COOPERSTOWN, NY — The Baseball Hall of Fame has restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years.
The body indicated Friday an overhaul of its panels of the contemporary era (since 1980) and the classic era (until 1979). The Contemporary Era Committee will now conduct two ballots, one for players and another for managers, officers and officials.
Each ballot will have eight candidates (instead of 10 previously) to be considered by 16 voters. The 75% vote rate for admission remains.
Starting in January, ballots for players will now include baseball players who have been retired for 16 seasons, a year after completing their 10-year cycle on ballots given to members of the Chroniclers’ Association. Baseball of America (BBWAA).
Each committee will meet every three years. Next December, the committee selecting the players of the contemporary era will proceed to its election, followed next year by its vote for the managers, leaders and referees. In 2024, the committee on the classical era will hold its ballot.
There will also be a change for the Ford-C.-Frick prize, awarded to descriptors. There will now be 10 finalists for this award, two more applicants than in other years, at least one of whom must be of a foreign language. Local and national descriptors will be considered in four consecutive years, from 2023 to 2026. The 2027 ballot will be reserved for descriptors whose work stopped before 1994. The five-year cycle will then be repeated.
Since 2016, the Ford-C.-Frick has rotated between MLB markets (and therefore restricted to handlers for a specific team), handlers on national channels, as well as handlers from early electronic broadcasts.
