When Ichiro Suzuki was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame last month, a controversy arose when it was revealed that the decision was not unanimous. Many people, including Ichiro himself, called out the lone individual who did not cast a vote for Ichiro. This discourse exposed many of the issues plaguing the Baseball Hall of Fame selection process, which is in dire need of reform.
Other sports like football and basketball decide Hall of Fame membership through committees. Baseball, however, puts the decision in the hands of members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Each eligible member can vote for up to ten players on their ballot, and players who are chosen on 75% of all ballots are elected to the Hall of Fame.
There are many problems with this selection process. For one, the limit of ten players means that voters have to be strategic with their choices, especially when they believe that there are more than ten deserving candidates. In 1936, for example, many great players missed the cut on the first Baseball Hall of Fame ballot simply because they were listed alongside names such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
Since the individual who did not vote for Ichiro chose not to reveal their ballot, their intentions are not known. It is possible that they voted strategically by selecting ten other players, believing that Ichiro would be elected regardless. It should not automatically be assumed that the voter was seeking attention or did not believe that Ichiro is a Hall of Famer, as some typical arguments go.
Another problem is that players are automatically removed from Hall of Fame ballots after ten years. This hurts those who were not appreciated as much during their time but gained favor later. Baseball corrects for this by allowing committees to elect players who were not chosen by the BBWAA. If the final decision is ultimately up to committees, however, why not simply cut out the writers and have committees elect players in the first place?
Until recently, no player had ever been unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This changed with the election of Mariano Rivera in 2019. No matter how good a player is, though, there will always be someone who believes that they do not belong in the Hall of Fame. The fact that Rivera was elected unanimously only means that he was fortunate enough to have all writers opposing him fail to turn in a ballot.
Putting committees in charge of electing players would help address much of the negativity surrounding voting percentages. It is unreasonable to expect players like Ichiro to be unanimously elected and then criticize voters when this does not happen. No player should ever receive 100% of the vote, and voters who go against the grain should not automatically be ridiculed, as they often have good reasons for doing so.
As an example, Chris Assenheimer was widely mocked in 2001 when he was the lone person to not vote Ichiro for Rookie of the Year. Assenheimer raised a valid point, however, saying that Ichiro could not be considered a rookie when he had previously played several years overseas. Ichiro himself acknowledged that this idea had merit, stating that he was “a little embarrassed” to be considered a rookie.
Ultimately, the percentage by which players are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame does not matter, as they are Hall of Famers regardless. Revamping the selection process to include only committees would help direct focus away from percentages and towards the players themselves. Hall of Fame elections should be a celebration of what players have accomplished, not a time to attack others for having a different opinion.
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