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Hall Of Fame Adjusts Era Committees Eligibility

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The Hall of Fame announced a change to its Era Committees eligibility. Beginning with the upcoming year, any candidate on an Era 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.

The Era Committees, formerly known as the Veterans Committee, is the less common path for enshrinement. It is designed to reconsider players who were not elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Era Committees also considers non-players (i.e. managers, executives, and umpires) for induction. The BBWAA voting process is exclusive to players.

In order to be elected, an Era Committee candidate must receive 12 of 16 votes. The voting panel generally consists of longtime coaches and executives, as well as Hall of Fame players. The smaller voting pool means they’ve generally had a slightly lower standard for induction than has the BBWAA, which requires 75% approval from a much larger body of media members.

The Era Committee process is on a rotating three-year cycle. In one year, it’ll consider individuals from the “Classic Baseball Era” — those whose most significant contributions to the sport came before 1980, including veterans of the Negro Leagues. The other two years have subsets of the “Contemporary Baseball Era.” That consists of one year for players whose greatest contributions have come since 1980, and one year for managers/executives/umpires of the same era.

Last offseason considered the Classic Baseball Era. As it does every year, the committee voted on eight candidates: Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker, Vic Harris, Tommy John and Luis Tiant. Allen and Parker each received at least 12 votes and will be inducted this summer alongside the trio of players elected by the BBWAA: Ichiro, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Of the remaining six candidates, only John (seven votes) received at least five votes.

The rule change is not retroactive, so this doesn’t impact any of the other candidates for now. However, under the new system, those who don’t receive five votes will not be allowed on the ballot when their era comes back up for consideration in three years. They may be considered four-plus years later, but falling shy of five votes again would end their Hall of Fame chances for good.

The Hall is hoping to diversify the candidates it evaluates. The logic is presumably that anyone who only receives a handful of votes from multiple committees is unlikely to ever garner serious consideration and should be removed in favor of someone else. In that sense, it’ll serve as an analogue to the sometimes controversial 5% voting threshold necessary for a player to stay on the BBWAA ballot each year.

This December’s class will consider players from the Contemporary Era. Contemporary Era managers/umpires/executives get their turn in 2026. The Classic Era will be up again in 2027.

Ichiro, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner Elected To Hall Of Fame

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The Hall of Fame announced the results of this year’s Baseball Writers Association of America voting. Ichiro, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner topped the 75% threshold for induction. They’ll join Dick Allen and Dave Parker in the 2025 class. Allen and Parker were elected by the Classic Baseball Era committee at the Winter Meetings. Ichiro appeared on 99.7% of the ballots, falling one vote shy of unanimity.

Two of the three inductees, Ichiro and Sabathia, get into Cooperstown on their first year. Wagner gets in on his 10th and final opportunity. He’d fallen just a percentage point shy last winter and jumped beyond an 82% vote share with the writers having their last chance to elect him.

Ichiro starred in his home country before making the move to the big leagues during the 2000-01 offseason. He signed a three-year deal with the Mariners and immediately became one of the best players in franchise history. Ichiro led the majors with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases. He hit .350 to win the AL batting title at the top of a loaded Seattle lineup. The ’01 Mariners won 116 games and remain the greatest regular season team in MLB history. They lost a five-game Championship Series to the Yankees.

That was one of the best debut seasons ever. Ichiro was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in right field. He not only coasted to the Rookie of the Year award but narrowly surpassed Jason Giambi to win the MVP. He joined Fred Lynn as the only rookies to be named the Most Valuable Player.

While that’d be the only time that Ichiro finished top five in MVP balloting, he was the game’s best pure hitter for a decade. He topped 200 hits with an average north of .300 in each of his first 10 seasons. He had arguably his best year in 2004, when he led the majors with a .372 average and tallied a career-high 262 hits. Ichiro was a menace on the bases throughout his prime, topping 30 stolen bases on 10 occasions. He was also the sport’s best defensive right fielder, pairing plus range with an elite arm and twice leading the AL in outfield assists.

An incredibly durable player, Ichiro topped 150 games played in 13 seasons. He led the majors in hits seven times and was selected to the All-Star Game in each of his first 10 years. Ichiro remained an excellent player through his age-36 season. He played all the way until age 45, seeing action with the Yankees and Marlins. Ichiro collected his 3000th career hit while he was playing for Miami, doing it in style with a triple against Colorado’s Chris Rusin at Coors Field. Ichiro returned to Seattle for the end of his career, capping it off in a two-game series between the Mariners and A’s in front of Japanese fans at the Tokyo Dome to kick off the 2019 season.

Ichiro finished his major league career as a .311 hitter who tallied 3089 hits. That’d be a remarkable achievement for any player but is especially impressive for one who spent a few of his prime-aged seasons in NPB and didn’t make his major league debut until he was 27. Ichiro was never a huge power threat in games, though many believe that he could’ve been an impact power bat had he prioritized that over elite pure hitting ability. In any case, he concluded with 117 career homers and stole more than 500 bases. He won 10 Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards.

Sabathia was a first-round pick by the Indians in 1998. He was in the majors within three years of being selected out of high school. He won 17 games during his rookie season and finished as the runner-up behind Ichiro in ’01 Rookie of the Year voting. The southpaw was a durable mid-rotation arm for Cleveland for the first few seasons of his career. He earned consecutive All-Star nods in 2003 and ’04.

While he was on track for a very good major league career, Sabathia didn’t look like a future Hall of Famer. That changed in the second half of the 2000s. Sabathia turned in a 3.22 ERA over 28 starts in 2006. He cemented himself as the game’s top workhorse the following year. Sabathia led the majors with 241 innings across 34 starts in ’07. He topped 200 strikeouts for the first time and turned in a 3.21 ERA while winning 19 games. He earned his third All-Star selection and won the Cy Young. He helped the Indians to the postseason for the first time in six years, though he struggled in two starts in the ALCS as they were knocked off by the Red Sox.

Cleveland wasn’t on a playoff track in 2008. Sabathia was an impending free agent whom the Indians had no expectation of re-signing. They traded him to the Brewers a few weeks before the deadline for a prospect package led by Matt LaPorta. While LaPorta didn’t work out, the unheralded acquisition of Michael Brantley as a “lesser” piece of that deal had a huge impact on Cleveland baseball.

Sabathia’s stint in Milwaukee was brief but could hardly have gone better. The southpaw had a legendary second half, winning 11 games with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts. Sabathia remarkably completed seven of those starts and recorded three shutouts. He more or less carried Milwaukee to a 90-win season and a Wild Card berth, though they were bounced by the eventual champion Phillies in the Division Series. Sabathia finished that year with a career-high 253 innings and 251 strikeouts with a 2.70 earned run average. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting even though he spent half the season in the American League.

The following offseason, Sabathia signed with the Yankees on a seven-year, $161MM megadeal. He tossed 230 innings of 3.37 ERA ball and won an MLB-best 19 games in his first season. He followed up with a 1.98 ERA across five postseason starts, winning the ALCS MVP award while helping the Yanks to their 27th World Series title. Sabathia would respectively win 21 and 19 games over the next two years, topping 230 innings with a low-3.00s ERA in both. He finished in the top four in Cy Young voting in each of his first three seasons in pinstripes.

He earned his final All-Star nod in 2012 and reached 200 innings for the last time in ’13. Sabathia remained in the Bronx on a series of short-term deals after the expiration of his first free agent contract. He was a capable back-end starter until his retirement in 2019. Sabathia finished his career with nearly 3600 innings over parts of 19 seasons. He posted a 3.74 ERA, won 251 games, and recorded more than 3000 strikeouts. His 3093 punchouts rank 18th on the all-time leaderboard.

Wagner is the ninth primary reliever to earn the call from Cooperstown. A first-round pick of the Astros in 1993, he would spend the majority of his career in Houston. Wagner debuted in ’95 and earned his first handful of saves the following year. He was Houston’s full-time closer by ’97, when he saved 23 games with a 2.85 ERA over 66 1/3 innings.

The hard-throwing lefty reached 30 saves for the first time in his career the ensuing season. He followed up with a sterling 1.57 ERA while striking out 124 hitters across 74 2/3 frames in 1999. Wagner picked up 39 saves, earned his first All-Star nod, and landed fourth in Cy Young voting. He was named MLB’s best reliever that season.

He struggled in 2000 but rebounded with a dominant three-season stretch to close his Astros tenure. Wagner topped 60 innings with at least 35 saves while allowing an ERA of 2.73 or better in each season between 2001-03. He was selected to two more All-Star Games over that stretch. Wagner had arguably his best year in ’03. He led the majors with 67 games finished while turning in a 1.78 earned run average. Wagner struck out 105 batters — one of four career seasons in which he topped the century mark — while throwing a career-best 86 innings.

The Astros traded Wagner to Philadelphia over the 2003-04 offseason. While his first season with the Phillies was shortened by injury, he posted a 1.51 ERA with 38 saves across 77 2/3 innings in ’05. He inked a four-year free agent deal with the Mets the following offseason. Wagner earned two more All-Star selections while posting a cumulative 2.37 ERA over three and a half seasons in Queens. He had a strong month in Boston after an August ’09 trade.

Wagner returned to free agency and signed a one-year contract with the Braves. He finished his career in style, posting a 1.43 ERA with 37 saves across 69 1/3 innings at age 38. Wagner punched out 104 hitters en route to his seventh and final All-Star nod. He finished his career with a 2.31 ERA over 903 innings. Wagner recorded nearly 1200 strikeouts and ranks eighth all-time with 422 saves. He struck out a massive 33.2% of opposing hitters over a career spanning parts of 16 seasons.

Opponents of his Hall of Fame case have pointed to his lack of a postseason track record. Wagner indeed struggled in October, allowing 13 runs in 11 2/3 playoff innings over seven seasons. That’s an extremely small sample, though, and his regular season performance was remarkably consistent despite the volatility of most relief pitchers. Wagner had a sub-3.00 ERA in all but one season and reached 30 saves on nine occasions.

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones find themselves within shouting distance of induction. Beltrán appeared on 70.3% of ballots in his third year of eligibility. That’s a marked jump from last year’s approximate 57% vote share, giving him a solid chance at election next offseason. Jones appeared on 66.2% of ballots, up around five points from last winter. He has two more seasons of eligibility.

No one else received a vote share of 40% or higher. Aside from Ichiro and Sabathia, the only first-time candidates who reached the 5% cutoff necessary to stay on the ballot were Félix Hernández (20.6%) and Dustin Pedroia (11.9%). Wagner was the only person in his final year of eligibility. No returning candidates dropped below a 5% vote share, so the only players who fell off the ballot were the first-time candidates who received minimal support.

The big question of next year’s class is whether Beltrán and (less likely) Jones will be elected. Manny Ramírez will be entering his final year of eligibility and is likely to drop off the ballot after receiving around 34% of the vote this year. Cole Hamels leads the crop of first-ballot players in what’ll likely be a smaller class than this year’s group of inductees.

Full voting breakdown available via the BBWAA. Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Dick Allen, Dave Parker Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Dick Allen and Dave Parker were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as revealed by the Classic Baseball Era committee tonight.  Parker (14 votes) and Allen (13) each received more than the minimum 12 of 16 votes necessary for induction.  Tommy John was the next-closest candidate with seven votes, and Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and Luis Tiant each received fewer than five votes.

Allen and Parker will be officially inducted to Cooperstown on July 27, along with any players inducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.  The results of the writers’ ballot will be announced on January 21.

Known in the past as the “veterans committee,” the Era Committee is a rotating panel of former players, managers, executives, team owners, media members, and historians who meet annually to determine which (if any) candidates from the past deserve election to Cooperstown.  Candidates include former players who weren’t elected or considered on the normal BBWAA ballot, or non-playing personnel that aren’t part of the writers’ ballot.  This year’s ballot looked at candidates whose biggest contributions to the game came in the pre-1980 “Classic Baseball Era,” though obviously a few of the candidates also had significant moments in their careers after the 1980 season.

Today’s news is undoubtedly bittersweet for Allen’s family and supporters, as Allen passed away in 2020.  He twice fell just a single vote shy of induction in past appearances on Era Committee/Veterans Committee ballots, and Allen didn’t receive much attention on the writers’ ballots when he was eligible.  At long last, the slugger has now finally been recognized by Cooperstown for an outstanding 15-year career highlighted by the 1972 AL MVP Award.

Allen hit .292/.378/.534 with 351 homers and 1119 RBI over 7315 career plate appearances with the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox, and Athletics from 1963-77.  He kicked his career off with a bang by winning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 1964, while also finishing seventh in MVP voting that same year.  Allen was a seven-time All-Star who twice led the American League in home runs, and had an outstanding 155 wRC+ for his career.

No discussion of Allen is complete without mention of his outspoken personality.  To his detractors, Allen was viewed as a disruptive malcontent who clashed with some fans, sportswriters, teammates, managers, and front offices, which was part of the reason Allen frequently changed teams despite his success on the field.  To his supporters, however, Allen was a no-nonsense figure who was more than willing to fight back against perceived injustice, especially when faced with racism as a black player in the 1960s and ’70s.  While Allen was often perceived as a bad influence during his career, many of Allen’s past teammates and managers have spoken out to counter that reputation, describing Allen in glowing terms as a clubhouse leader.

Parker also dealt with controversy during his career, as he battled a cocaine addiction in the 1980s.  This well-publicized issue may have been the reason Parker also garnered relatively little support on the BBWAA ballot, and knee problems also cut short his prime years.  Still, “the Cobra” at his peak was one of the best all-around players in baseball, with a resume that includes seven All-Star nods, two NL batting titles, three Gold Gloves, the 1978 NL MVP Award, and two World Series rings during his 19 Major League seasons.

Parker played his first 11 of those seasons in Pittsburgh, joining Willie Stargell as the heroes of that era of Pirates baseball, including a starring role on the 1979 “We Are Family” championship team.  Injuries and drug problems hampered the tail end of Parker’s time in Pittsburgh, but he rebounded with a four-year run with the Reds that saw him bank top-five finishes in MVP balloting in 1985 and 1986.  The Cobra then earned a bit more postseason glory on the Athletics’ pennant-winning teams in 1988 and 1989, capturing another ring with the latter A’s club.  Over 2466 games and 10184 PA, Parker hit .290/339/.471 with 339 home runs, 1493 RBI, and had a 120 wRC+ for his career.

This year’s 16-person Classic Baseball Era committee was comprised of HOF members Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, and Joe Torre; MLB owners and executives Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno and Brian Sabean; media members/historians Bob Elliott, Leslie Heaphy, Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel and Larry Lester.

Hall Of Fame Announces Eight Names On Era Committee Ballot

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Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker, Vic Harris, Tommy John and Luis Tiant were revealed today by the Hall of Fame as this year’s candidates on the Era Committee ballot.  Most commonly known as the “veterans committee,” a panel of 16 people (comprised of former players, executives, sportswriters, and historians) will meet during the Winter Meetings to vote on whether or not any of these eight candidates will be elected to Cooperstown.  At least 12 of 16 votes are needed for induction, and the results of the balloting will be revealed on December 8.

The Era Committee rotates between three pools of candidates every year — players from the “Contemporary Baseball” era of 1980 until the present, managers/executives/umpires from this same 1980-present period, and all individuals from the “Classic Baseball” era of pre-1980.  This year’s ballot focused on the Classic Baseball era, ranging from well-known MLB stars to somewhat lesser-known names like Harris and Donaldson, who were both icons of the Negro Leagues.

Several of the candidates have appeared on Era Committee ballots in the past, with Allen infamously falling a single vote short of induction in both 2015 and 2021.  Harris was also a near-miss on the 2021 ballot, landing 10 of the minimum 12 votes necessary for induction to Cooperstown.

Narrowly missing out on what is already a second-chance ballot adds to the bittersweet nature of the Era Committee.  While the process has corrected many oversights from the writers’ ballot, getting to these oversights sometimes decades after the fact means that some of the inductees aren’t able to personally enjoy their day of glory in Cooperstown.  Garvey, Parker, and John are the only members of this year’s ballot who are still alive, as Tiant passed away less than a month ago.

The Era Committee ballot is separate from the annual BBWAA ballot for more modern Hall of Fame candidates, and the results of the BBWAA ballot will be revealed on January 21.  Ichiro Suzuki is a lock for induction in his first year on that ballot, and C.C. Sabathia and Felix Hernandez are two other first-timers with solid Cooperstown cases.

Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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The Hall of Fame announced this evening that Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton have been elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. They will be elected alongside Jim Leyland, who was selected by the Era Committee last month.

Beltré received 95.1% of the vote, Helton 79.7% and Mauer 76.1%. Billy Wagner got 73.8%, just shy of the 75% threshold. This was his ninth year on the ballot, meaning next year will be his last. Gary Sheffield received 63.9% of the vote in his 10th year on the ballot and will therefore not be present on next year’s. The full results can be found at this link from the BBWAA.

Beltré was an international signing of the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted in the majors in 1998 when still just 19 years old. Though it took him some time to realize his full potential, he would eventually go on to have an incredible career in just about every respect.

He eventually played in parts of 21 seasons with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers. In 2,933 career games, he had 3,166 hits, which included 636 doubles, 38 triples and 477 home runs. He was also considered to be an excellent third baseman, tallying 200 Defensive Runs Saved even though that metric didn’t exist for the first few years of his career. He also stole 121 bases over the years.

Due to the combination of his offense, defense and longevity, he produced 83.8 wins above replacement in eyes of FanGraphs while Baseball Reference has him a 93.5. He was on four All-Star teams, won five Gold Glove awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. This was his first year on the ballot.

Mauer’s career exploits were many, but there was also a poetic connective tissue in that he was so specifically tied to one franchise. Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he entered the 2001 Major League Baseball draft and the Twins used the first overall pick to select him.

He would go on to play his entire career for the Twins, which lasted from his 2004 debut through the 2018 season. He played in 1,858 games, with injuries reducing his playing time and eventually moving him from catcher to first base. But he still managed to notch 2,123 hits and finish his career with a .306 batting average.

Of the seven batting titles won by catchers, Mauer has three of them. That included his 2009 season, wherein he hit .365 and won Most Valuable Player in the American League. He finished his career with 53 fWAR and 55.2 bWAR. He was selected to six All-Star teams, won three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Slugger Awards. This was his first year on the ballot.

Todd Helton

Helton also spent his entire career with one organization, having been drafted eighth overall by the Rockies in 1995. He would make his major league debut in 1997 and stick with the Rockies through 2013.

In his 2,247 games, he tallied 2,519 hits, including 1,521 doubles and 369 home runs. In 2000, he hit .372 with 40 home runs, then followed that up by hitting 49 homers with a .336 batting average the year after. He made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Glove awards and five Silver Sluggers. He has career tallies of 54.9 fWAR and 61.8 bWAR. This was his sixth year on the ballot.

Per the BBWAA, this was the 10th time they elected three players, the last being when Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Iván Rodríguez were elected in 2017.

Jim Leyland Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Former Pirates, Marlins, Rockies, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the only person elected out of the eight nominees under consideration by the 16-person Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.  Leyland received 15 of 16 votes, surpassing the 12-vote threshold with room to spare.

Of the other seven nominees, Lou Piniella came closest with 11 votes, representing another tough near miss for Piniella after previously falling one vote shy on his previous appearance on the ballot in 2019.  Former National League president Bill White received 10 votes, and the other five nominees (Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, and Joe West) all received fewer than five votes.

Leyland managed 22 seasons in the majors, beginning his Cooperstown-worthy run with the Pirates in 1986.  His 11 seasons in Pittsburgh was highlighted by three straight AL East titles for the Bucs from 1990-92, as well as the personal achievements of Manager Of The Year awards for Leyland in 1990 and 1992.  Unfortunately for the Pirates, they couldn’t get over the hump and into the World Series, falling to the Reds in six games in the 1990 NLCS and then losing a pair of seven-game nailbiters to the Braves in both 1991 and 1992.

After Francisco Cabrera broke the Pirates’ hearts in Game 7, Pittsburgh didn’t have a winning record again until 2013.  Leyland had long departed the team by that point, as he moved on following the 1996 season to become the Marlins’ new skipper.

This new job finally brought Leyland his long-desired World Series ring.  The Marlins were the team delivering some October heartbreak this time, as the Fish triumphed over the Indians in seven games to bring the organization its first championship in only its fifth year of existence.  Unfortunately for Leyland and the Marlins players and fans, the club went into fire sale mode immediately afterwards, resulting in Leyland’s resignation after a 108-loss season in 1998.

Leyland quickly caught on as Colorado’s manager for the 1999 season, but his frustration at working and trying to manage pitchers in the thin-air environment led to his resignation after just a single year.  Leyland became a scout for the Cardinals, and it appeared as though his managerial career might’ve come to an end.

However, a major final act then developed in Detroit.  Leyland was hired as the Tigers’ new manager prior to the 2006 season, just as the team was emerging from a rough rebuilding period.  Undoubtedly hiring Leyland was itself a major reason why the Tigers finally got on track, and the results were immediately impressive — the 2006 Tigers reached the playoffs as a wild card team and then reached the World Series before falling to the Cardinals.

That was the first of seven .500 or better seasons Leyland would enjoy over his eight years managing in Motown.  The Tigers made the postseason three more times, including a World Series appearance in 2012 that saw Detroit swept by the Giants.  After another narrow six-game loss to the Red Sox in the 2013 ALCS, Leyland decided to retire from managing at the MLB level, though he did return to the dugout to guide the United States to victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Leyland’s career resume consists of a 1769-1728 record, eight playoff appearances, three league pennants, and that 1997 World Series championship.  He ranks 18th on the all-time managerial wins list, and 17th on the all-time list of total games managed.  He was also a three-time winner of the Manager Of The Year Award, as Leyland added the 2006 trophy to his two awards from his Pittsburgh days.

While the numbers paved Leyland’s path into the Hall of Fame, he is also a beloved figure around the sport, highly respected by peers, coaches, and the many players he managed over the years.  Just about everyone who encountered Leyland seemed to immediately have an anecdote about the quick wit and big heart of the longtime baseball man, which was somewhat obscured by his hard-nosed reputation.  “What others saw as a gruff, chain-smoking caricature of an old-school manager, those in baseball considered brilliant for how he connected with everyone from the superstar to the last man on the roster to the least-tenured coach on his staff,” the Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt and Cody Stavenhagen wrote in a chronicle of Leyland stories published today.  (Stavenhagen and Rob Biertempfel had another collection of Leyland anecdotes three years ago, well worth a read for some more chuckles.)

The “veterans committee” is the catch-all name for an annual panel of rotating membership, organized by the Hall Of Fame every year to gauge the cases of players who weren’t elected or considered by the writers, or non-playing personnel who aren’t a part of the writers’ ballot.  Candidates are considered from the “Contemporary Baseball” (1980-present) and “Classic Baseball” (1980 and earlier) time periods, and broken down into a three-year rotation…

  • Classic Baseball, all candidates: 2024, 2027, 2030, etc.
  • Contemporary Baseball, players: 2025, 2028, 2031, etc.
  • Contemporary Baseball, managers/executives/umpires: 2026, 2029, 2032, etc.

Leyland will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 13.  He’ll be joined by any players elected via the writers’ ballot, and those results will be announced on January 23.

This year’s 16-person Contemporary Baseball committee was comprised of HOF members Jeff Bagwell, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Bud Selig, Ted Simmons, Jim Thome, and Joe Torre; MLB owners and executives Sandy Alderson, Bill DeWitt, Michael Hill, Ken Kendrick, Andy MacPhail, and Phyllis Merhige; media members/historians Sean Forman, Jack O’Connell and Jesus Ortiz.

Hall Of Fame Announces 2024 Era Committee Candidates

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This afternoon, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced its eight nominees for the 2024 Era Committee. Previously known as the Veterans Committee, the Era Committee is a 16-person panel that considers nominees outside the purview of induction for players via the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The 2024 class concerns managers, executives and umpires whose primary contributions to the game have come since 1980. Last year’s committee focused on players within that same timeframe and elected Fred McGriff. Next winter’s nominees will be individuals who most impacted the sport before 1980.

Here are the candidates this winter:

  • Cito Gaston (manager)
  • Davey Johnson (manager)
  • Jim Leyland (manager)
  • Ed Montague (umpire)
  • Hank Peters (executive)
  • Lou Piniella (manager)
  • Joe West (umpire)
  • Bill White (executive)

The managers are likely most familiar to recent fans. Gaston led the Blue Jays for 13 seasons over two stints. His first stretch at the helm, spanning 1989-97, was very successful. Gaston first took over in May ’89 when the club dismissed Jimy Williams after a 12-24 start. They finished with a 77-49 record under Gaston’s watch, claiming the AL East title. That kicked off a stretch of four division wins in a five-year span. While they were bounced in the ALCS in 1989 and ’91, the Jays won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and ’93.

Johnson managed almost 2500 games in 17 seasons between 1984-2013. He began with the Mets, leading them to 108 wins and their dramatic World Series victory over the Red Sox by his third season. While that was the only title of his managerial career, Johnson led the Mets to six straight winning campaigns. He led the Reds (1993-95), Orioles (1996-97) and Dodgers (1999-2000) during the following decade. Johnson concluded his career with three seasons at the helm of the Nationals from 2011-13. He led at least one playoff team in four of his five stops. His teams won 56.2% of their regular season contests.

Leyland had a 22-year career as a big league skipper. He managed just under 3500 games between the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers. He led Pittsburgh to three straight division titles between 1990-92 as part of an 11-year run in the Steel City. During his first season managing in Florida, Leyland led a 92-win team from a Wild Card berth to a championship in just the fifth season in Marlins history. He didn’t find success during a lone season in Colorado but led the Tigers to a pennant in 2006, his first season at the helm in Detroit. Leyland managed through 2013, winning three straight division titles from 2011-13 and claiming another AL pennant in 2012. He’s 18th in career wins with 1,769 regular season victories.

Piniella is just ahead of him on that leaderboard, ranking 17th with 1,835 wins. The fiery skipper had a 23-year managerial career between the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Devil Rays and Cubs. He led the Reds to the 1990 World Series during his first season in Cincinnati. While that was the only time that one of his teams would play in the Fall Classic, he had multiple playoff appearances in Seattle and Chicago. Piniella was at the helm for the ’01 Mariners team tied for the all-time wins record (116) and led consecutive division winners with the Cubs in 2007-08.

Peters was a high-ranking executive for the A’s, Indians and Orioles between 1965-91. He helped construct the farm system for the A’s teams that won three World Series in the 1970’s, although he was no longer with the organization when the major league team blossomed. Peters was at the helm with Baltimore for their 1979 pennant and 1983 World Series victory. He led Cleveland in the late-’80s, helping set the stage for the Indians’ run of success the following decade.

White, a former star first baseman, served as president of the National League from 1989-94. He also had a lengthy broadcasting run as part of a career that spanned five decades. As a player, he finished in third place in 1964 NL MVP balloting for the Cardinals’ World Series winner and is part of the team’s Hall of Fame.

Montague managed over 4,000 MLB games from 1974-2009. West, one of the sport’s most famous umpires, officiated a record 5,460 contests between 1976 and his retirement in February 2022.

Nominees need 12 of 16 votes to gain induction. The voting will take place during December’s Winter Meetings.

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