Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2004

The 2004 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame proceeded in keeping with rules enacted in 2001. The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) held an election to select from among recent players. The Veterans Committee did not hold an election; the 2001 rules changes provided that elections for players retired over 20 years would be held every other year, with elections of non-players (managers, umpires and executives) held every fourth year. The Committee held elections in 2003 in both categories, including players who were active no later than 1981. The next election for players was in 2005; elections in both categories will again be held in 2007.

The induction ceremonies were held on July 25 in Cooperstown, with Commissioner Bud Selig presiding.

The BBWAA election

The BBWAA was again authorized to elect players active in 1984 or later, but not after 1998; the ballot included candidates from the 2003 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 1998. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.

Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. Results of the 2004 election by the BBWAA were announced on January 6. The ballot consisted of 32 players; 506 ballots were cast, with 380 votes required for election. A total of 3314 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.55 per ballot. Those candidates receiving less than 5% of the vote (25 votes) 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 here with a †. The two candidates who received at least 75% of the vote and were elected are indicated in "bold italics"; candidates who have since been selected in subsequent elections are indicated in "italics". The 15 candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with a *.

Players eligible for the first time who were "not" included on the ballot were: Rafael Belliard, Greg Cadaret, Tony Castillo, Dave Clark, Joey Cora, Mike Devereaux, Erik Hanson, Xavier Hernandez, Chris Hoiles, Rex Hudler, Pete Incaviglia, Mark Lemke, Nelson Liriano, John Marzano, Tom Pagnozzi, Donn Pall, Mark Parent, Bob Patterson, Billy Ripken, Luis Rivera, Bip Roberts, Craig Shipley, Pete Smith, Bill Swift, Jerome Walton, David West, and Eddie Williams.

J.G. Taylor Spink Award

The J. G. Taylor Spink Award, presented by the BBWAA annually at the induction ceremonies since 1962, is given to a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipient is not considered to be a member of the Hall, but is permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum, and if living becomes a member of the Veterans Committee for life.

Three final candidates, selected by a BBWAA committee, were named on July 15, by|2003 in Chicago in conjunction with All-Star Game activities; the finalists were: Murray Chass, who covered the New York Yankees for the "New York Times"; Joe Goddard, who has long covered the Chicago Cubs and White Sox for the "Chicago Sun Times"; and Bob Burnes, who covered the St. Louis Browns for the "St. Louis Globe Democrat". All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.

On December 17, Murray Chass was announced as the recipient, having received 280 votes out of the 438 ballots cast, with Goddard receiving 98 votes and Burnes receiving 60 [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/whats_new/press_releases/2003/pr2003_12_17.htm] .

Ford C. Frick Award

The recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented at the induction ceremonies annually since 1978 to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball", is not considered to be a member of the Hall, but is permanently recognized in an exhibit at the museum and, if living, also becomes a life member of the Veterans Committee. 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; more than 160 candidates were eligible.

On December 11, by|2003, 10 finalists were announced. In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a research committee at the museum: Ken Coleman, Jack Graney, Graham McNamee, Hal Totten, Gene Elston, France Laux and Ty Tyson. Three additional candidates – Joe Nuxhall, Dave Niehaus and Lon Simmons – were selected in voting by over 105,000 fans prior to November 2003 at the Hall's official website [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/whats_new/press_releases/2003/pr2003_12_11.htm] .

On February 26, Lon Simmons was announced as the 2004 recipient [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/whats_new/press_releases/2004/pr2004_02_26.htm] ; an original voice of the San Francisco Giants, as well as an announcer for the Oakland Athletics. He called games for 41 years before retiring following the 2002 season. He was selected in a January vote by a 20-member committee composed of the 14 living recipients, along with six additional broadcasting historians or columnists: Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn ("The Dallas Morning News"), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York "Newsday"), Ted Patterson (historian), Curt Smith (historian) and Larry Stewart ("Los Angeles Times"). Committee members are asked to base the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.

External links

* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/voting_year.jsp?year=2004 2004 Election] at www.baseballhalloffame.org.