Darowski: First look at the 2016 Pre-Integration Hall of Fame ballot
From SABR member Adam Darowski at Hall of Stats on June 2, 2015:
In each of the past two years, I previewed the Veterans Committee ballot before it was released. Last year I featured the Golden Era ballot and the year before I anticipated the Expansion Era ballot. It’s time to take a look at the 2016 Pre-Integration ballot (which will be released in the Fall).
Given my role as chair of SABR’s Overlooked Nineteenth Century Base Ball Legends committee, this ballot and election is a pretty big deal to me. If you’re not familiar with the Pre-Integration Era Committee, this is how the Hall of Fame describes it:
The Pre-Integration Era Committee (“The Committee”) shall refer to the electorate that considers retired Major League Baseball players no longer eligible for election by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), along with managers, umpires and executives, whose greatest contributions to the game were realized from the 1876-1946 era.
It made little sense to me that the Pre-Integration committee couldn’t consider candidates from before 1876. I asked John Thorn about it and he confirmed that candidates before 1876 are eligible. It turns out it is just a mistake on the Hall’s website.
Read the full article here: http://www.hallofstats.com/articles/first-look-2016-pre-integration-ballot
Originally published: June 2, 2015. Last Updated: June 2, 2015.