Le Batard’s right to vote revoked

DAN LE BATARD, the Hall of Fame voter who gave his ballot to the website Deadspin, was given a lifetime ban Thursday from voting for Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Le Batard, who works for ESPN and the Miami Herald, also loses membership in the BBWAA for one year. He will still be able to apply for press credentials through both Major League Baseball and the individual clubs.

“The BBWAA Board of Directors has decided to remove Dan Le Batard’s membership for one year, for transferring his Hall of Fame ballot to an entity that has not earned voting status,” BBWAA president LaVelle E. Neal III said in a statement on the organization’s website.

“The punishment is allowed under the organization’s constitution. In addition, Le Batard will not be allowed to vote on Hall of Fame candidates from this point on.

“The BBWAA regards Hall of Fame voting as the ultimate privilege, and any abuse of that privilege is unacceptable.”

Moments after the ban was announced, Le Batard wrote the following on his Twitter account: “Max penalty: BBWAA just lifetime banned me from Hall of Fame vote and won’t allow me to attend a game as credentialed media for a year.”

Le Batard said he wanted to bring attention to what he feels is a flawed voting process, so he gave away his ballot to readers of Deadspin.com.