Baseball Hall of Fame Changes Era Committee Rules

Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery (Milo Stewart Jr. / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum).

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors announced some major changes coming to the Era Committee system.

The updates have come as result of a February 26 board meeting in Orlando, Fla. In addition to the Era Committee change, the Hall is going to be undergoing an upcoming renovation as they expand the Musuem Store by 9,000-squate feet. There will be direct actress from Main Street with a matching façade at the entrance. Additionally, the Hall is also working towards accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums.

The biggest news to come out of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors meeting are the changes that they are making to the Era Committe. Much like the Pete Rose Rule in the early 1990s, one can look at this as being the Mark McGwire–Roger Clemens–Barry Bonds–Sammy Sosa Rule.

The Era Committee is the only way for managers, umpires and executives to enter the Hall of Fame. It is also the only avenue for players retired more than 15 season after falling off the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballot.

The first adjustment is that members of the Historical Overview Committee–the body that develops ballots for Hall of Fame consideration by the Era Committee–who are appointed by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, will also be approved by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors. This one is more of a minor adjustment if you ask me. It’s not the one that is going to have a larger impact on one’s election to Cooperstown.

The bombshell news is that the Baseball Hall of Fame is adjusting eligibility for candidates via the Era Committee system.

“The Era Committee eligibility adjustments are the outcome of years-long discussions centered on ensuring that more candidates have the chance to be reviewed as part of this process,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement.

Era Committee Changes

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will be reviewing the players on the ballot when they meet in December 2025. Starting with this meeting and subsequent election, any candidate who appears on a ballot and does not receive votes from at least five of the 16 voters will not be eligible to be placed on the ballot within its next three-year cycle. Any such candidates would remain eligible to return to an Era Committee ballot in the following election cycle. While giving them a pass on the next three-year cycle is fine, it’s the second change that will end someone’s chance of making it to Cooperstown: any candidate that does not receive at least five of 16 votes in multiple appearances on Era Committee ballots will not be eligible for future ballot consideration.

The Era Committee process is divided into three groups, rotating on an annual basis, with each ballot consisting of eight candidates. The three groups cover 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. The Contemporary Baseball Era is split into two separate ballots – one ballot to consider only players who made their greatest impact on the game since 1980, and another composite ballot consisting of managers, executives and umpires whose greatest contributions to the game have come since 1980. Ballots are considered each December at the Baseball Winter Meetings.

The last time this committee met in 2022, they elected Fred McGriff for induction. Had the new rules been in place, Don Mattingly, Curt Schilling, and Dale Murphy would be eligible for placement on the ballot during the next three-year cycle. Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro each received less than four votes and would be ineligible for the next cycle.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Managers/Executives/Umpires Ballot will not be considered until winter 2026 for the Class of 2027. When they last met in 2023, they elected Jim Leyland. Under the new rules, Lou Piniella and Bill White would be eligible for the next cycle while Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Ed Montague, Hank Peters and Joe West would not.

The Classic Baseball Committee elected Dave Parker and Dick Allen when they met in 2024. Under the new rules, Tommy John would be eligible for the next cycle while Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and Luis Tiant would not.

Even if a candidate gets more than 5 votes, there’s no guarantee that they would appear on the next ballot. It all comes down to how the Historical Overview Committee constructs the ballot. We’ll see if the Board makes any changes down the road but one can’t help but feel bad for worthy candidates who get dropped after missing on two ballots. For instance, the new rules might have prevented Dave Parker from being inducted–it’s hard to tell from the ballot results (six or fewer for 2014 and seven or fewer for 2018). Dick Allen first appeared on the ballot during a very different era for the Veterans Committee and so it’s hard to apply the new rules to his early years on the ballot.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Players Ballot will be considered in the winter of 2025 for the Class of 2026; the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Managers/Executives/Umpires Ballot will be considered in the winter of 2026 for the Class of 2027, and the Classic Baseball Era will be considered in the winter of 2027 for the Class of 2028.