Baseball Hall of Fame changing voting process
Sportswriters DJ Eberle and Stan Hudy debate the new change
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors recently announced a change to the selection process for its inductees.
The Hall now requires its voters to be 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Asso- ciation of America that are actively covering the game or have covered baseball within the last 10 years.
With the change in voter eligibility, some wonder whether it was a necessary move or not.
Sportswriters DJ Eberle and Stan Hudy debate.
DJ Eberle says:
In my mind it’s simple, you should be actively covering a sport in order to vote for the Hall of Fame class.
The 10-year grace period will give the inactive voters an opportunity to vote for the players they covered, but there will be a point in the future where players will become eligible and some members of the BBWAA will never have covered them.
I understand it’s a harsh reality, but this was a move that eventually needed to be made. Why wait?
It’s like having a former sports reporter that was covering horse racing 11 years ago handicap in the Pink Sheet this summer. They don’t know the field anymore.
Sure, they’re a knowledgable resource when it comes to the sport, but while the game has remained the same, the players have changed.
And the same goes for baseball. Not to mention, this change could allow for some new-age thinking when it comes to the ballot. Maybe Barry Bonds’ time is now?
Stan Hudy says:
Credit the Baseball Hall of Fame with taking credit for enshrining one of the most memorable classes this year into its hallowed halls and then turn around and thumb its nose to the scribes who chose this class.
“Thank you for your vote, now get out.”
The BBWAA has been voting on Baseball’s Hall of Fame since 1936 and now it is whittling down the number of members who can vote on its annual ballot.
I agree that you must be BBWAA writer for a minimum of 10 years or be an honorary lifetime member, but to now mandate that you must have been active as a baseball writer at least 10 years prior to the date of election they are voting on is simply a case of ageism.
Why has an organization that celebrates the history and tradition of America’s pastime now decide that a writer is too old or too out of touch to submit a valid ballot?
It is a case of “be careful what you wish for” by the Hall of Fame.
In an effort to become more current with society, it is looking for writers who may be more social media savvy and willing to share their vote publicly.
That worked out well as ESPN’s Dan Le Betard not only shared his ballot, but he actually gave it to Deadspin, a popular sports media website.
The media stunt worked out well for the loud mouthed South Florida blowhard, it embarrassed the Hall of Fame and the BBWAA who suspended Le ‘ Loudmouth’ for one year and revoked his Hall of Fame vote in perpetuity.
In an era where knowledge, experience and respect is quickly diminishing, shouldn’t the Baseball Hall of Fame be in the forefront of embracing the history and tradition of the scribes who have dedicated their careers to covering the sport that they behold sacred?