Rules for Hall of Fame Elections

Last Updated 10 January 1998

Hall of Fame voting:

Regular elections for the Hall of Fame (HOF) are held annually, with the results announced in early-January. The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) casts the ballots for the HOF; a writer must have been an active baseball writer and a member of the association for 10 years prior to the date of the election to be eligible to vote. A player must have played at least 10 seasons to be eligible for consideration; they must have stopped playing between 5 and 20 years prior to the election to be considered on the regular ballot. An eligible player's name will appear on the ballot if he is in his first year of candidacy and has been nominated by a screening committee provided by the BBWAA; additionally, a player must receive a minimum of 5% of the votes cast in the previous election in order to be considered in subsequent years. An elector can vote for no more than 10 candidates (but he may vote for less, or none); write-in votes are not permitted. For induction, a player must be on 75% of the ballots cast. "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." [Rules for Election, 1994 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Yearbook] No automatic elections for single season (.400 average), or single game (no-hitter) or similar outstanding achievement shall be permitted.
Veteran's Committee Election:
The Vet's Committee (VC) is comprised of 15 members: 5 former players who are members of the HOF, 5 BBWAA or baseball broadcasters, and 5 former baseball executives. The members serve for a six year term. The Board of Directors of the HOF appoint the VC members. In 1998, the following were members of the VC: former players Yogi Berra, Monte Irvin, Stan Musial, Pee Wee Reese, and Ted Williams; media members Bob Broeg, Ken Coleman, Leonard Koppett, Allen Lewis and Jerome Holtzman; former executives Joe Brown (chairman and former Bucco GM), Buzzie Bavasi, Buck O'Neil, Hank Peters, and Bill White. The VC may select members for the HOF in four categories: former major league players, 19th century players/personnel, Negro League players, and Umpires/Executives/Managers.
Players: Candidates for the VC ballot must have been retired for 23 years. For those players whose career began after 1945, they must have received at least 60% of the votes on a regular BBWAA HOF election, OR have received at least 100 votes in a BBWAA HOF election prior to February 4, 1991.
Negro League Players must have played for at least 10 seasons to be eligible, but they can combine any years played in the Major Leagues to their years of service in the Negro Leagues.
Umpires/Executives/Managers: they must have been retired for 5 years prior to consideration or, if they are over the age of 65, the waiting period is reduced to 6 months.

The VC can elect no more than 1 member from each of the 4 categories. "Voting shall be based upon the individual's record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the game." The election will be held no later than March 15th each year; the results are announced the same day. Each member may vote for no more than 10 candidates; a candidate will be inducted if he is named on at least 75% of the ballots and he received the most votes in his category. Second ballots with slightly modified eligibility rules are permitted if no one is selected on the first ballot. No automatic elections for single season (.400 average), or single game (no-hitter) or similar outstanding achievement shall be permitted.
Source: Rules for Election, 1994 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Yearbook
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