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New Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot Designed To Give Controversial Players Second Chance At Induction Divides Fans

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Virtually every sport in existence has an institution that honors the achievements of its most notable and iconic athletes, but it’s hard to think of a single shrine to any game that’s steeped in more tradition than the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which has been luring fans to Cooperstown, New York since opening its doors in 1939.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is filled with some incredible artifacts that give fans who make the pilgrimage there the chance to see just how far the sport has come since Abner Doubleday introduced America’s Pastime to the small town where it’s located in the late 1830s.

It’s also home to the wing where more than 300 players, managers, and other notable figures have been immortalized with the plaque they receive after being inducted into the Hall of Fame, an achievement that’s traditionally required them to garner a certain number of votes from the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) who are largely responsible for determining who makes the cut.

However, the Hall found itself dealing with a major headache in the wake of the Steroid Era that saw sluggers like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire (as well as aces like Roger Clemens) have their legacies tarnished after being linked to some massive scandals involving the illegal (albeit widespread) use of performance-enhancing drugs in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The BBWAA has been subjected to plenty of criticism due to the many members who refuse to cast a vote for any player implicated in the various investigations that were launched shortly after the turn of the millennium. There are plenty of fans who’ve argued the Baseball Hall of Fame has undermined its own legitimacy due to its failure to recognize the careers of PED users—and while they’ll likely be pleased by a new development, the same can’t be said for the baseball purists who aren’t thrilled about the workaround that’s been unveiled.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is launching a new “Contemporary Era” ballot to give players from the Steroid Era a second chance to be inducted—and fans are divided over the move

Around half of the people in the Baseball Hall of Fame were able to successfully navigate the somewhat complicated BBWAA voting process; the rest of those who got in after initially failing to make to cut were still able to earn a spot in Cooperstown thanks to what was long referred to as the “Veterans Committee.”

On Monday, we learned that the second group has now been replaced by the 16-member “Era Committees,” one of which will be tasked with weighing in on a ballot home to eight players from the “Contemporary Era” during a vote currently scheduled for December 4th.

The eight players in question are:

  • Albert Belle
  • Barry Bonds
  • Roger Clemens
  • Don Mattingly
  • Fred McGriff
  • Dale Murphy
  • Rafael Palmeiro
  • Curt Schilling

Of that group, Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro can thank PED use for preventing them from taking the traditional route to Cooperstown (Schilling—who asked for his name to be withdrawn from consideration in 2021—would tell you he was blackballed by the BBWAA thanks to his tendency to peddle Scorching Hot Political Take online).

All of those players will have the chance to be inducted in 2023 if 75% of committee members check their name off on the ballot. Only time will tell how things will play out, but based on the reactions to the announcement, baseball fans are already pretty divided over the new process.

We’ll likely get some equally torn reactions when the final tally is announced regardless of how things ultimately play out.