HOF restructures Era Committee, Frick Award voting

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s board of directors announced Friday significant changes to its Era Committee system and voting procedures for the Ford C. Frick Award.

Effectively immediately, the Hall of Fame election eras are consolidated into two timeframes -- the Contemporary Baseball Era, consisting of the period from 1980 to present day, and the Classic Baseball Era, consisting of the period prior to 1980 and including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars.

The Contemporary Baseball Era will split into two separate committees -- one to consider only players, and another composite ballot consisting of managers, executives and umpires whose greatest contributions to the game have come since 1980.

The three Era Committees will rotate on an annual basis. Each committee will still have 16 members, but each ballot will consist of eight candidates, down from the previous 10. Each committee member is allowed to vote for up to three players on the ballot, with at least 12 votes (75 percent) still required for Hall of Fame induction.

Effective beginning in January 2023, eligible players must have been retired for 16 or more seasons, equal to a one-year waiting period following their final potential year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot. However, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa, who fell off the ballot in January, will still be eligible in December 2022. There was previously no wait required for a player to be considered after falling off the BBWAA ballot.

The Eras considered for yearly election are as follows: December 2022 (for Class of '23) -- Contemporary Baseball/Players; December 2023 (for Class of '24) -- Contemporary Baseball/Managers-Umpires-Executives; December 2024 (for Class of '25) -- Classic Baseball. This cycle will repeat every three years, with Contemporary Baseball/Players eligible for consideration again in December 2025 for the Class of '26.

There were previously four Era Committees that considered all candidates: Today’s Game (1988-2016), Modern Baseball (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-69) and Early Baseball (1871-1949).

The Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually to a preeminent baseball broadcaster since 1978, will now consider 10 candidates on each year’s ballot, up from eight in the previous voting system. At least one candidate must be a foreign language broadcaster.

A new election cycle has also been established, with a composite ballot featuring local and national voices in four consecutive years, followed by a fifth year featuring a ballot of candidates whose broadcasting careers concluded prior to the advent of the Wild Card Era in 1994. The new cycle will begin with the 2023 Frick Award, with composite ballots of local and national voices continuing with the awards in '24, '25 and '26 before the pre-Wild Card Era ballot is considered for the '27 award. The cycle then repeats every five years.

“With these updates to the Era Committee process, we are upholding our commitment to the very high standard of excellence that has always been required for Hall of Fame election,” said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Changes made to the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award selection process will ensure that one of our game’s most cherished and honored voices will be recognized each year in Cooperstown.”