Hall sets new ‘era’ categories for players

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — In an effort to get younger, even when it comes to long-retired players, the Hall of Fame is changing the Veterans Committee setup. Starting next year, it will introduce new “era” categories to allow more consideration of modern players.

The current format has categories for three eras, including one that lumps together everyone who played from 1973 to the current time. The new format will have these groupings: Early Baseball (1871-1949), Golden Days (1950-1969), Modern Baseball (1970-1987) and Today’s Game (1988-2016).

Jeff Idelson, the Hall’s president, said that the Hall now includes twice as many players who debuted before 1950 than those who broke in after that year. “When you start to study the numbers … I guess analytics have hit the Hall of Fame, too, at this point,” he said. “We felt that perhaps the past 50 years weren’t quite as well represented as the previous decades.”

He also announced that St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith has been added to the board of directors.

BRIEFLY

Top Cuban prospect Jorge Ona and the San Diego Padres agreed to a minor league contract with a $7 million signing bonus. The 19-year-old outfielder was ranked the No. 8 international prospect of the 2016 group by MLB.com ... The Houston Astros signed 22-year-old Cuban shortstop Anibal Sierra. He has been playing in the Dominican Republic.