on the initial Pre-Integration Era ballot while Morris again voted on the most recent Pre-Integration Era ballot along with Tim Wendel. Morris, the author of "Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero" along with other books about the early days of baseball, was likely instrumental to the long overdue election of pioneer catcher Deacon White on the initial Pre-Integration Era ballot. However, a non-BBWAA historian has yet to serve on the Expansion Era or Golden Era Committees electorates.
Advanced statistics and sabermetrics have started to find their way into BBWAA voting and have a greater presence in the Hall of Fame conversation as younger writers become eligible to vote, while older/inactive writers lose their eligibility. However, the Hall of Fame selects the voters for Era Committees and allows the BBWAA to appoint the Historical Overview Committee. Moreover, the Hall of Fame is often slow to change so it may be some time before a sabermetrician like Bill James, Pete Palmer, or Sean Forman sits on one of its panels. Besides, the Hall of Fame may feel that Steve Hirdt, an active BBWAA member and executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau, fills both the historian and sabermetrician roles. Hirdt has served on each Historical Overview Committee since their initial meeting in 2003. In addition, the Hall of Fame has selected Hirdt to vote on each of the last four Era Committee ballots. And, while Hirdt may be viewed as a statistical guru, his focus appears to be more old school and traditional rather than new school and analytical as this quote from a December 2013 San Francisco Chronicle article by fellow Expansion Era Committee voter/"historian" Bruce Jenkins suggests:
"What I realized in Orlando, both in informal settings and the three-hour meeting, is that everyone in the room spoke the same language, far removed from the complex lingo of new-age stat devotees. At one point, someone asked if it was necessary to bring WAR, a trendy new stat, into any discussion. There was a bit of mumbling, mostly silence, and it never came up again.
No, this was a soundtrack from the game I first covered in the early '70s, with the now-defunct Santa Monica Outlook, and as a beat writer for the Chronicle (1977 through '89, when I was given a column). Within that realm, players, managers and writers treated wins, RBIs, batting average and ERA as invaluable measuring sticks - and never really felt compelled to adjust. These categories are widely ridiculed by the modern-day faction known as "stat geeks," many of whom have decided that old-school thought is a bunch of nonsense and that they are the true geniuses of baseball evaluation.
Whatever. I certainly didn't feel dated or out of touch hashing out a man's Hall of Fame credentials with (Frank) Robinson, (Carlton) Fisk, (Whitey) Herzog or anyone else involved. I'm sure the brilliant Hirdt could have backed his opinions with WAR, WHIP or any other statistical measure known to man, but he spoke of traditional numbers and criteria of considerable weight: character, temperament, clutch performance and other intangibles, such as how it felt to witness the greats, and how they were viewed by other icons of the game."
4. Change the name of the Pre-Integration Era and reopen the book on Negro and pre-Negro League candidates.
In addition to drawing criticism for its inability to elect candidates, the Era Committee has also been the subject of negative publicity for the use of the Pre-Integration Era name to identify the sub-committee which judges candidates from the origins of baseball to 1946--using Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier as its end date. The Pre-Integration Era name and time period generated some unfavorable press during the initial election for the sub-committee back in 2012. However, the public outcry became much louder and gained more traction in the weeks prior to the most recent Pre-Integration Era election last fall with critics using phrases such as the "Segregation Era" and the "Jim Crow Era", to attack the Pre-Integration Era name. This negative publicity likely played a role in the Pre-Integration Era Committee's failure to vote in a single candidate as the resulting controversy may have shifted attention away from deserving candidates such as Doc Adams, Harry Stovey, and Bill Dahlen and possibly even made voters subconsciously feel uncomfortable voting in a candidate from the Pre-Integration Era ballot. This was in stark contrast to the Pre-Integration Era's initial election, three years earlier, in which trio of candidates--Deacon White, Jacob Ruppert, and Hank O'Day--were voted into the Hall of Fame.
In a recent interview with Graham Womack of the Sporting News, Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson defended the Pre-Integration Era name when asked if there had been any thought to changing it:
"I don’t think so. I’m not quite sure why it’s attacked. Certainly, the Hall of Fame (wants) to be inclusive. It’s defined by the dates, which are up to 1946. Integration occurred in 1947. The name of the committee is meant to define that it was the era before integration, before the game became a lot better and that the players, managers, umpires, and executives being considered were in a less than even playing field because the game wasn’t integrated."
The Hall of Fame has also drawn its share of criticism for not including Negro
and pre-Negro League candidates whose careers were affected by the color
barrier for consideration on the Pre-Integration Era ballot. The Hall of Fame most recently considered
candidates from this category in a 2006 special election by the Committee on
African-American Baseball. Under special
rules, the Committee voted in 17 candidates from a final ballot of 39. However, the only two candidates still living
at the time of the election--Buck O'Neil and Minnie Miñoso--were not among
those 17 electees. Each of these
omissions were controversial, particularly that of O'Neil who was largely
viewed as the voice of the Negro Leagues.
O'Neil had also served as a Veterans Committee voter for two decades and
was the voting body's pointman when it separately considered Negro League
candidates in special elections from 1995 to 2001. Following the 2006 election, the Hall of Fame
closed the book on Negro League and pre-Negro League candidates with no future
elections planned unless warranted by new research. Miñoso, who spent three seasons in the Negro
Leagues prior to starting a lengthy career in the Major Leagues, saw his Hall
of Fame case reconsidered when he appeared on the Golden Era ballot in 2011 and
2014, drawing 56.3% and 50%, respectively.
O'Neil, on the other hand, has yet to appear on another Hall of Fame
ballot since the special 2006 ballot and his ineligibility remains a controversial
topic.
In the same Sporting News interview, Idelson responded to a question about allowing Negro and pre-Negro League candidates to appear on the Pre-Integration Era ballot:
"No, because in 2006 we had a special Negro Leagues election… It was 17 contributors in the Negro Leagues who were elected in 2006, and at that time, we indicated that that would be the final election for those who performed in the Negro Leagues unless new research came out that would warrant another look. We felt that the number of candidates eligible, whether they be players, managers, umpires, or executives, had been reviewed to the point where the top echelon had earned election, and the Negro Leagues research community endorsed that at the time. That’s why you had an election of 17."
Idelson also commented about O'Neil's failure to be voted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 by the Committee on African-American Baseball, while also pointing out the institution's efforts to honor him:
"The fact that he (didn’t earn) election I think stunned a lot of people. A lot of people were curious as to why he didn’t earn election. The committee went by what they felt were the right criteria, and they didn’t feel that he had enough for election, and we were comfortable with the results. However, given Buck’s stature in the baseball community, we felt he needed to be recognized in some way, which is why we developed the Buck O’Neil Award. He is the only person inside the museum at Cooperstown that has a life-sized bronze statue and an award named specifically for himself." Idelson went onto to state "that if new research came out that shed light and called for another Negro Leagues election — you wouldn’t do it for one person, but for the Negro Leagues — I’m sure he (O'Neil) could be considered again."
The Hall of Fame has several end points that it could use to bookend its earliest era instead of the breaking of the color barrier. One particularly good alternative would be to use the advent of expansion in 1961. By changing the sub-committee's end date to 1960, the Hall of Fame would be able to eliminate the controversy of the Pre-Integration Era name by rechristening it the Pre-Expansion Era. Moving the sub-committee's end point to 1960 would shift a few of the older candidates such as Gil Hodges, Minnie Miñoso, Billy Pierce, and Ken Boyer from the Golden Era to the Pre-Expansion Era. Yet, this change may actually help these candidates as Pierce and Boyer struggled to garner votes on the Golden Era ballot while Hodges and Miñoso lost support between elections as the younger electorate from the most recent vote favored candidates from the latter part of the Golden Era. However, changing the time periods of one era would necessitate the altering of the other eras. It would be easy to redefine those eras based on expansion--the Golden Era could rename itself the First Expansion Era and cover 1961-1976 while the Expansion could be redubbed the Second Expansion Era and be in charge of 1977 onwards. Moreover, years from now the Hall of Fame could define eras based on postseason structure with the Divisional Era encompassing 1969 to 1993 and the Wildcard Era taking over from 1994 on.
The Hall of Fame could also put together a special sub-committee that meets on a semi-regular basis to vote on Negro and pre-Negro League candidates. This would not be an unprecedented move by the Hall of Fame as the institution set up the Committee on Negro Baseball, which met annually from 1971 to 1977 and elected some of the most recognizable figures from the Negro Leagues including Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. The Hall of Fame later held special elections for Negro League candidates under the Veterans Committee each year from 1995 to 2001 before putting together the Committee on African-American Baseball which held its sole election in 2006. Setting up a special sub-committee for Negro and pre-Negro League candidates would allow for not only O'Neil's Hall of Fame case to be revisited but also that of John Donaldson, Bud Fowler, Spottswood Poles, Quincy Trouppe and many others who have been mentioned as overlooked Hall of Fame candidates. Having a special ballot for Negro and pre-Negro League candidates would, at the very least, bring more attention to these candidates’ accomplishments. It has been a decade since the last election for Negro and pre-Negro league candidates and continued research in this field as well as the tireless work of gathering Negro League statistics by Seamheads make this a logical step for the Hall of Fame to take.
5. Hold more elections for candidates from the Golden and Expansion Eras.
Another criticism of the Era Committee process is that it holds the same number of elections for candidates from the Pre-Integration Era as it does for those from the Golden and Expansion Eras. Under the current format, each of the sub-committees meet in a rotating cycle, once every three years. The Pre-Integration Era Committee has yet to have a living candidate appear on its ballot, as nearly all of the possible nominees from that time period are deceased. By contrast, most of the candidates who have been nominated for the Golden and Expansion Eras are living but as these candidates advance in age, the window to induct them while they are still alive is closing.
During most of its time as a voting body, the Veterans Committee held yearly elections in which eligible candidates from all eras shared the same ballot. One of the benefits of the Era Committee format is that candidates are only evaluated alongside their peers from the same era. However, a significant drawback to this system is that holdovers from the previous election have to wait three years before their respective sub-committee reconvenes. The three year wait between elections is excruciatingly long for candidates from the Golden Era as they are running out of time to be elected while they are still alive to enjoy the honor. Sadly, the only candidate to be elected by the Golden Era Committee, Ron Santo, passed away from complications of bladder cancer just a year before being voted into Cooperstown on the 2011 ballot. Unfortunately, two of the candidates from the most recent Golden Era ballot, Minnie Miñoso and Billy Pierce, have passed away since the December 2014 vote. Moreover, each of the five living candidates from the 2014 ballot are well into their seventies, with Dick Allen the youngest at 74 and 83-year old Maury Wills the eldest.
While many of candidates from the Pre-Integration and Golden Eras were eligible on multiple Veterans Committee ballots, most of the Expansion Era candidates have only been eligible in the limited history of the Era Committee. Due to the rotating three year cycle, candidates from the Expansion Era have not received the same opportunities as candidates who were eligible through the Veterans Committee--which met on an annual or biennial basis. Also, with several strong candidates such as Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, and Keith Hernandez overlooked for the Expansion Era ballot thus far and changes in BBWAA voting making it so eight years’ worth of new candidates are eligible for the this fall's ballot, there is a growing backlog of candidates who have yet to appear on the ballot. What's more, the candidates from the Expansion Era are also getting up there in age as 65-year old Dave Parker is the youngest to have appeared on the sub-committee's ballot.
The Hall of Fame should keep the Era Committee practice of evaluating candidates in sub-committees based on era but would be best served to remove the Pre-Integration Era from the triennial rotation and place more focus on the Golden and Expansion Eras where it can honor living candidates. However, the Hall of Fame should not abandon holding elections for the Pre-Integration Era altogether but instead move the sub-committee into a semi-regular rotation and meet once per decade. Removing the Pre-Integration Era from the triennial rotation would allow the Era Committee to hold biennial elections for the Golden and Expansion Eras or even go as far as to run simultaneously elections for those two sub-committees on separate ballots. Holding more elections for the Golden Era would give aging candidates a better shot to be voted into Cooperstown while they are still alive, as well as clear what is becoming a growing backlog for the Expansion Era due to the three year wait between elections.
6. Hold a run-off election when no candidate is voted in.
While no candidate reached the 75% threshold required for enshrinement on the two most recent Era Committee ballots, both elections saw several candidates collect 50% or more of the vote. The 2014 Golden Era ballot had five candidates reach 50% with Dick Allen and Tony Oliva each coming just a single vote shy of election. Three candidates from the 2015 Pre-Integration Era ballot attained 50% with Doc Adams leading the way--only two tallies short of Cooperstown. One of the reasons why the Era Committee and the Veterans Committee before it have had so much trouble electing anyone from the Golden Era is because voters' support has been split among several strong candidates. For the final few Veterans Committee elections, Ron Santo, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, and Tony Oliva consistently drew over 50%, with no one candidate's Hall of Fame case distinguishing itself enough among the others to reach 75%. Only after Santo's passing did the electorate finally show a strong preference for one of these candidates as the former Chicago Cubs player gained entry to Cooperstown with a staggering 93.8% of the vote on the initial Golden Era ballot--just one mark shy of unanimous. Unfortunately, Santo's long overdue election came in the first vote after his death. Had the Veterans Committee held a run-off election in which only the highest drawing candidates were placed on a second ballot, it is likely Santo would have been voted in while he was still living.
Holding a run-off election would undoubtedly draw criticism from proponents of a smaller, more exclusive Hall of Fame. This is not without precedent, the BBWAA has used run-off elections in the past when their electorate had trouble voting in candidates. The run-off election process was first used in the late 1940s when the BBWAA faced a problem similar to the one affecting the Golden Era Committee in which their voters' support was split among several strong candidates, resulting in no one collecting 75% of the vote. The initial run-off election was held in 1946 as the second part of a two-part election that took the twenty highest-finishing candidates from the BBWAA ballot and allowed voters to select up to five candidates. Unlike the BBWAA ballot where any candidate who reached 75% was elected, only the top finishing candidate to garner 75% could be voted in from the run-off ballot. However, the electorate was not made aware of the results from the BBWAA ballot which played a large role in no candidate being voted in from the run-off ballot. Following the 1946 election, the Hall of Fame changed the rules so that future run-off elections were only held if no candidate was voted in and also made the electorate aware of the vote percentages from the BBWAA ballot. The second run-off election was held in 1949 with Charlie Gehringer being voted in on an incredibly stacked ballot in which all twenty candidates were eventually elected to Cooperstown by the BBWAA or Veterans Committee. The run-off ballot included several unquestioned Hall of Famers including Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Paul Waner, and Lefty Grove. The BBWAA's inability to quickly vote in these solid candidates seemed to validate the use of the run-off election. Nevertheless, run-off elections were abandoned before the next vote.
However, the run-off election was brought back in 1962 during a time in which the BBWAA only voted biennially and had once again struggled to vote in candidates. This time around, the Hall of Fame slightly changed the rules, moving the thirty highest-finishing candidates onto the run-off ballot with voters allowed to select up to five candidates. Run-off elections were held in both 1964 and 1967 after the BBWAA failed to vote in any candidates on their ballot during those years. Luke Appling was voted into the Hall of Fame from the 1964 run-off ballot while Red Ruffing achieved Cooperstown immortality by way of the run-off election three years later. Appling and Ruffing, like Gehringer, were both solid additions to the Hall of Fame, yet with the BBWAA going back to voting on a yearly basis, run-off elections were once again abandoned after the 1967 vote.
Although the BBWAA has not held a run-off election in nearly five decades, the
Era Committee should consider adopting this practice when no candidates are
voted in on its ballot. The Era
Committee could use a format similar to the one used by the BBWAA and move the
five highest-finishing candidates onto a run-off ballot with voters allowed to
select two candidates, with only the top finishing candidate to reach 75% able
to be elected. Had the Era Committee
used a run-off ballot for the most recent Golden Era vote, it is likely either
Dick Allen or Tony Oliva would have been elected as they each missed the 75%
threshold by a single tally. Moreover, a
run-off election may have also kept the Pre-Integration Era Committee from
pitching a shutout on its most recent vote as three candidates garnered
50%. By using a run-off ballot the Era
Committee would be able to minimize the number of elections that result in no
candidates being voted in and spare itself the embarrassment and criticism that
comes along with those fruitless elections.
7. Create more sub-committees and run multiple elections.
If the Hall of Fame were to improve the Era Committee process by holding separate elections for player and non-player candidates and focus on the Golden and Expansion Eras which feature the greatest amount of living nominees, it would need to create more sub-committees and run multiple elections. Moving non-player candidates onto their own ballot would necessitate adding between one and three new sub-committees, depending on if one were created for each of the three eras. However, since non-player candidates are generally much older than player candidates, the only one of the eras which has enough living candidates to merit holding regular elections is the Expansion Era. As virtually all possible player nominees from the Pre-Integration Era and non-players from both the Pre-Integration and Golden Eras are deceased, it makes sense to only hold semi-regular elections for those candidates.
Two unique time periods that deserve to be evaluated on special ballots are the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century. Candidates from the Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century are difficult to compare to those from any other time period because their careers took place during pioneering eras in which schedules were shorter and record keeping was less accurate. The Hall of Fame has drawn criticism for not including Negro League candidates on any of the Era Committee ballots while candidates from the Nineteenth Century are currently considered by the Pre-Integration Era Committee. Buck O'Neil has remained a popular Hall of Fame candidate since being controversially overlooked by the Committee on African-American Baseball in 2006, which was the last time Negro League candidates were included in a Hall of Fame vote. The Pre-Integration Committee elected one Nineteenth Century candidate, Deacon White, from their 2012 ballot while three others--Doc Adams, Harry Stovey, and Bill Dahlen--drew the highest vote totals on the 2015 ballot. From 1995 to 2001, the Hall of Fame held special elections for candidates from the Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century which allowed the Veterans Committee to vote in one candidate from each ballot. During those special elections, the Veterans Committee voted in seven candidates from the Negro Leagues and five from the Nineteenth Century. The Hall of Fame should create special sub-committees for candidates from the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and Nineteenth Century with an electorate largely made up of historians such as John Thorn and Peter Morris who are familiar with those unique eras.
The Era Committee should also focus on holding regular, biennial elections for sub-committees in which the majority of candidates are still living. This would include players from the Golden and Expansion Eras as well as non-players from the Expansion Era. In addition, the Era Committee should only hold semi-regular elections on a once per decade basis for sub-committees in which candidates are deceased. This would cover players from the Pre-Integration Era and non-players from the Pre-Integration and Golden Era as well as special committees for the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century. At the bottom of this article is an example of how creating more sub-committees and running multiple elections would look in practice as well as potential candidates for each.
The Hall of Fame is often slow moving when it comes to changes and has shown in the past that it does not necessarily make changes based on public opinion. For example, the Hall of Fame denied a request from the BBWAA to change the maximum number of candidates a voter could select per ballot from 10 to 12. Instead, the Hall of Fame reduced the maximum number of years a candidate was eligible to spend on the BBWAA ballot from 15 to 10 and also eliminated members of the electorate who have not actively covered the game in more than 10 years. However, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors often convenes in the late summer and in the past has made changes to their voting process at those meetings. In fact, the Board of Directors altered the Veterans Committee format in both August 2001 and July 2007, before completely overhauling the voting body and adopting the Era Committee in July 2010. And, with mixed results in two full voting cycles under the Era Committee, the Hall of Fame may be ready to once again modify the process.
----by John Tuberty
Below is an example of how the creation of more sub-committees would look with the Expansion Era Players, Golden Era Players, and Expansion Era Non-Players Committees meeting biennially and the Pre-Integration Players, Pre-Integration Non-Players, Golden Era Non-Players, 19th Century, and Negro/pre-Negro Leagues Committees convening on a semi-regular basis once every ten years:
2016--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2017--Golden Era Players Ballot & Negro/pre-Negro Leagues Ballot
2018--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2019--Golden Era Players Ballot & Nineteenth Century Ballot
2020--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2021--Golden Era Players Ballot & Pre-Integration Era Players Ballot
2022--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2023--Golden Era Players Ballot & Golden Era Non-Players Ballot
2024--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2025--Golden Era Players Ballot & Pre-Integration Era Non-Players Ballot
Possible candidates for each sub-committee with (M) standing for managerial candidate, (E) executive candidate, (C) coach candidate, and (U) umpire candidate with all others being player candidates:
Expansion Era Players: Tommy John, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ted Simmons, Dave Parker, Dan Quisenberry, Al Oliver, Rusty Staub, Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, Keith Hernandez, Buddy Bell, Graig Nettles, Darrell Evans, Sal Bando, Reggie Smith, Fernando Valenzuela, Will Clark, Dave Stieb, Willie Randolph, Dennis Martinez, George Foster, Tom Henke, Thurman Munson, Jeff Reardon, Albert Belle, Dwight Gooden, Bob Welch, Fred Lynn, Rick Reuschel, Lance Parrish, Orel Hershiser
Golden Era Players: Dick Allen, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Gil Hodges, Maury Wills, Ken Boyer, Luis Tiant, Billy Pierce, Allie Reynolds, Bert Campaneris, Bobby Bonds, Mickey Lolich, Curt Flood, Vada Pinson, Frank Howard, Willie Davis, Harvey Kuenn, Norm Cash, Roger Maris, Rocky Colavito, Don Newcombe, Elston Howard, Milt Pappas, Jim Wynn, Boog Powell, Roy Face, Bill Freehan, Lee May, Lew Burdette, Al Dark, Ted Kluszewski, Dick Groat, Willie Horton
Pre-Integration Era Players: Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Bucky Walters, Marty Marion, Frank McCormick, Bob Johnson, Stan Hack, Sherry Magee, Lefty O'Doul, Cecil Travis, Henie Groh, Mickey Vernon, Doc Cramer, Riggs Stephenson, Babe Herman, Vern Stephens, Urban Shocker, Carl Mays, Ken Williams, Smokey Joe Wood, Gavvy Cravath, Mel Harder, Wally Schang, Wilbur Cooper, Jack Quinn, Phil Cavarretta, Jimmy Sheckard, Dom DiMaggio
Expansion Era Non-Players: Marvin Miller (E), George Steinbrenner (E), Billy Martin (M), Jim Leyland (M), Bud Selig (E), Davey Johnson (M), Lou Piniella (M), John Schuerholz (E), Leo Mazzone (C), Dave Duncan (C), Ed Montague (U), Harry Dalton (E), Ewing Kauffman (E), Tom Kelly (M), Bill White (E), Frank Cashen (E), Chuck Tanner (M), Charles Bronfman (E), Roger Craig (M), Paul Owens (E), Steve Palmero (U), Mel Stottlemyre (C), Jack McKeon (M), Cedric Tallis (E), Lee Weyer (U), Ray Miller (C), John McSherry (U), Ron Perranoski (C), Don Zimmer (M)
Golden Era Non-Players: Bob Howsam (E), Charlie Finley (E), Buzzie Bavasi (E), Johnny Sain (C), Danny Murtaugh (M), Gene Autry (E), John Fetzer (E), Ralph Houk (M), Gene Mauch (M), Gussie Busch (E), George Bamberger (C), Gabe Paul (E), Bill Rigney (M), John McHale (E), Joe L. Brown (E), Jim Campbell (E), Chub Feeney (E), Chuck Dressen (M), Frank Lane (E), Birdie Tebbetts (M), Bing Devine (E), Joan Payson (E), Fred Hutchinson (M)
Pre-Integration Era Non-Players: Sam Breadon (E), Garry Herrmann (E), Phil Wrigley (E), Cy Rigler (U), Charlie Grimm (M), Charles Somers (E), Steve O'Neill (M), Bill Summers (U), Ben Shibe (E), Paul Richards (M), Babe Pinelli (U), Bob Quinn (E), John Heydler (E), Bill Dinneen (U), Charles Somers (E), Beans Reardon (U), George Stallings (M)
Negro/pre-Negro Leagues: Buck O'Neil, John Donaldson, Bud Fowler, Spottswood Poles, Quincy Trouppe, John Beckwith, Candy Jim Taylor, Home Run Johnson, Sammy T. Hughes, Newt Allen, Dick Redding, Alejandro Olms, Chet Brewer, Dick Lundy, William Bell, Fats Jenkins, C.I. Taylor (M), Rap Dixon, Oliver Marcelle, George Scales, Bill Byrd, Dobie Moore, Red Parnell, Wabishaw Wiley, Chino Smith, Pancho Coimbre, Moses Fleet Walker, George Stovey
Nineteenth Century: Harry Stovey, Doc Adams, Chris von der Ahe (E), Tony Mullane, Al Reach (E), Pete Browning, Joe Start, Ross Barnes, Jack Glasscock, Paul Hines, Bob Caruthers, Hardy Richardson, George Gore, Jim Mutrie (M), Lave Cross, Lip Pike, Jim Creighton, Dummy Hoy, George Van Haltren, Jimmy Ryan, Bobby Mathews, Charlie Bennett, Mike Tiernan, Dickey Pearce, Cal McVey, Jim McCormick, Cupid Childs, Tommy Bond
Sources: Baseball Reference, SABR, Baseball Hall of Fame, Wikipedia, Doug Pappas' Roadside Photos, San Francisco Chronicle, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, Seamheads, PSA Cards
Photo credit: 1974 Topps Jim Kaat, 1979 Topps Burger King Restaurant Tommy John, 1955 Topps Gil Hodges, 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Buck O'Neil, 1966 Topps Dick Allen, 1966 Topps Tony Oliva
Other articles by Tubbs Baseball Blog:
Holding Separate Elections For Player and Non-Player Candidates Would Greatly Improve the Hall of Fame's Era Ballot Vote Process
Dwight Evans' Strong Sabermetric Statistics Underscore His Overlooked Hall of Fame Case
Bobby Grich Was The Victim of Some Bad Baseball Cards and Some Even Worse Hall of Fame Voting
Revising the voting process and holding separate elections for players and non-players would not be an unprecedented move by the Hall of Fame. In fact, from 2003 to 2009, the Hall of Fame ran several Veterans Committee elections with player and non-player candidates on separate ballots.
2. Have more continuity in the voting body.
Each Era Committee ballot is voted on by a 16-member electorate comprised of Hall of Fame players, Hall of Fame managers, front office executives, veteran baseball writers, and historians. One odd characteristic of the 16-member Era Committee electorates is the lack of continuity in the voting body and how rarely the same voters are retained to sit on the same sub-committee. For example, each of the 16-member electorates for the Expansion Era Committee's 2013 and Golden Era Committee's 2014 ballots included only four repeat voters from their respective 2010 and 2011 elections. Most recently, the Pre-Integration Era Committee brought back just nine returning voters from their 2012 ballot for 2015's election. In stark contrast to the Era Committee, the BBWAA retains almost the exact same voting body for their Hall of Fame ballot each year. Throughout the history of BBWAA voting, the top holdovers from previous elections have generally built momentum and gained more support each year until ultimately being elected. Some recent examples of this pattern have been the elections of Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, and Barry Larkin in which each candidate's increasing support saw them make it into Cooperstown after just a few ballots. Last year, the Hall of Fame made its biggest change to the BBWAA's electorate with the elimination of voters who have not actively covered the game in more than 10 years. Yet, even this change in the electorate was miniscule in comparison to the ones on each Era sub-committee. This lack of continuity in the voting bodies of the Era sub-committees has likely played a role in the Golden and Pre-Integration Era Committee's failure to vote any candidate in on their most recent elections.
 |
| Changes in the electorate affected Hodges' vote total |
Although the overhaul in the Pre-Integration Era Committee's voting body between elections was not nearly as drastic as the Expansion and Golden Era Committees’, the resulting outcome of a second straight election with no candidate being voted in underscored the need for continuity in the sub-committees. For their initial 2012 election, the Pre-Integration Era Committee easily voted in three candidates--Jacob Ruppert (93.8%), Hank O'Day (93.8%), and Deacon White (87.5%). The Pre-Integration Era Committee also came close to voting in a fourth candidate as Bill Dahlen garnered 62.5%--just two marks shy of the Hall of Fame. Aside from Ruppert, O'Day, White, and Dahlen, no other candidate collected more than 18.8%. As the only strong holdover from the 2012 ballot, Dahlen seemed to be a lock to make it to Cooperstown on the 2015 vote as he was poised to benefit from the departures of Ruppert, O'Day, and White. However, in a stunning twist, Dahlen not only fell short of election on the 2015 ballot but actually lost support--dropping down to 50%. With barely half of the Pre-Integration Era's 2012 electorate retained for 2015, the changes in the voting body had undoubtedly affected Dahlen's support. Newcomer to the ballot Doc Adams came closest to being voted in with 62.5% while another newcomer, Harry Stovey, matched Dahlen's 50% total. No other candidate garnered more than 18.8%. Unlike in 2012, the 2015 Pre-Integration Era Committee electorate seemed uninspired to vote in candidates. In fact, the top-four finishing candidates in the 2012 election amassed 54 votes, compared to just 29 for the top-four from the 2015 election.
For most of its time as a voting body, the Veterans Committee used a 15-member electorate similar to that of the Era Committee made up of Hall of Fame players, managers, executives, and sportswriters. However, like the BBWAA, the Veterans Committee electorate rarely changed between elections as voters were selected by the Hall of Fame for multi-year terms and often served on the panel for decades. Although the BBWAA and Veterans Committee used vastly different voting formats, continuity was a hallmark in each of their electorates, as was the ability to regularly vote in candidates. By contrast, the Era Committee--which massively overhauls each sub-committee between elections--has yielded no Hall of Fame inductees in their past two elections. Undoubtedly, strong newcomers to the ballot affect the support of the top holdovers. However, by having more continuity in the voting body, Era Committee elections would be less haphazard and more closely reflect BBWAA elections where strong holdover candidates build momentum and generally increase support from one election to another until ultimately being voted in.
3. Lessen the BBWAA's influence over the Era Committee by having a greater presence of non-BBWAA sabermetricians and historians on the Historical Overview Committee screening panel and Era Committee voting body.
While the Era Committee provides an alternate path to the Hall of Fame for candidates not eligible for the BBWAA ballot, the BBWAA itself still carries a fair amount of influence over the Era Committee. For instance, eligible candidates from each Era sub-committee are screened by the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee which makes the final selections for each ballot. The Historical Overview Committee is a small screening panel of no more than 9 to 12 representatives--each of whom are veteran BBWAA members. The Hall of Fame would benefit from expanding the Historical Overview Committee from solely veteran BBWAA members to include sabermetricians like Bill James, Total Baseball publisher Pete Palmer, and Baseball Reference founder Sean Forman as well as historians such as Official Major League Baseball Historian John Thorn and David S. Neft, the driving force behind the groundbreaking publishing of The Baseball Encyclopedia. However, it is doubtful the Hall of Fame will alter the Historical Overview Committee, as unlike the Era sub-committee voting bodies--which are almost completely overhauled after each election--the Historical Overview Committee rarely changes its members. In fact, only 15 representatives have served on the Historical Overview Committee, which actually predates the Era Committee as it acted as the screening committee for the last several Veterans Committee ballots. Moreover, seven of the most recent 11-member Historical Overview Committee, served on the initial Historical Overview Committee in 2003.
Another example of the BBWAA's influence within the Era Committee is the Hall of Fame's use of BBWAA members as voters on the Era Committee ballots. The Hall of Fame often lists these BBWAA members as "veteran media members" or classifies them as "historians." In six Era Committee elections, 31 of the 96 voting panel spots have been occupied by one these "veteran media members" or "historians." Twenty-six of those 31 spots were held by BBWAA members--11 of which had also served on the Historical Overview Committee that screened the same ballot they voted on. By contrast, only four voting spots were given to non-BBWAA historians. Each of those four spots given to non-BBWAA historians were part of the Pre-Integration Era Committee's electorate with Peter Morris and Tom Simon voting on the initial Pre-Integration Era ballot while Morris again voted on the most recent Pre-Integration Era ballot along with Tim Wendel. Morris, the author of "Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero" along with other books about the early days of baseball, was likely instrumental to the long overdue election of pioneer catcher Deacon White on the initial Pre-Integration Era ballot. However, a non-BBWAA historian has yet to serve on the Expansion Era or Golden Era Committees electorates.
Advanced statistics and sabermetrics have started to find their way into BBWAA voting and have a greater presence in the Hall of Fame conversation as younger writers become eligible to vote, while older/inactive writers lose their eligibility. However, the Hall of Fame selects the voters for Era Committees and allows the BBWAA to appoint the Historical Overview Committee. Moreover, the Hall of Fame is often slow to change so it may be some time before a sabermetrician like Bill James, Pete Palmer, or Sean Forman sits on one of its panels. Besides, the Hall of Fame may feel that Steve Hirdt, an active BBWAA member and executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau, fills both the historian and sabermetrician roles. Hirdt has served on each Historical Overview Committee since their initial meeting in 2003. In addition, the Hall of Fame has selected Hirdt to vote on each of the last four Era Committee ballots. And, while Hirdt may be viewed as a statistical guru, his focus appears to be more old school and traditional rather than new school and analytical as this quote from a December 2013 San Francisco Chronicle article by fellow Expansion Era Committee voter/"historian" Bruce Jenkins suggests:
"What I realized in Orlando, both in informal settings and the three-hour meeting, is that everyone in the room spoke the same language, far removed from the complex lingo of new-age stat devotees. At one point, someone asked if it was necessary to bring WAR, a trendy new stat, into any discussion. There was a bit of mumbling, mostly silence, and it never came up again.
No, this was a soundtrack from the game I first covered in the early '70s, with the now-defunct Santa Monica Outlook, and as a beat writer for the Chronicle (1977 through '89, when I was given a column). Within that realm, players, managers and writers treated wins, RBIs, batting average and ERA as invaluable measuring sticks - and never really felt compelled to adjust. These categories are widely ridiculed by the modern-day faction known as "stat geeks," many of whom have decided that old-school thought is a bunch of nonsense and that they are the true geniuses of baseball evaluation.
Whatever. I certainly didn't feel dated or out of touch hashing out a man's Hall of Fame credentials with (Frank) Robinson, (Carlton) Fisk, (Whitey) Herzog or anyone else involved. I'm sure the brilliant Hirdt could have backed his opinions with WAR, WHIP or any other statistical measure known to man, but he spoke of traditional numbers and criteria of considerable weight: character, temperament, clutch performance and other intangibles, such as how it felt to witness the greats, and how they were viewed by other icons of the game."
4. Change the name of the Pre-Integration Era and reopen the book on Negro and pre-Negro League candidates.
In addition to drawing criticism for its inability to elect candidates, the Era Committee has also been the subject of negative publicity for the use of the Pre-Integration Era name to identify the sub-committee which judges candidates from the origins of baseball to 1946--using Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier as its end date. The Pre-Integration Era name and time period generated some unfavorable press during the initial election for the sub-committee back in 2012. However, the public outcry became much louder and gained more traction in the weeks prior to the most recent Pre-Integration Era election last fall with critics using phrases such as the "Segregation Era" and the "Jim Crow Era", to attack the Pre-Integration Era name. This negative publicity likely played a role in the Pre-Integration Era Committee's failure to vote in a single candidate as the resulting controversy may have shifted attention away from deserving candidates such as Doc Adams, Harry Stovey, and Bill Dahlen and possibly even made voters subconsciously feel uncomfortable voting in a candidate from the Pre-Integration Era ballot. This was in stark contrast to the Pre-Integration Era's initial election, three years earlier, in which trio of candidates--Deacon White, Jacob Ruppert, and Hank O'Day--were voted into the Hall of Fame.
In a recent interview with Graham Womack of the Sporting News, Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson defended the Pre-Integration Era name when asked if there had been any thought to changing it:
"I don’t think so. I’m not quite sure why it’s attacked. Certainly, the Hall of Fame (wants) to be inclusive. It’s defined by the dates, which are up to 1946. Integration occurred in 1947. The name of the committee is meant to define that it was the era before integration, before the game became a lot better and that the players, managers, umpires, and executives being considered were in a less than even playing field because the game wasn’t integrated."
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| O'Neil last appeared on a HOF ballot in 2006 |
In the same Sporting News interview, Idelson responded to a question about allowing Negro and pre-Negro League candidates to appear on the Pre-Integration Era ballot:
"No, because in 2006 we had a special Negro Leagues election… It was 17 contributors in the Negro Leagues who were elected in 2006, and at that time, we indicated that that would be the final election for those who performed in the Negro Leagues unless new research came out that would warrant another look. We felt that the number of candidates eligible, whether they be players, managers, umpires, or executives, had been reviewed to the point where the top echelon had earned election, and the Negro Leagues research community endorsed that at the time. That’s why you had an election of 17."
Idelson also commented about O'Neil's failure to be voted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 by the Committee on African-American Baseball, while also pointing out the institution's efforts to honor him:
"The fact that he (didn’t earn) election I think stunned a lot of people. A lot of people were curious as to why he didn’t earn election. The committee went by what they felt were the right criteria, and they didn’t feel that he had enough for election, and we were comfortable with the results. However, given Buck’s stature in the baseball community, we felt he needed to be recognized in some way, which is why we developed the Buck O’Neil Award. He is the only person inside the museum at Cooperstown that has a life-sized bronze statue and an award named specifically for himself." Idelson went onto to state "that if new research came out that shed light and called for another Negro Leagues election — you wouldn’t do it for one person, but for the Negro Leagues — I’m sure he (O'Neil) could be considered again."
The Hall of Fame has several end points that it could use to bookend its earliest era instead of the breaking of the color barrier. One particularly good alternative would be to use the advent of expansion in 1961. By changing the sub-committee's end date to 1960, the Hall of Fame would be able to eliminate the controversy of the Pre-Integration Era name by rechristening it the Pre-Expansion Era. Moving the sub-committee's end point to 1960 would shift a few of the older candidates such as Gil Hodges, Minnie Miñoso, Billy Pierce, and Ken Boyer from the Golden Era to the Pre-Expansion Era. Yet, this change may actually help these candidates as Pierce and Boyer struggled to garner votes on the Golden Era ballot while Hodges and Miñoso lost support between elections as the younger electorate from the most recent vote favored candidates from the latter part of the Golden Era. However, changing the time periods of one era would necessitate the altering of the other eras. It would be easy to redefine those eras based on expansion--the Golden Era could rename itself the First Expansion Era and cover 1961-1976 while the Expansion could be redubbed the Second Expansion Era and be in charge of 1977 onwards. Moreover, years from now the Hall of Fame could define eras based on postseason structure with the Divisional Era encompassing 1969 to 1993 and the Wildcard Era taking over from 1994 on.
The Hall of Fame could also put together a special sub-committee that meets on a semi-regular basis to vote on Negro and pre-Negro League candidates. This would not be an unprecedented move by the Hall of Fame as the institution set up the Committee on Negro Baseball, which met annually from 1971 to 1977 and elected some of the most recognizable figures from the Negro Leagues including Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. The Hall of Fame later held special elections for Negro League candidates under the Veterans Committee each year from 1995 to 2001 before putting together the Committee on African-American Baseball which held its sole election in 2006. Setting up a special sub-committee for Negro and pre-Negro League candidates would allow for not only O'Neil's Hall of Fame case to be revisited but also that of John Donaldson, Bud Fowler, Spottswood Poles, Quincy Trouppe and many others who have been mentioned as overlooked Hall of Fame candidates. Having a special ballot for Negro and pre-Negro League candidates would, at the very least, bring more attention to these candidates’ accomplishments. It has been a decade since the last election for Negro and pre-Negro league candidates and continued research in this field as well as the tireless work of gathering Negro League statistics by Seamheads make this a logical step for the Hall of Fame to take.
5. Hold more elections for candidates from the Golden and Expansion Eras.
Another criticism of the Era Committee process is that it holds the same number of elections for candidates from the Pre-Integration Era as it does for those from the Golden and Expansion Eras. Under the current format, each of the sub-committees meet in a rotating cycle, once every three years. The Pre-Integration Era Committee has yet to have a living candidate appear on its ballot, as nearly all of the possible nominees from that time period are deceased. By contrast, most of the candidates who have been nominated for the Golden and Expansion Eras are living but as these candidates advance in age, the window to induct them while they are still alive is closing.
During most of its time as a voting body, the Veterans Committee held yearly elections in which eligible candidates from all eras shared the same ballot. One of the benefits of the Era Committee format is that candidates are only evaluated alongside their peers from the same era. However, a significant drawback to this system is that holdovers from the previous election have to wait three years before their respective sub-committee reconvenes. The three year wait between elections is excruciatingly long for candidates from the Golden Era as they are running out of time to be elected while they are still alive to enjoy the honor. Sadly, the only candidate to be elected by the Golden Era Committee, Ron Santo, passed away from complications of bladder cancer just a year before being voted into Cooperstown on the 2011 ballot. Unfortunately, two of the candidates from the most recent Golden Era ballot, Minnie Miñoso and Billy Pierce, have passed away since the December 2014 vote. Moreover, each of the five living candidates from the 2014 ballot are well into their seventies, with Dick Allen the youngest at 74 and 83-year old Maury Wills the eldest.
While many of candidates from the Pre-Integration and Golden Eras were eligible on multiple Veterans Committee ballots, most of the Expansion Era candidates have only been eligible in the limited history of the Era Committee. Due to the rotating three year cycle, candidates from the Expansion Era have not received the same opportunities as candidates who were eligible through the Veterans Committee--which met on an annual or biennial basis. Also, with several strong candidates such as Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, and Keith Hernandez overlooked for the Expansion Era ballot thus far and changes in BBWAA voting making it so eight years’ worth of new candidates are eligible for the this fall's ballot, there is a growing backlog of candidates who have yet to appear on the ballot. What's more, the candidates from the Expansion Era are also getting up there in age as 65-year old Dave Parker is the youngest to have appeared on the sub-committee's ballot.
The Hall of Fame should keep the Era Committee practice of evaluating candidates in sub-committees based on era but would be best served to remove the Pre-Integration Era from the triennial rotation and place more focus on the Golden and Expansion Eras where it can honor living candidates. However, the Hall of Fame should not abandon holding elections for the Pre-Integration Era altogether but instead move the sub-committee into a semi-regular rotation and meet once per decade. Removing the Pre-Integration Era from the triennial rotation would allow the Era Committee to hold biennial elections for the Golden and Expansion Eras or even go as far as to run simultaneously elections for those two sub-committees on separate ballots. Holding more elections for the Golden Era would give aging candidates a better shot to be voted into Cooperstown while they are still alive, as well as clear what is becoming a growing backlog for the Expansion Era due to the three year wait between elections.
6. Hold a run-off election when no candidate is voted in.
While no candidate reached the 75% threshold required for enshrinement on the two most recent Era Committee ballots, both elections saw several candidates collect 50% or more of the vote. The 2014 Golden Era ballot had five candidates reach 50% with Dick Allen and Tony Oliva each coming just a single vote shy of election. Three candidates from the 2015 Pre-Integration Era ballot attained 50% with Doc Adams leading the way--only two tallies short of Cooperstown. One of the reasons why the Era Committee and the Veterans Committee before it have had so much trouble electing anyone from the Golden Era is because voters' support has been split among several strong candidates. For the final few Veterans Committee elections, Ron Santo, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, and Tony Oliva consistently drew over 50%, with no one candidate's Hall of Fame case distinguishing itself enough among the others to reach 75%. Only after Santo's passing did the electorate finally show a strong preference for one of these candidates as the former Chicago Cubs player gained entry to Cooperstown with a staggering 93.8% of the vote on the initial Golden Era ballot--just one mark shy of unanimous. Unfortunately, Santo's long overdue election came in the first vote after his death. Had the Veterans Committee held a run-off election in which only the highest drawing candidates were placed on a second ballot, it is likely Santo would have been voted in while he was still living.
Holding a run-off election would undoubtedly draw criticism from proponents of a smaller, more exclusive Hall of Fame. This is not without precedent, the BBWAA has used run-off elections in the past when their electorate had trouble voting in candidates. The run-off election process was first used in the late 1940s when the BBWAA faced a problem similar to the one affecting the Golden Era Committee in which their voters' support was split among several strong candidates, resulting in no one collecting 75% of the vote. The initial run-off election was held in 1946 as the second part of a two-part election that took the twenty highest-finishing candidates from the BBWAA ballot and allowed voters to select up to five candidates. Unlike the BBWAA ballot where any candidate who reached 75% was elected, only the top finishing candidate to garner 75% could be voted in from the run-off ballot. However, the electorate was not made aware of the results from the BBWAA ballot which played a large role in no candidate being voted in from the run-off ballot. Following the 1946 election, the Hall of Fame changed the rules so that future run-off elections were only held if no candidate was voted in and also made the electorate aware of the vote percentages from the BBWAA ballot. The second run-off election was held in 1949 with Charlie Gehringer being voted in on an incredibly stacked ballot in which all twenty candidates were eventually elected to Cooperstown by the BBWAA or Veterans Committee. The run-off ballot included several unquestioned Hall of Famers including Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Paul Waner, and Lefty Grove. The BBWAA's inability to quickly vote in these solid candidates seemed to validate the use of the run-off election. Nevertheless, run-off elections were abandoned before the next vote.
However, the run-off election was brought back in 1962 during a time in which the BBWAA only voted biennially and had once again struggled to vote in candidates. This time around, the Hall of Fame slightly changed the rules, moving the thirty highest-finishing candidates onto the run-off ballot with voters allowed to select up to five candidates. Run-off elections were held in both 1964 and 1967 after the BBWAA failed to vote in any candidates on their ballot during those years. Luke Appling was voted into the Hall of Fame from the 1964 run-off ballot while Red Ruffing achieved Cooperstown immortality by way of the run-off election three years later. Appling and Ruffing, like Gehringer, were both solid additions to the Hall of Fame, yet with the BBWAA going back to voting on a yearly basis, run-off elections were once again abandoned after the 1967 vote.
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| A run-off ballot would have likely got Allen or Oliva elected |
7. Create more sub-committees and run multiple elections.
If the Hall of Fame were to improve the Era Committee process by holding separate elections for player and non-player candidates and focus on the Golden and Expansion Eras which feature the greatest amount of living nominees, it would need to create more sub-committees and run multiple elections. Moving non-player candidates onto their own ballot would necessitate adding between one and three new sub-committees, depending on if one were created for each of the three eras. However, since non-player candidates are generally much older than player candidates, the only one of the eras which has enough living candidates to merit holding regular elections is the Expansion Era. As virtually all possible player nominees from the Pre-Integration Era and non-players from both the Pre-Integration and Golden Eras are deceased, it makes sense to only hold semi-regular elections for those candidates.
Two unique time periods that deserve to be evaluated on special ballots are the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century. Candidates from the Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century are difficult to compare to those from any other time period because their careers took place during pioneering eras in which schedules were shorter and record keeping was less accurate. The Hall of Fame has drawn criticism for not including Negro League candidates on any of the Era Committee ballots while candidates from the Nineteenth Century are currently considered by the Pre-Integration Era Committee. Buck O'Neil has remained a popular Hall of Fame candidate since being controversially overlooked by the Committee on African-American Baseball in 2006, which was the last time Negro League candidates were included in a Hall of Fame vote. The Pre-Integration Committee elected one Nineteenth Century candidate, Deacon White, from their 2012 ballot while three others--Doc Adams, Harry Stovey, and Bill Dahlen--drew the highest vote totals on the 2015 ballot. From 1995 to 2001, the Hall of Fame held special elections for candidates from the Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century which allowed the Veterans Committee to vote in one candidate from each ballot. During those special elections, the Veterans Committee voted in seven candidates from the Negro Leagues and five from the Nineteenth Century. The Hall of Fame should create special sub-committees for candidates from the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and Nineteenth Century with an electorate largely made up of historians such as John Thorn and Peter Morris who are familiar with those unique eras.
The Era Committee should also focus on holding regular, biennial elections for sub-committees in which the majority of candidates are still living. This would include players from the Golden and Expansion Eras as well as non-players from the Expansion Era. In addition, the Era Committee should only hold semi-regular elections on a once per decade basis for sub-committees in which candidates are deceased. This would cover players from the Pre-Integration Era and non-players from the Pre-Integration and Golden Era as well as special committees for the Negro/pre-Negro Leagues and the Nineteenth Century. At the bottom of this article is an example of how creating more sub-committees and running multiple elections would look in practice as well as potential candidates for each.
The Hall of Fame is often slow moving when it comes to changes and has shown in the past that it does not necessarily make changes based on public opinion. For example, the Hall of Fame denied a request from the BBWAA to change the maximum number of candidates a voter could select per ballot from 10 to 12. Instead, the Hall of Fame reduced the maximum number of years a candidate was eligible to spend on the BBWAA ballot from 15 to 10 and also eliminated members of the electorate who have not actively covered the game in more than 10 years. However, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors often convenes in the late summer and in the past has made changes to their voting process at those meetings. In fact, the Board of Directors altered the Veterans Committee format in both August 2001 and July 2007, before completely overhauling the voting body and adopting the Era Committee in July 2010. And, with mixed results in two full voting cycles under the Era Committee, the Hall of Fame may be ready to once again modify the process.
----by John Tuberty
Below is an example of how the creation of more sub-committees would look with the Expansion Era Players, Golden Era Players, and Expansion Era Non-Players Committees meeting biennially and the Pre-Integration Players, Pre-Integration Non-Players, Golden Era Non-Players, 19th Century, and Negro/pre-Negro Leagues Committees convening on a semi-regular basis once every ten years:
2016--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2017--Golden Era Players Ballot & Negro/pre-Negro Leagues Ballot
2018--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2019--Golden Era Players Ballot & Nineteenth Century Ballot
2020--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2021--Golden Era Players Ballot & Pre-Integration Era Players Ballot
2022--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2023--Golden Era Players Ballot & Golden Era Non-Players Ballot
2024--Expansion Era Players Ballot & Expansion Era Non-Players Ballot
2025--Golden Era Players Ballot & Pre-Integration Era Non-Players Ballot
Possible candidates for each sub-committee with (M) standing for managerial candidate, (E) executive candidate, (C) coach candidate, and (U) umpire candidate with all others being player candidates:
Expansion Era Players: Tommy John, Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ted Simmons, Dave Parker, Dan Quisenberry, Al Oliver, Rusty Staub, Vida Blue, Ron Guidry, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Dwight Evans, Keith Hernandez, Buddy Bell, Graig Nettles, Darrell Evans, Sal Bando, Reggie Smith, Fernando Valenzuela, Will Clark, Dave Stieb, Willie Randolph, Dennis Martinez, George Foster, Tom Henke, Thurman Munson, Jeff Reardon, Albert Belle, Dwight Gooden, Bob Welch, Fred Lynn, Rick Reuschel, Lance Parrish, Orel Hershiser
Golden Era Players: Dick Allen, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Gil Hodges, Maury Wills, Ken Boyer, Luis Tiant, Billy Pierce, Allie Reynolds, Bert Campaneris, Bobby Bonds, Mickey Lolich, Curt Flood, Vada Pinson, Frank Howard, Willie Davis, Harvey Kuenn, Norm Cash, Roger Maris, Rocky Colavito, Don Newcombe, Elston Howard, Milt Pappas, Jim Wynn, Boog Powell, Roy Face, Bill Freehan, Lee May, Lew Burdette, Al Dark, Ted Kluszewski, Dick Groat, Willie Horton
Pre-Integration Era Players: Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Bucky Walters, Marty Marion, Frank McCormick, Bob Johnson, Stan Hack, Sherry Magee, Lefty O'Doul, Cecil Travis, Henie Groh, Mickey Vernon, Doc Cramer, Riggs Stephenson, Babe Herman, Vern Stephens, Urban Shocker, Carl Mays, Ken Williams, Smokey Joe Wood, Gavvy Cravath, Mel Harder, Wally Schang, Wilbur Cooper, Jack Quinn, Phil Cavarretta, Jimmy Sheckard, Dom DiMaggio
Expansion Era Non-Players: Marvin Miller (E), George Steinbrenner (E), Billy Martin (M), Jim Leyland (M), Bud Selig (E), Davey Johnson (M), Lou Piniella (M), John Schuerholz (E), Leo Mazzone (C), Dave Duncan (C), Ed Montague (U), Harry Dalton (E), Ewing Kauffman (E), Tom Kelly (M), Bill White (E), Frank Cashen (E), Chuck Tanner (M), Charles Bronfman (E), Roger Craig (M), Paul Owens (E), Steve Palmero (U), Mel Stottlemyre (C), Jack McKeon (M), Cedric Tallis (E), Lee Weyer (U), Ray Miller (C), John McSherry (U), Ron Perranoski (C), Don Zimmer (M)
Golden Era Non-Players: Bob Howsam (E), Charlie Finley (E), Buzzie Bavasi (E), Johnny Sain (C), Danny Murtaugh (M), Gene Autry (E), John Fetzer (E), Ralph Houk (M), Gene Mauch (M), Gussie Busch (E), George Bamberger (C), Gabe Paul (E), Bill Rigney (M), John McHale (E), Joe L. Brown (E), Jim Campbell (E), Chub Feeney (E), Chuck Dressen (M), Frank Lane (E), Birdie Tebbetts (M), Bing Devine (E), Joan Payson (E), Fred Hutchinson (M)
Pre-Integration Era Non-Players: Sam Breadon (E), Garry Herrmann (E), Phil Wrigley (E), Cy Rigler (U), Charlie Grimm (M), Charles Somers (E), Steve O'Neill (M), Bill Summers (U), Ben Shibe (E), Paul Richards (M), Babe Pinelli (U), Bob Quinn (E), John Heydler (E), Bill Dinneen (U), Charles Somers (E), Beans Reardon (U), George Stallings (M)
Negro/pre-Negro Leagues: Buck O'Neil, John Donaldson, Bud Fowler, Spottswood Poles, Quincy Trouppe, John Beckwith, Candy Jim Taylor, Home Run Johnson, Sammy T. Hughes, Newt Allen, Dick Redding, Alejandro Olms, Chet Brewer, Dick Lundy, William Bell, Fats Jenkins, C.I. Taylor (M), Rap Dixon, Oliver Marcelle, George Scales, Bill Byrd, Dobie Moore, Red Parnell, Wabishaw Wiley, Chino Smith, Pancho Coimbre, Moses Fleet Walker, George Stovey
Nineteenth Century: Harry Stovey, Doc Adams, Chris von der Ahe (E), Tony Mullane, Al Reach (E), Pete Browning, Joe Start, Ross Barnes, Jack Glasscock, Paul Hines, Bob Caruthers, Hardy Richardson, George Gore, Jim Mutrie (M), Lave Cross, Lip Pike, Jim Creighton, Dummy Hoy, George Van Haltren, Jimmy Ryan, Bobby Mathews, Charlie Bennett, Mike Tiernan, Dickey Pearce, Cal McVey, Jim McCormick, Cupid Childs, Tommy Bond
Sources: Baseball Reference, SABR, Baseball Hall of Fame, Wikipedia, Doug Pappas' Roadside Photos, San Francisco Chronicle, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, Seamheads, PSA Cards
Photo credit: 1974 Topps Jim Kaat, 1979 Topps Burger King Restaurant Tommy John, 1955 Topps Gil Hodges, 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Buck O'Neil, 1966 Topps Dick Allen, 1966 Topps Tony Oliva
Other articles by Tubbs Baseball Blog:
Holding Separate Elections For Player and Non-Player Candidates Would Greatly Improve the Hall of Fame's Era Ballot Vote Process
Dwight Evans' Strong Sabermetric Statistics Underscore His Overlooked Hall of Fame Case
Bobby Grich Was The Victim of Some Bad Baseball Cards and Some Even Worse Hall of Fame Voting
