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The 2005 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame shall proceed in keeping with rules enacted in 2001. The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) held an election to select from among recent players, and the Veterans Committee will hold an election to select from among players retired for over 20 years. The induction ceremonies will be held on July 31 in Cooperstown, with Commissioner Bud Selig presiding.
The BBWAA election
The BBWAA was again authorized to elect players active in 1985 or later, but not after 1999; the ballot included candidates from the 2004 ballot who received at least 5% of the vote but were not elected, along with selected players, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 1999. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.
Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. Results of the 2005 election by the BBWAA were announced on January 4. The ballot consisted of 27 players; 516 ballots were cast, with 387 votes required for election. A total of 3263 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.32 per ballot. Those candidates receiving less than 5% of the vote (26 votes) will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, but may eventually be considered by the Veterans Committee.
Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated here with a †. The two candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in bold italics. The 10 candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with a *.
The Veterans Committee
Rules enacted in 2001 provided that the Veterans Committee would be expanded from its previous 15 members, elected to limited terms, to include the full living membership of the Hall. Elections for players retired over 20 years would be held every other year, with elections of non-players (managers, umpires and executives) held every fourth year. No candidates were elected from either ballot in 2003. Following 2004, when no Veterans election was held, the Committee will vote in 2005 on players who were active no later than 1983; the next such election will be in 2007. There is no 2005 election for non-players; the last such election was in 2003, and the next is scheduled for 2007.
All 60 living members of the Hall were eligible to cast ballots, along with the 10 living recipients of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the 14 living recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award, and the sole additional member of the pre-2001 Veterans Committee whose term has not yet expired (John McHale). Balloting will be conducted by mail in January 2005, with voters permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates; all candidates who receive at least 75% of the vote (64 votes, if all 85 eligible electors cast ballots) shall be elected, and will be indicated here in bold italics. Results of the voting by the Veterans Committee will be announced on March 2. The ballot consists of 25 individuals:
J.G. Taylor Spink Award
The J.G. Taylor Spink Award, presented by the BBWAA annually at the induction ceremonies since 1962, is given to a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipient is not considered to be a member of the Hall, but is permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum, and becomes a life member of the Veterans Committee.
Three final candidates, selected by a BBWAA committee, were named on July 13, 2004 in Houston in conjunction with All-Star Game activities; the finalists were: Peter Gammons of The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine; the late Vern Plagenhoef, who covered the Detroit Tigers for Michigan's Booth Newspaper Group; and Tracy Ringolsby, who has covered the Colorado Rockies for the Rocky Mountain News since 1993 and has completed 30 seasons as a baseball writer. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.
On December 12, 2004, Peter Gammons was announced as the recipient, having received 248 votes out of the 448 ballots cast, with Ringolsby receiving 134 votes and Plagenhoef receiving 66.
Ford C. Frick Award
The 2005 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented at the induction ceremonies annually since 1978 to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball", will be announced on February 22. The recipient is not considered to be a member of the Hall, but is permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum and also becomes a life member of the Veterans Committee. To be eligible, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, a network, or a combination of the two; more than 160 candidates were eligible.
On December 13, 2004, 10 finalists were announced. In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a research committee at the museum: Jerry Coleman, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Gene Elston, Tony Kubek, France Laux and Graham McNamee. Three additional candidates – Dave Niehaus, Tom Cheek and Ron Santo – were selected in voting by over 65,000 fans prior to November 2004 at the Hall's official website [1] (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/whats_new/press_releases/2004/pr2004_12_13.htm).
The recipient will be selected in a January vote by a 20-member committee composed of the 14 living recipients, along with six additional broadcasting historians or columnists: Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian), Curt Smith (historian) and Larry Stewart (Los Angeles Times). Committee members are asked to base the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.
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