![Andre Dawson (August 1988)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Andre_Dawson_%28August_1988%29.jpg)
Elections to the
Baseball Hall of Fame for 2010 proceeded according to rules enacted in 2001 and revised in 2007. As always, the
Baseball Writers' Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...
(BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recent players; one player was elected,
Andre Dawson
Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different te ...
.
In keeping with the 2007 reform, one
Veterans Committee
The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players.
Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...
convened to consider a ballot of
managers
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
and
umpires
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
, another to consider a ballot of executives. One manager and one umpire were elected:
Whitey Herzog and
Doug Harvey, respectively.
An induction ceremony was held in
Cooperstown, New York, on July 25, 2010.
A Veterans Committee election to select from older players had been held in the 2009 cycle. The next election for players whose careers began in 1943 or later was scheduled for the 2011 class of inductees while the next for pre-1943 players was scheduled for the 2014 class.
However, a reform of the Veterans Committee(s) was announced in July 2010. Per the announcement, long-retired players and all non-playing personnel would be considered on a single ballot, with the ballot restricted by the "Era" in which candidates made their greatest contributions. The next Veterans Committee elections, held in December 2010 as part of the 2011 induction cycle, considered only figures from what the Hall deemed the "Expansion Era", 1973 and later. Candidates from the "Golden Era" (1947–1972) were considered in the balloting for 2012, and candidates from the "Pre-Integration Era" (1871–1946) were considered in the balloting for 2013. These committee meetings were planned to be held in rotation thereafter, one each balloting.
BBWAA election
The BBWAA was again authorized to elect players active in 1990 or later, but not after 2004; the ballot included candidates from the 2009 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 2004. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.
Results of the 2010 election by the BBWAA were announced on January 6.
[ The ballot consisted of 26 players, including 11 candidates returning from the 2009 ballot (a record low, displacing the previous year's record of 13).
539 ballots were cast (including five ballots which supported no candidates), with 405 votes required for election. A total of 3,057 individual votes were cast, an average of 5.67 per ballot. Those candidates who received less than 5% of the vote 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 with a dagger (†). The candidate who received at least 75% of the vote and was elected is indicated in ''bold italics''; candidates who have since been selected in subsequent elections are indicated in ''italics''. The candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with an asterisk (*).
The newly-eligible candidates included 11 All-Stars, who were selected a combined total of 51 times – a notable decrease from 2009, when 22 All-Stars became eligible. Among the first-ballot candidates were 12-time All-Stars ]Roberto Alomar
Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (; ; born February 5, 1968)
is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Arizon ...
and Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player. He played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2004.
He briefly played in the minor leagues before making h ...
, 7-time All-Star Edgar Martínez, and 5-time All-Stars Andrés Galarraga
Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), At ...
and Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...
. With respect to major end-of-season awards, the new field contained one Cy Young Award winner (Pat Hentgen
Patrick George Hentgen (born November 13, 1968) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, and currently a special assistant with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Blue Jays, St. Louis C ...
), one MVP (Larkin) and one Rookie of the Year (Eric Karros
Eric Peter Karros (born November 4, 1967) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Karros played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1991 to 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He was the Nati ...
). Alomar won ten Gold Gloves at second base (the most for any second baseman). Robin Ventura
Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. Ventura played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Do ...
received six at third base. Larkin holds the record for most Silver Slugger Award
The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball.
These voters co ...
s by a shortstop (nine). Edgar Martínez is tied for the record for most Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards (with David Ortiz) at five (the award has since been renamed the Edgar Martínez Award
The Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, commonly referred to as the Edgar Martínez Award and originally known as the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, has been presented annually to the most outstanding designated hitter (DH) ...
).
Players who were eligible for the first time who were ''not'' included on the ballot were: Paul Abbott
Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain, following his work on popular series such as ...
, Andy Ashby
Andrew Jason Ashby (born July 11, 1967) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. ...
, Danny Bautista, Darren Bragg, Brian Boehringer
Brian Edward Boehringer (born January 8, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He won the 1996 World Series with the New York Yankees over the Atlanta Braves.
Early life and career
He is a 1987 graduate of Northwest High School in Hou ...
, Dave Burba
David Allen Burba (born July 7, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseba ...
, Greg Colbrunn
Gregory Joseph Colbrunn (born July 26, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball, Major League baseball player and coach (baseball), hitting coach. Primarily a first baseman during his active career, the Fontana, California, native played ...
, Mike Fetters, Brook Fordyce, Karim García
Gustavo Karim García Aguayo (born October 29, 1975) is a Mexican former professional baseball outfielder. García bats and throws left-handed.
Professional career Minor leagues
Born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, García signed as an amateur fre ...
, Tom Goodwin
Thomas Jones Goodwin (born July 27, 1968) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, primarily as a center fielder, from 1991 to 2004. As a player, he was listed at and ...
, Ricky Gutiérrez
Ricardo Gutiérrez (born May 23, 1970) is an American former shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from through for the San Diego Padres (1993-), Houston Astros (-), Chicago Cubs (-), Cleveland Indians (-), New York Mets () and Bo ...
, Jimmy Haynes, Sterling Hitchcock, Curt Leskanic, Josías Manzanillo, Brent Mayne
Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giant ...
, Mark McLemore, Scott Service
Scott David Service (born February 26, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for several Major League Baseball teams, between 1988 and 2004. He also pitched one season in Japan, for the Chunichi Dragons in 1991.
...
, Chris Stynes, Scott Sullivan, Todd Van Poppel
Todd Matthew Van Poppel (born December 9, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (, –), Detroit Tigers (1996), Texas Rangers (, –), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998), Chicago Cubs (–), and Cincinn ...
, John Vander Wal, Fernando Viña
Fernando Viña (''VEEN-ya'') (born April 16, 1969) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball second baseman and former MLB analyst for ESPN. His parents Andres and Olga emigrated from Cuba in 1968. From through , Viña played for the Se ...
, and Turk Wendell
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
.
For the first time in the history of BBWAA voting, two players fell shy of election by fewer than 10 votes.[ Blyleven, on the ballot for the 13th time, fell 5 votes shy; he gained 62 votes from his 2009 total. Alomar fell 8 votes short in his first appearance on the ballot, and received the highest percentage ever for a first-time candidate who was not elected at that time. Both would be elected in .
]
Veterans Committee elections
The Veterans Committee election process was revised in July 2007. With the 2007 rules changes, the composite ballot was split into two separate ballots—one for managers and umpires and the other for executives. Also, the voting membership of the Committee, which previously included all living members of the Hall, was reduced to include just a handful of those members, plus additional executives and sportswriters. Voting for both the managers/umpires and executives ballots, which now takes place prior to inductions in even-numbered years, began with the 2008 class of inductees, when two managers and three executives were elected. To be eligible, managers and umpires must be retired for at least five years, or for at least six months if they are age 65 or older, while executives must be either retired or at least age 65.
A Historical Overview Committee of sportswriters appointed by the BBWAA's Board of Directors met to develop a ballot of 10 managers and umpires. The managers/umpires list was then submitted to a panel composed of Hall of Fame members, executives and veteran media members for a final vote. A separate ballot of 10 executives was developed by a panel including executives, players and writers, which was the same committee which finally voted in that area. The final ballots were released in November 2009. Each panel member was allowed to vote for up to four individuals on each ballot, and each candidate who received 75% of the vote from either panel was elected; therefore, a maximum of five inductions were possible from each ballot. Voting was conducted at baseball's winter meetings in Indianapolis on December 6, 2009, with the results announced the next day; as was the case with the 2008 class of inductees, the Committee met to discuss the candidates, although the previous three elections had been conducted by mail.
Managers/umpires ballot
The ballot for managers and umpires included eight managers (designated M) and two umpires (designated U), with 12 votes required for election. Candidates who received at least 75% of the vote were elected.[ Those that were inducted are indicated in ''bold italics''.
In contrast with the 2008 election, voters made less of an effort to vote for as many candidates as they were allowed. While at least 58 of the permitted 64 individual votes were cast in 2008, the number of known individual votes cast in this election was 48 of the possible 64. (Vote totals for the five trailing candidates were announced as "less than 3", or 0 to 2.) Seven of the candidates had been on the preceding ballot in 2008, with Grimm, Kelly, and O'Neill appearing for the first time and umpire ]Cy Rigler
Charles "Cy" Rigler (May 16, 1882 – December 21, 1935) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1906 to 1935. His total of 4,144 games ranked fourth in major league history when he retired, and his ...
dropping off the ballot. Four candidates were living when the final results were announced—Harvey (age 79), Herzog (78), Johnson (66), and Kelly (59).
The election committee, which was announced on the same day as the ballot, included:[
*Hall of Famers: ]Jim Bunning
James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...
, Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...
, Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
, Phil Niekro
Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 318 career victor ...
, Tony Pérez
Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...
, Robin Roberts, Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (19 ...
, Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...
, Billy Williams, Dick Williams
*Executives: Jim Frey, Roland Hemond
Roland A. Hemond (October 26, 1929 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional baseball executive who worked in Major League Baseball. He served as the scouting director of the California Angels, general manager of the Chicago White Sox ...
, Bob Watson
Robert José Watson (April 10, 1946May 14, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, coach and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from 1966 to 1984, most prominently as a member of ...
*Media: Tim Kurkjian
Tim Kurkjian (; born December 10, 1956) is a Major League Baseball (MLB) analyst on ESPN's '' Baseball Tonight'' and ''SportsCenter''. He is also a contributor to '' ESPN The Magazine'' and ''ESPN.com''.
On December 7, 2021, Kurkjian was named ...
, Jack O'Connell, Tom Verducci
Thomas Verducci (born October 23, 1960) is an American sportswriter who writes for ''Sports Illustrated'' and its online magazine SI.com. He writes primarily about baseball. He is also a reporter and commentator for Fox Major League Baseball and ...
Of the 16 members of the election committee, 11 voted for the class of 2008. The five new voters were all Hall of Famers—Murray, Roberts, Sandberg, Smith, and 2008 inductee Dick Williams. Because of the changes announced for future elections, this was the last meeting of this particular committee.
Of the ten candidates for election, Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog received the 75% needed to garner induction.
Executives ballot
On the executives ballot, 9 votes were required for election; no candidates were elected.[
As with the other committee, voters in this election made less of an effort to vote for as many candidates as allowed than in the 2008 election. The number of individual votes cast went down to a greater degree than in the managers/umpires balloting—only 28 of the possible 48 individual votes were known to have been cast in this election, compared to 44 in the 2008 voting. (Vote totals for the six trailing candidates were announced as "less than 3", or 0 to 2.)
Of the 10 candidates, six (Fetzer, Howsam, Kauffman, McHale, Miller, and Paul) were holdovers from the 2008 ballot.] Autry, Breadon, and Ruppert appeared on the ballot for the first time; White, who was on the 2007 composite ballot but was not on the 2008 ballot, returned for 2010. Buzzie Bavasi, who died in the intervening period, was on the 2008 ballot but not the 2010 ballot. Two candidates were living when the results were announced—Miller, age 92, and White, age 75.
The election committee, which was announced on the same day as the ballot, included:[
*Hall of Famers: Robin Roberts, ]Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
*Executives:
**''Retired:'' John Harrington
**''Active:'' Jerry Bell Jerry Bell may refer to:
*Jerry Bell (American football) (born 1959), American football player
*Jerry Bell (pitcher) (born 1947), American baseball player
*Jerry Bell (baseball executive) (born 1937), American baseball executive
See also
*Jeremy ...
, Bill DeWitt, Bill Giles, David Glass David Glass may refer to:
*David Glass (businessman) (1935–2020), American executive
*David Glass (Canadian politician) (1829–1906), Canadian lawyer and political figure
* David Glass (Israeli politician) (1936–2014), Israeli politician
*Davi ...
, Andy MacPhail, John Schuerholz
John Boland Schuerholz Jr. (; born October 1, 1940) is an American baseball front office executive. He was the general manager of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2007, and then served as the Braves president for a decade from 2 ...
*Media: Rick Hummel, Hal McCoy
Harold Stanley "Hal" McCoy Jr. (born October 18, 1940 in Akron, Ohio) is an American sportswriter. McCoy was a beat writer for the '' Dayton Daily News'' ( Dayton, Ohio), covering the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He still covers all Reds home ga ...
, Phil Pepe
Of the 12 members of the election committee, eight voted for the class of 2008. The new voters were Hall of Famers Roberts and Seaver, executive Schuerholz, and sportswriter Pepe. As with the managers/umpires voting committee, this was the final meeting for the executives voting committee because of the voting changes announced in July 2010.
J. G. Taylor Spink Award
The J. G. Taylor Spink Award
The BBWAA Career Excellence Award, formerly the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It is given "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and voted on annually by ...
has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962. It recognizes a sportswriter
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
"for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, but instead are featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum.
Three final candidates, selected by a three-member BBWAA committee, were named on July 14, 2009 at Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (M ...
in St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in conjunction with All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
activities: Bill Madden, national baseball columnist for the '' New York Daily News'', Bob Elliott of the ''Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
'' and Joe Giuliotti, retired from the '' Boston Herald''. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.[
On December 8 at baseball's winter meetings, Bill Madden was announced as the recipient. Madden, who started his career in 1969 with ]United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
before joining the ''Daily News'' in 1978, received 226 votes out of the 452 ballots cast, with Elliott receiving 149 votes and Giuliotti receiving 76; one blank ballot was submitted.[
]
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award has been presented at the induction ceremonies annually since 1978 to a broadcaster. Recipients are not considered to be members of the Hall, but are permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum. After the 2007 changes to the Veterans Committee, the winner (if living) is no longer an automatic member of that body. 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.
Ten finalists were announced in January 2010. In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a committee composed of the living recipients, along with additional broadcasting historians and columnists. Three additional candidates were selected from a list of candidates through results of voting by fans conducted in December 2009 on the Hall's Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page. The recipient was announced in February following a vote by the same committee which selected the first group of finalists. They based the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.
Jon Miller
Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball annou ...
, radio announcer for the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
, television play-by-play announcer for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball
''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season.
The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: ...
and regular-season and postseason announcer on ESPN Radio, was announced as the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award winner on February 2, 2010. Beginning his career in 1974 with the Oakland Athletics, he is best known for his radio work with the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
from 1983 through 1996, and the Giants from 1997 to the present. Before joining ESPN in 1990, he worked with NBC from 1986 through 1989. He also worked with The Baseball Network
The Baseball Network was an American short-lived television broadcasting joint venture between ABC, NBC and Major League Baseball (MLB). Under the arrangement, beginning in the 1994 season, the league produced its own in-house which were the ...
.
References
External links
National Baseball Hall of Fame Official Website
BBWAA Rules for Election to the Hall of Fame
{{good article
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
Hall of Fame