It’s going to be even harder for steroid-era players to get in the Hall of Fame. The Baseball Writers Association of America voted to reduce the window for eligibility from 15 years to 10 without increasing the number of players that can be put on the ballot, according to the Associated Press.
BBWAA reduces Hall of Fame eligibility from 15 to 10 years
The Baseball Writers Association of America voted on Saturday to reduce Hall of Fame eligibility from 15 to 10 years on the ballot.
Jim McIsaac
Changing the rules to thin the logjam of eligible players isn’t unprecedented, but it’s been nearly 30 years since the last time it happened. In 1985, a five-percent threshold was placed on eligible players to remain on the list.
In 1991 another decision effecting eligibility was made. This time, it was to remove the small number of players permanently banned by baseball from the Hall of Fame ballot, making players like Pete Rose and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson ineligible because of punishments for gambling.
The 2014 ruling will soon push Mark McGwire off the eligibility list, giving him just two more years. Current players in their 11th to 15th year on the ballot, like Don Mattingly, Alan Trammel and Lee Smith, are exempt from this ruling and will receive the maximum number of years left if they stay above five percent.
Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds have eight chances left on the ballot. They received 35.4 and 34.7 percent, respectively, of votes in 2014.
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