Baseball Hall of Fame Will Cut Voters Who Have Been Inactive More Than 10 Years

The Baseball Hall of Fame's board of directors announced the decision Tuesday to remove voters who have been inactive in covering the game for more than 10 years. The Associated Press reported the news and included a statement from the Baseball Writers' Association of America."BBWAA members previously holding Hall of Fame voting privileges who are no longer active in the game and are more than 10 years removed from active status will have the opportunity for annual reinstatement, based on their coverage of the game in the preceding year," the statement reads.This year's Hall of Fame class featured Houston Astros legend Craig Biggio and three phenomenal pitchers in John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. It was a relatively modern quartet, which may be the trend in light of Tuesday's announcement.HardballTalk.com's Craig Calcaterra weighed in on the implications of the voting changes:Active media members most passionate about America's pastime have to be eager to establish themselves, but a number of legendary writers who have a better memory of prior years will no longer have a voice. This could diminish the appreciation of legends from decades past.If nothing else, the new policy will save Hall of Fame personnel hassle in what was approximately 650 eligible voters to keep track of. The condensed catalog of voters makes sense, but it will be interesting to see how the generally younger crowd views prospective inductees from the steroid era.The list of 2016 newly eligible players includes the immensely popular Ken Griffey Jr., renowned closer Trevor Hoffman and iron-man catcher Jason Kendall among potential first-ballot selections.
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