Changes to baseball Hall of Fame voting

Not sure I understand the reason for the change. Maybe some voters will stop dicking around in their misguided mission to punish as many players from the steroid era as possible, whether they are guilty or not, now that they have less time to play with.

The registration and code of conduct for voters sounds like a good idea, but it is hard to tell how useful it is without seeing the code of conduct they will be signing. That said, they didn't go far enough. The Hall of Fame should be revealing every individual's ballot. Failing to fix that problem leaves these changes well short of the mark.

 

This change is basically done to ensure that not only do Bonds, Clemens, etc. not make the Hall, but that they get off the ballot as swiftly as possible.

 

I would have liked this if they would have extended the number of players you can vote for. Or if they had made the minimum threshold to stay on the ballot 10 or 15 percent. The logjam still doesn't go away, no matter how hard they try by limiting the number of votes to 10.

The other question I have is this -- when do the players who fall off after 10 years become eligible for the Veterans Committee? Right now its the next election after their 15th try on the ballot. So does this mean they are now eligible 16 years after retiring instead of 21?

I would have also liked for them to say that any holdovers are grandfathered in for the full 15. Tim Raines just got screwed royally by this move -- there's no way he gets in via the writers now.

Overall it's not a bad change because there have been just a handful of players to get past 10 years and still be elected. And it forces the writers to use more of their spots more often but the Hall just doesn't seem to realize that going forward, there are always going to be way too many viable candidates.

 

Solution in search of a problem.

The worthy players get in. The unworthy don't. Always been that way. (I acknowledge the PED monkey wrench.)

 

The BBWAA requirement for voters to have 10 years on a MLB beat will dramatically winnow down the field of potential new voters in the future.

With papers (and other outlets) draconically cutting back staffing, reducing beat coverage, and laying off staff members en masse, 10-year beat people will become an absolute rarity in the future, which will result in a rapid aging of the electorate (I'd guess average age of Hall electors is probably in the 50s already).

 

Peter Abraham, Boston Globe [10]
J.A. Adande, ESPN.com, formerly The Los Angeles Times[26]
Dave Albee, Marin Independent Journal[27]
Jim Alexander, The Press-Enterprise[28]
Dom Amore, The Hartford Courant[29]
Mel Antonen, USA Today[30]
Tom Archdeacon, Dayton Daily News
Nancy Armour, The Associated Press
Phil Arvia, SouthtownStar[31]
Steve Aschburner, Honorary[28]
Chris Assenheimer, Elyria (Oh) Chronicle-Telegram
Andrew Baggarly, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area[28]
Geoff Baker, Seattle Times[32]
Bill Ballou, Telegram & Gazette of Worcester[33]
Mike Bass, St. Paul Pioneer Press[34][35]
Bob Baum, The Associated Press
Mike Bauman, MLB.com[36]
Jon Becker, Bay Area News Group[28]
Ira Berkow, The New York Times[37]
Rob Biertempfel, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review[28]
Jeff Blair, The Globe and Mail
Barry Bloom, MLB.com[36]
Ron Blum, Associated Press[34][38]
Paul Bodi, MLB.com[36]
Hal Bodley, USA Today[38]
Thomas Boswell, Washington Post[23] (non-voting member)
Pat Borzi, New York Times (non-voting member)
Peter Botte, NY Daily News[28]
Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[39]
Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution[40]
Marcos Breton, Sacramento Bee[28]
Bob Brookover, Philadelphia News
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
Don Burke, Newark Star-Ledger[41]
Pete Caldera, Bergen (NJ) Record
Dave Cameron, Fangraphs
Dave Campbell, The Associated Press
Mark Camps, Honorary[28]
John Canzano, The Oregonian[28]
Jim Caple, ESPN[42]
Pat Caputo, Oakland Press
Sam Carchidi, Philadelphia Inquirer
Marc Carig, New Jersey Star Ledger
Will Carroll, Bleacher Report
Bill Center, The San Diego Union-Tribune[29]
Murray Chass, www.murraychass.com[28]
Ron Chimelis, The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)[34]
Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star Tribune[28]
Bill Christine, Honorary[28]
Carson Cistulli, Fangraphs
Frank Clines, Honorary[28]
Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[39]
Dan Connolly, The Baltimore Sun
Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[39]
Jose Covarrubias, retired
Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times[43]
Jerry Crasnick, ESPN[42]
Dave Cunningham, Honorary[28]
Ken Daley, Honorary[28]
Ken Davidoff, New York Post
Art Davidson, The MetroWest Daily News[28]
Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle[44]
Tony Demarco, Honorary[28]
Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times
Steve Dilbeck, Los Angeles Daily News[43]
Mike Dodd, USA Today[38]
Mike Downey, retired[45]
Paul Doyle, Hartford Courant[46]
Rich Draper, MLB.com[36]
Josh Dubow, Associated Press[28]
Rich Dubroff, CSNBaltimore.com
Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star
Mike Dyer, Long Island Press, retired
Gordon Edes, ESPN[47]
Bob Elliott, Toronto Sun[48]
Eduardo Encina, The Baltimore Sun
John Erardi, Cincinnati Enquirer[43]
Gerald Eskenazi, New York Times
Mark Faller, The Arizona Republic[49]
John Fay, Cincinnati Enquirer
Mark Feinsand, The Daily News[50]
Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press
Ken Fidlin, Toronto Sun[28]
Mike Fine, Honorary[34][51]
John R. Finger, CSNPhilly.com[52]
Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
Jeffrey Flanagan, The Kansas City Star[53]
Jeff Fletcher, Santa Rosa Press Democrat[36]
Sean Forman, Sports Reference LLC[54]
Gerry Fraley, Dallas Morning News[55]
Tom Gage, The Detroit News[29]
Peter Gammons, MLB Network[42]
Jim Gauger, Trenton Times, retired
Steven Gietschier, Sporting News, retired
Dave Ginsburg, The Associated Press
Rich Glanzer, Lynbrook Times Gazette
Ben Goessling, MASN[56]
Steve Goldman, Ashtabula Star Beacon
Steven Goldman, Baseball Prospectus
Pedro Gomez, ESPN[57]
Mark Gonzalez, Chicago Tribune[29]
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News[28]
Jerry Green, The Detroit News[58]
Richard Griffin, Toronto Star
Stephen Gross, Allentown Morning Call
Ken Gurnick, MLB.com[36]
Paul Hagen, MLB.com[59]
Mike Harrington, Buffalo News
Jim Hawkins, The Oakland Press,[29]
Joe Henderson, Tampa Tribune,[48]
Lynn Henning, The Detroit News[60]
Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated[61]
Myron Holtzman, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, retired
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald[62]
Garry D. Howard, Sporting News[34][63]
Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer[64]
Rick Hummel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch[55]
Bob Hunter, Columbus Dispatch[65]
Jim Ingraham, The News-Herald, Willoughby, OH
Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant
Jay Jaffe, Baseball Prospectus
Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle[66]
Chris Jenkins, The Associated Press
Chuck Johnson, USA Today[38]
Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle[9]
Dick Kaegel, MLB.com[36]
Christina Kahrl, Baseball Prospectus[67]
Joe Kay, The Associated Press
Tyler Kepner, New York Times [68]
Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle[69]
Bob Klapisch, ESPN[42]
Mike Klis, Denver Post[48]
Gwen Knapp, San Francisco Chronicle[70]
Michael Knisley, ESPN[42]
Danny Knobler, CBSSports.com
Nobuyuki Kobayashi, Tokyo Daily Sports
Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[39]
Steve Krasner, Providence Journal[43]
Dave Krieger, Denver Post
Doug Krikorian, Long Beach Press-Telegram[48]
Roch Kubatko, MASNSports.com
Tim Kurkjian, ESPN[42]
Paul Ladewski, Chicago Baseball Museum[71]
Scott Lauber, Wilmington News Journal[72]
Keith Law, ESPN[73]
Mike Lefkow, Contra Costa Times[74]
Joseph Liao, World Journal [11]
Ben Lindbergh, Baseball Prospectus
Bill Livingston, The Plain Dealer[64]
Seth Livingstone, USA Today[38]
John Lowe, Detroit Free Press
Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press
Bill Madden, New York Daily News[30]
Dennis Manoloff, The Plain Dealer
Tony Massarotti, Boston Globe[47]
Sean McAdam, CSNNE[42]
Janie McCauley, The Associated Press
Hal McCoy, Dayton Daily News[75]
Dan McGrath, Chicago Tribune[48]
Jack McCaffery, Delaware County Times
Stan McNeal, Sporting News [12]
Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[39]
Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch[55]
Scott Miller, CBS Sportsline[38]
Larry Milson, The Globe and Mail[76]
Jim Molony, MLB.com[36]
Ernest Moreno, MLB.com[36]
Chuck Murr, The Associated Press
Carrie Muskat, MLB.com[36]
Rob Neyer, ESPN[73]
Bob Nightengale, USA Today[38]
Marty Noble, MLB.com[36]
David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal Constitution[77]
Sheldon Ocker, Akron Beacon-Journal
Jack O'Connell, BBWAA[78]
Dave O'Hara, retired[29]
Buster Olney, ESPN[42]
Woody Paige, The Denver Post[79]
Rob Parker, The Detroit News[80]
Tony Paul, The Detroit News
Jeff Peek, Traverse City Record Eagle[81]
John Perrotto, Beaver County Times[43]
Mike Peticca, The Plain Dealer[64]
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times[48] (non-voting member)
Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
Joe Posnanski, The Kansas City Star[82]
Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News
Ryan Pyner, MLB.com
Luis E. Rangel, El Nuevo Herald [13]
Ron Rapoport, retired
Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle
Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon-Journal
Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News[83]
Lawrence "Larry" Rocca, Honorary[28][84]
Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun-Sentinel[28]
Phil Rogers, ESPN[42]
John Romano, St. Petersburg Times
Bob Rosen, Elias Sports Bureau[29]
Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports[85]
Roger Rubin, New York Daily News[86]
Jim Salisbury, CSNPhilly.com, formerly The Philadelphia Inquirer[87]
Eno Sarris, Fangraphs
Peter Schmuck, The Baltimore Sun (non-voting member); elected President of the BBWAA in 2005.
Russ Schneider, The Plain Dealer; retired
Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal Constitution
Alan Schwarz, Baseball America[88]
Chaz Scoggins, The Sun of Lowell[89]
Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe[30]
Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer[64]
John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle[38]
Joel Sherman, New York Post
Bob Sherwin, Associated Press/Seattle
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle
Claire Smith, ESPN[90]
Christopher Smith, The Eagle-Tribune
Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[91]
Jim Souhan, Minneapolis Star Tribune[92]
Lyle Spencer, MLB.com[36]
Alex Speier, WEEI
Barry Stanton, ESPN
Jayson Stark, ESPN[42]
Kit Stier, The Journal News[93]
Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
Pat Stoetzer, Carroll County Times
Larry Stone, Seattle Times[94]
Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch[55]
Jim Street, MLB.com[36]
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune[75]
T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com[36]
Eli Tash, CF Productions
Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times
Howard Ulman, The Associated Press
Dave van Dyck, Chicago Tribune[75]
Juan Vene, VIP Wire[48]
Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated[95]
Ben Walker, The Associated Press
Tadashi Watanabe, Kyodo News
Tom Withers, The Associated Press
Gordon Wittenmyer, Chicago Sun Times
Akiko Yamawaki, Hochi Shimbun
Yasuko Yanagita, The Associated Press

 

Who doesn't belong and why

 

What do the bracketed numbers represent?

 

HeyAbbott -- Maybe some explanation of what that list is. I ask because I know people who are members and who vote and are not on that list.

 

Get rid of the ones who will never vote for a player in his first year on the ballot. They can take their holy mission to ensure that nobody ever gets in unanimously and shove it where the sun does not shine.

 

that's the list of BBWAA members from wiki. Wiki states the list is incomplete. The number beside the name merely correspond to footnotes on the BBWAA wiki page.