The Hall of Fame's Latest Change

After the most recent board meeting at the Baseball Hall of Fame, a couple of changes were announced that affect the eligibility rules for candidates who are considered by the Eras Committees. And these changes really suck.

Here they are, direct from the press release:

“Beginning with the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for players, which will be reviewed in December 2025, any candidate who appears on a ballot and does not receive votes from at least five of the 16 voters will not be eligible to be placed on the ballot within its next three-year cycle. Any such candidates would remain eligible to return to an Era Committee ballot in the following election cycle.

Additionally, beginning in 2025, any candidate that does not receive at least five of 16 votes in multiple appearances on Era Committee ballots will not be eligible for future ballot consideration.

Candidates who receive at least five of 16 votes will remain eligible for the following cycle of Era Committee consideration but will not necessarily be placed on the subsequent ballot.”

For those who aren’t clear, let me quickly summarize how the Era Committees work. They are the current iteration of the old Veterans Committee, and their job is to vote on candidates for the Hall of Fame who are no longer eligible to appear on the annual ballot the Baseball Writers Association of America. Very few of the game’s best players make it past the BBWAA vote since they get the first shot at voting for them. When Ichiro Suzuki first became eligible this year, there was no chance he would slide through 10 years of BBWAA ballots without being elected and arrive at the door of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for them to consider. Sure, that happens from time to time, but it’s exceedingly rare.