Hall’s Eras Committee Rules Get Pre-Season Revision
By Dan Schlossberg- Special to SSTN.
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Note - This article appeared in the daily newsletter of the IBWAA on March 14, 2025 and is used with permission.
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The Baseball Hall of Fame has changed its Eras Committees eligibility. Beginning with the upcoming year, any candidate on an Eras Committee ballot who does not receive at least five of 16 votes will be ineligible for consideration during their era’s next cycle. A candidate who receives four or fewer votes on two separate occasions is ruled permanently ineligible for future consideration.
That’s a giant step in the right direction but it isn’t enough.
The size of both the ballot and the voting panel need to be increased.
Until now, the ballot has been compiled by a committee that whittles its size to eight names. And the selection committee has had only 16 members.
Although there’s constant turnover in the makeup of both the ballot selection committee and the actual voting committee, it’s still too small — especially if it adheres to the traditional 75 per cent — or 12 out of 16 votes — required for election to the Hall of Fame.
To cite some examples, Class of 2025 electee Dick Allen missed earlier election by a single vote twice. So did manager Lou Piniella, who’s still on the outside looking in.
Former Dodger standouts Tommy John and Steve Garvey also would have fared better with a bigger and more versatile panel.
And it’s fair to wonder whether Marvin Miller would be enshrined today after going 0-for-7 in his earlier attempts to land a spot where none truly exists for labor leaders.
Already, the Eras Committees select candidates from early baseball in one election, before 1980 in another, and managers, executives, and owners in a third.
That’s confusing, since the original Veterans Committee considered all candidates at once — and also since any players, including new inductees Dave Parker and Allen — span multiple time-frames.
Since many voters don’t fill out their ballots completely, it’s become exceedingly hard to gather 75 per cent of the vote. That’s the only logical reason a man like Dale Murphy, with consecutive MVPs and runner-up finishes in both home runs and RBIs during a single decade, can’t make any headway.
If the annual vote did not differentiate between players, managers, owners, or peak seasons, here are the Top Ten men most deserving of election by the veterans:
Dale Murphy — consecutive MVPs, 5 Gold Gloves, 2 HR crowns, 30/30 year
Lou Whitaker — great Tigers 2B should have been elected before Trammell
Charlie Finley — innovative A’s owner and one-man front office won 3 WS
Luis Tiant — big-game pitcher who starred for several AL clubs
Tommy John — 288 wins, 12 shy of “certain” election if not for elbow surgery
Lou Piniella — Player, manager, and GM who could win in any category
Steve Garvey — Durable, dependable first baseman hit for power and average
Thurman Munson — Too bad plane crash ended career prematurely
Lew Burdette — Warren Spahn’s sidekick was 1957 World Series MVP
Cito Gaston — Who can argue with two world championships?
Honorable Mention: George Steinbrenner, Danny Murtaugh, Leo Mazzone, Scott Boras, David Wright, Alvin Dark, Joe Niekro, John Franco.
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Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is currently on a book-signing tour that will take him to the Atlanta All-Star Game and the Hall of Fame, plus assorted libraries, service clubs, schools, and synagogues.
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