Time now for a far less stressful election season.
The Today’s Game Era ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame was revealed Monday, comprised of a combination of 10 players, managers and an owner who will receive consideration to be enshrined in baseball’s most historic and distinguished place in history.
Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Lou Piniella, Lee Smith and George Steinbrenner are those receiving consideration for the class of 2019. Baines, Belle, Carter, Clark, Hershiser and Smith are included for their contributions as players, while Johnson, Manuel and Piniella are included for their roles as managers. Steinbrenner, who is the only candidate that is no longer living, is nominated for his role as former Yankees owner.
Voting for the Today’s Game Era Committee will take place on Dec. 9 at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. A 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Today’s Game Era ballot will be announced later this fall.
The Today’s Game Era is one of four Eras Committees — along with Modern Baseball, Golden Days and Early Baseball — that provide an avenue outside voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons. Specifically, the Today’s Game Committee encompasses candidates who made the most indelible contributions to baseball from 1988 to the present.
The Today’s Game ballot, along with Modern Baseball, are considered twice over every five-year period. The last electees from the Today’s Game ballot were John Schuerholz, the architect of the ’90s Braves, and Bud Selig, the former MLB Commissioner and Brewers owner, in 2016.
Meh. Honestly, George Steinbrenner is the most qualified candidate for induction, but even this lifelong Yankees fan will be fine if they skip him. As far as the players go, there were several other candidates who were at least as qualified but not on the ballot. Personally, I’d give consideration to Albert Belle, who was an otherworldly player with a too-short career, but again, I won’t be heartbroken if he misses out. Most likely, Lee Smith will get elected, and we’ll all shrug our shoulders and move on to arguing about the BBWAA ballot for 2018.
I’d say Will Clark deserves a spot in the HoF. A good hitting, solid fielding first baseman. I can’t think of a team over the late 80’s through the 90’s that wouldn’t have ensured that he had as many plate appearances as they could get him in a season if he were on their rosters.