2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2007 proceeded according to revised rules enacted in 2001. The Baseball Writers' Association of America held an election to select from among recent players, resulting in the induction of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.
The Veterans Committee held an election with two ballots: the biennial election for players retired over 20 years, and the quadrennial election for non-players, the first since 2003. The Committee did not elect anyone.
Induction ceremonies in Cooperstown were held July 29 with Commissioner Bud Selig presiding.
BBWAA election
The BBWAA was again authorized to elect players active in 1987 or later, but not after 2001; the ballot, announced on November 27, 2006, included candidates from the 2006 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 2001. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate who received votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. Results of the 2007 election by the BBWAA were announced on January 9. The ballot consisted of 32 players; a record 545 ballots were cast, with 409 votes required for election. A total of 3584 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.58 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 here with a dagger. There were 15 candidates returning from the 2006 ballot. 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 candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with an asterisk.
Steve Garvey was on the ballot for the 15th and final time.
| Player | Votes | Percent | Change | Year |
| †Cal Ripken, Jr. | 537 | 98.5 | - | 1st |
| †Tony Gwynn | 532 | 97.6 | - | 1st |
| Rich "Goose" Gossage | 388 | 71.2 | 6.6% | 8th |
| Jim Rice | 346 | 63.5 | 1.3% | 13th |
| Andre Dawson | 309 | 56.7 | 4.3% | 6th |
| Bert Blyleven | 260 | 47.7 | 5.6% | 10th |
| Lee Smith | 217 | 39.8 | 5.2% | 5th |
| Jack Morris | 202 | 37.1 | 4.1% | 8th |
| †Mark McGwire | 128 | 23.5 | - | 1st |
| Tommy John | 125 | 22.9 | 6.7% | 13th |
| Steve Garvey | 115 | 21.1 | 4.9% | 15th |
| Dave Concepción | 74 | 13.6 | 1.1% | 14th |
| Alan Trammell | 73 | 13.4 | 4.3% | 6th |
| Dave Parker | 62 | 11.4 | 3.2% | 11th |
| Don Mattingly | 54 | 9.9 | 2.4% | 7th |
| Dale Murphy | 50 | 9.2 | 1.6% | 9th |
| †Harold Baines | 29 | 5.3 | - | 1st |
| Orel Hershiser* | 24 | 4.4 | 6.8% | 2nd |
| Albert Belle* | 19 | 3.5 | 4.2% | 2nd |
| †Paul O'Neill* | 12 | 2.2 | - | 1st |
| †Bret Saberhagen* | 7 | 1.3 | - | 1st |
| †José Canseco* | 6 | 1.1 | - | 1st |
| †Tony Fernández* | 4 | 0.7 | - | 1st |
| †Dante Bichette* | 3 | 0.6 | - | 1st |
| †Eric Davis* | 3 | 0.6 | - | 1st |
| †Bobby Bonilla* | 2 | 0.4 | - | 1st |
| †Ken Caminiti* | 2 | 0.4 | - | 1st |
| †Jay Buhner* | 1 | 0.2 | - | 1st |
| †Scott Brosius* | 0 | 0.0 | - | 1st |
| †Wally Joyner* | 0 | 0.0 | - | 1st |
| †Devon White* | 0 | 0.0 | - | 1st |
| †Bobby Witt* | 0 | 0.0 | - | 1st |
The newly-eligible candidates included 26 All-Stars, eight of whom were selected at least five times, and ten of whom were not even included on the ballot. For only the second time, three players with 400 home runs were among the new candidates; the five newly eligible players with 300 home runs were a new high, and the twelve new candidates with 200 home runs shattered the previous high mark of eight, set in 1992. With the exception of the first balloting in 1936, it was the second time that two players with 3000 hits debuted on the ballot, and also the second time that two players with 1500 RBI made their initial appearances. Again excepting 1936, the numbers of newly eligible candidates with 2000 hits, 2500 hits, 1000 RBI, 1200 RBI, 3000 total bases, 3500 total bases or 4000 total bases all tied or broke previous records. The field included three MVP Award Winners, one Cy Young Award winner, and four Rookie of the Year Award winners. As expected, Gwynn and Ripken were elected on the first ballot; the other first-time candidates were generally seeking simply enough votes to remain on the ballot for the 2008 election, when a much less crowded field was expected. However, of the first-timers who were not elected, only two—McGwire and Baines—received enough votes to make the 2008 ballot, and had Baines received two fewer votes, he also would have become ineligible for BBWAA consideration.
Players eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Derek Bell, Willie Blair, Brian Bohanon, Ricky Bones, Jeff Brantley, Norm Charlton, Chad Curtis, Rob Ducey, Mark Gardner, Bernard Gilkey, Craig Grebeck, Darryl Hamilton, Pete Harnisch, Charlie Hayes, Doug Henry, Gil Heredia, Glenallen Hill, Ken Hill, John Jaha, Stan Javier, Randy Knorr, Mark Leiter, Mark Lewis, Dave Magadan, Dave Martinez, Ramón Martínez, Chuck McElroy, Alan Mills, Omar Olivares, Joe Oliver, Gregg Olson, Scott Radinsky, Pat Rapp, Pete Schourek, Scott Servais, Jeff Shaw, Bill Spiers, Ed Sprague, Kevin Tapani, Eddie Taubensee, Turner Ward, John Wehner, and Rick Wilkins.
Steroid debate
Performance-enhancing substances, which had made headlines in the sport for the past several years, became a factor in voting for the first time. Two MVP winners who later admitted to steroid use - José Canseco and Ken Caminiti - were both among the first-time candidates. More prominently, McGwire was appearing on the ballot for the first time; considered a highly likely first-ballot selection following his record-setting home run feats in the late 1990s, his candidacy was heavily debated more recently as observers of the sport considered both his admitted use of legal dietary supplements, as well as suspicions in some quarters that he had also used steroids. The voters took these matters into consideration, individually determining how recent offensive totals should be regarded by the Hall, as the first players from the sport's offensive explosion in the late 1990s now began to appear on the ballot in significant numbers.In November 2006, the Associated Press received responses from 125 baseball writers they had asked about their voting plans; about 3/4 of those who had decided were against electing McGwire, at least for the time being.
New York Daily News sportswriter Bill Madden, who has also been part of the Veterans Committee selection process since 2003, said he will not vote for any player he even suspects of using steroids, citing the ballot guidelines which include a player's integrity as being among the five criteria voters should consider: "I'm not voting for any of those guys - Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, any of them. I draw the line at eyeball evidence and what I personally believe. I had three Hall of Famers come up to me at Cooperstown... and they all said the same thing, 'We're looking to you guys to uphold the integrity of this place.'" He added, "If the Hall of Fame doesn't want me or any other writers to take a stand, then take that clause out of the ballot. I plan to invoke that clause."
USA Today writer Bob Nightengale stated that even proof of steroid use would not cause him to withhold his vote, noting, "So many other guys were taking them, including pitchers. So it's almost like a level playing field... everybody was allowed to cheat, you still choose the best of that particular era." He nonetheless indicated that he would likely withhold his vote from McGwire for at least a year or two, saying, "The biggest trouble I have with McGwire, he hit so many home runs in such a short period of time. It's not like he was a consistent Hall of Famer his whole career."
In contrast, Tony La Russa - McGwire's manager for all but one and a half years of his 16-season career - has said, "Without question, I believe he belongs there on the first ballot. You're talking about a long and distinguished career." La Russa also reiterated his belief that McGwire had never used steroids, saying, "I know people are struggling with how to put it in perspective. I don't know where it goes. I don't know how people weigh. I don't know how the public feels. To me, the issue is the player that I saw for years and years. I believe in him. And that's where I leave it."
MLB.com sportswriter Barry Bloom, noting that the supplements McGwire has admitted using were permitted in baseball at the time, stated that he would vote for McGwire and any other qualified candidate against whom there is no empirical evidence of steroid use, saying, "They knew he was doing and they didn't do anything at the time. Regardless of what happened since, I can't assume McGwire did anything."
St. Louis sportswriter Rob Rains said he will not vote for McGwire until he apologizes, saying, "I want to hear that he's sorry for what he did. I still might not vote for him. But it would help."."
Writer and statistician John Thorn has cast a skeptical eye on writers who claim to be upholding a standard of integrity, observing that cheating for an advantage has always been a part of baseball, even among Hall of Famers such as Gaylord Perry and 19th-century star King Kelly: "This whole thing about McGwire simply permits sportswriters to imagine themselves to be Woodward and Bernstein, people who see themselves as guardians of a sacred portal, the last best hope for truth and justice - and it's all hogwash and baloney."
ESPN sportswriter Jayson Stark, who stated that he would vote for McGwire, noting the earlier election of Perry, said, "I think I'm stuck with evaluating what the sport allowed to happen on the field. Either the '90s happened or they didn't. Since they happened, and the hundreds of players using whatever they used leveled the playing field to some extent, I feel more comfortable voting for players like McGwire than I do trying to pick and choose who did what, and when, and why."
Chicago Tribune writer Ron Rapoport stated, "I'll vote for him. You can't rewrite the history of the game after the fact."
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt offered his opinion in a commentary, saying of McGwire, "The public wanted to see his giant biceps and long bombs, and what he was putting in his milk. Now you want to vilify him because he doesn't want to own up, or admit, or even refute an involvement with steroids? Whoa! I'd ask the voters to look past the basic question -- did he or didn't he? -- and consider the era and what fueled it."
Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell, noted for his extensive writings on baseball, suggested that waiting a few years is the ideal solution, saying, "Should we 'pardon' McGwire for accusations of steroid use that he has never actually admitted and for which no evidence exists?" Observing that candidates initially have 15 years in which to be elected, Boswell added, "McGwire's name will still be on the Hall of Fame ballot. But our perspective on him and the period in which he played may - for reasons we may not yet know - be far clearer than it is now."
Some writers were sharply critical of McGwire for his remarks in Congressional hearings in March 2005, in which he stated: "I will not participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates. Asking me, or any other player, to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve this problem. If a player answers, 'No,' he simply will not be believed. If he answers, 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations." Many voters expressed concerns that his remarks constituted an implied confession. But Boswell defended McGwire's appearance, saying, "He didn't make a non-confession confession. He simply said he refused to join a witch hunt.... That's still a permissible position in America, right?"
Sandy Alderson, general manager of the Oakland Athletics when McGwire starred for the team, and from 1998 to 2005 the executive vice president for baseball operations for Major League Baseball, has said he believes McGwire should be elected, adding that voters have a duty to bar steroid users; but he noted that "it's not clear all the writers have to come up with the gold standard they're going to apply for all years." La Russa said, "I can understand votes that are trying to send a message," but expressed his concern that "I'm afraid that message is personal to a guy I think deserves the induction." All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent stated, "I don't know where you draw the line," but added, "I applaud the Hall of Fame voters for stressing over this, because it's worth it. Because it matters. And it should matter."
The day before the results were announced, Paul Ladewski of the Chicago-area Daily Southtown revealed that he had submitted a blank ballot, saying that he could not currently support any candidates who played primarily between 1993 and 2004, a period he termed the "Steroids Era." He also added,
After the results of the writers' balloting were announced, Stark was sharply critical of most of the writers who chose not to vote for Ripken or Gwynn, though he mildly defended Ladewski's decision. On Ripken, he noted:
The following day, Bill Shannon of Sports Press Service stated that he had not voted for Ripken or Gwynn, solely because he felt there were ten other worthy candidates who needed his vote more: "I thought they were such obvious candidates they didn't need my vote. I wasn't thinking in terms of a 100 percent."
As for Gwynn, Stark added:
Ladewski responded,
Regarding those who refused to vote for McGwire, St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz stood by his vote for him, and criticized those he termed self-appointed "morality police": "I saw what happened in 1998, I saw that it was good for the game, I saw the baseball establishment all approved of it, even though we all looked at McGwire and had some doubts about the source of his strength. I just don't believe a relatively short time later he should have to wear the scarlet letter."
And Rick Hummel, who had earlier been announced as the year's recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, said in defense of his vote for McGwire, "I don't have any evidence, and you are innocent until proven guilty. Are his stats worthy of the Hall? I think they are."
But some figures noted that McGwire's vote totals will likely increase with time, resulting in his eventual election. Pitcher Todd Jones wrote in his column in The Sporting News that failure to elect him would make the Hall look bad, rather than McGwire. Describing the voting writers as an angry mob, he agreed with McGwire's opinion that he would have drawn scorn and ridicule regardless of any testimony he had offered before Congress, and said, "Now that mob thinks it is teaching him a lesson." And Hall of Famer Juan Marichal stated that McGwire belongs in the Hall on the basis of his home run total, and indicated that he will eventually be selected by the Veterans Committee if not by the writers, saying, "Big Mac will be chosen for the Hall of Fame." However, the observers who said that McGwire's vote totals would increase with time have so far not been correct. McGwire's vote total has yet to increase beyond the 128 votes he received in this election; following his 2010 admission of steroid use, which came after the announcement of the 2010 election results, his support dropped from 128 that year to 115 in. McGwire's vote totals have continued to fall since then; he only received 63 votes in the most recent election in.
Veterans Committee elections
Rules enacted in August 2001 provided that the Veterans Committee would be expanded from its previous 15 members, elected to limited terms, to include the full living membership of the Hall, including recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award and J. G. Taylor Spink Award. Elections for players retired over 20 years would be held every other year, with elections of non-players held every fourth year on a "composite ballot". No candidates were elected from either ballot in 2003, nor from the players' ballot in 2005, leading to criticism from the press and public that the voters were being too restrictive in evaluating candidates. The Committee voted in 2007 on players who were active no later than 1985. Candidates were eligible for the composite ballot if they had been retired from the sport for five years, or if they were at least 65 years of age and had been retired for at least six months.The Committee voted on players again in preparation for the 2009 inductions, but that election was conducted under significantly different rules enacted in July 2007. The most important changes were:
- The players ballot was restricted to players whose careers started in 1943 or later.
- The sole voting body was composed of living Hall of Fame members. Frick and Spink Award winners, who are considered "honorees", would no longer vote on the players ballot.
- The number of players to be considered was considerably reduced.
- A separate election was held for the 2009 inductions, to be repeated every five years thereafter, for players whose careers started before 1943. The voting body was a 12-member panel selected by the Hall of Fame Board.
The Committee was scheduled to vote on non-players in 2011, but the July 2007 rules also dramatically affected the voting process for non-players. A 16-member panel of Hall of Famers, executives, and veteran media members voted on managers and umpires again prior to the 2008 inductions. A separate 12-member panel, drawn from the same sources as the managers/umpires panel but with a greater concentration of executives, simultaneously voted on executives. Both panels voted in the future for inductions in even-numbered years before further changes announced in 2010 that took effect with the 2011 elections.
Preliminary phase
In December 2005, a Historical Overview Committee of ten sportswriters appointed by the BBWAA's Board of Directors met at the Hall of Fame's library to develop a list of 200 former players who merited consideration for election but played no later than 1985, and a second list of 60 former managers, umpires and executives. They were provided with statistical information by the Elias Sports Bureau, official statistician for Major League Baseball since the 1920s, which also identified the 1,400 players with 10 or more years of play who were eligible.The Historical Overview Committee comprised Dave Van Dyck, Bob Elliott, Steve Hirdt, Rick Hummel, Moss Klein, Bill Madden, Ken Nigro, Jack O'Connell, Nick Peters, and Mark Whicker. Their lists of 200 players and 60 other contributors were announced April 3, 2006.
Players.
Babe Adams - Joe Adcock - Dick Allen - Felipe Alou • Sal Bando - Dick Bartell - Ginger Beaumont - Mark Belanger - Wally Berger - Bobby Bonds - †Larry Bowa - Ken Boyer - Harry Brecheen - Tommy Bridges - Pete Browning - Charlie Buffinton - Lew Burdette - George H. Burns - George J. Burns • Dolph Camilli - Bert Campaneris - Bob Caruthers - George Case - Norm Cash - Phil Cavarretta - Spud Chandler - Ben Chapman - Rocky Colavito - Mort Cooper - Walker Cooper - Wilbur Cooper - Doc Cramer - Del Crandall - Gavvy Cravath - Lave Cross - Mike Cuellar • Bill Dahlen - Alvin Dark - Jake Daubert - Tommy Davis - Willie Davis - Paul Derringer - Dom DiMaggio - Patsy Donovan - Larry Doyle - Jimmy Dykes • Bob Elliott - Del Ennis - Carl Erskine • Elroy Face - Wes Ferrell - Freddie Fitzsimmons - Curt Flood - Bill Freehan - Jim Fregosi - Carl Furillo • Mike Garcia - Junior Gilliam - Jack Glasscock - Joe Gordon - Dick Groat - Heinie Groh • Stan Hack - Mel Harder - Jeff Heath - Tommy Henrich - Babe Herman - John Hiller - Gil Hodges - Ken Holtzman - †Burt Hooton - Willie Horton - Elston Howard - Frank Howard - Dummy Hoy • Larry Jackson - Jackie Jensen - Sam Jethroe - Bob L. Johnson - Joe Judge • Jim Kaat - Ken Keltner - Don Kessinger - Johnny Kling - Ted Kluszewski - †Jerry Koosman - Ray Kremer - Harvey Kuenn • Sam Leever - Mickey Lolich - Sherm Lollar - Eddie Lopat - Dolf Luque - †Greg Luzinski - Sparky Lyle • Sherry Magee - Sal Maglie - Jim Maloney - Firpo Marberry - Marty Marion - Roger Maris - Mike G. Marshall - Pepper Martin - Lee May - Carl Mays - Tim McCarver - Frank McCormick - Lindy McDaniel - Gil McDougald - Sam McDowell - †Tug McGraw - Stuffy McInnis - Denny McLain - Roy McMillan - Dave McNally - Andy Messersmith - Bob Meusel - Irish Meusel - Clyde Milan - Bing Miller - Stu Miller - Minnie Miñoso - Terry Moore - Tony Mullane - Thurman Munson - Bobby Murcer - Johnny Murphy - Buddy Myer • Art Nehf - Don Newcombe • Lefty O'Doul - Tony Oliva - †Al Oliver - Claude Osteen - †Amos Otis • Andy Pafko - Milt Pappas - Camilo Pascual - Ron Perranoski - Jim Perry - Johnny Pesky - Rico Petrocelli - Deacon Phillippe - Billy Pierce - Vada Pinson - Johnny Podres - Boog Powell • Jack Quinn • Vic Raschi - Ed Reulbach - Allie Reynolds - †Mickey Rivers - †Steve Rogers - Eddie Rommel - Charlie Root - Al Rosen - Schoolboy Rowe - Jimmy Ryan • Johnny Sain - Slim Sallee - Ron Santo - Wally Schang - George Scott - Rip Sewell - Bob Shawkey - Urban Shocker - Roy Sievers - Curt Simmons - †Ken Singleton - Reggie Smith - †Rusty Staub - Vern Stephens - Riggs Stephenson - Mel Stottlemyre - Harry Stovey • Jesse Tannehill - Fred Tenney - Bobby Thomson - Luis Tiant - Mike Tiernan - Joe Torre - Cecil Travis - Hal Trosky - Virgil Trucks • Johnny Vander Meer - George Van Haltren - Bobby Veach - Mickey Vernon • Dixie Walker - Bucky Walters - Lon Warneke - †Bob Watson - Will White - Cy Williams - Ken R. Williams - Maury Wills - Smoky Joe Wood - Wilbur Wood - Jimmy Wynn • Rudy York
Among the newly eligible players who were not included were Rick Monday, Bucky Dent, Jeff Burroughs, Lou Piniella, Richie Hebner, Mike Torrez, Paul Splittorff and Oscar Gamble. As in previous years, the 200 players were almost evenly divided between players retired less than 50 years and those retired over 50 years.
The list of 200 was almost identical to the list prepared for the 2005 election; apart from the twelve players who were newly eligible, only three players from the 1910s were added: left fielder Sherry Magee, center fielder Clyde Milan, and pitcher Slim Sallee. Perhaps due to the reliance on official statistics - often incomplete in the sport's early years - provided by the Elias Sports Bureau, the committee included very few players from the sport's first half-century, which remains poorly represented in the Hall; only 14 players were included who made their debut before 1893. Although the Hall's current membership includes fewer than a dozen non-pitchers of the 1870s and 1880s, compared to nearly 50 from the 1930s and 1940s, the committee included over 40 more players from the period between 1920 and 1945, but only 7 who played primarily in the 25 years before 1893: first baseman/outfielder Harry Stovey, shortstop Jack Glasscock, outfielder Pete Browning, and pitchers Charlie Buffinton, Bob Caruthers, Tony Mullane and Will White. For the third time, Will White was included even though his brother Deacon is widely accepted as having been a far greater player. In addition to Deacon White, stars of the 19th century who were omitted included Paul Hines, Deacon McGuire, Cupid Childs, Bobby Lowe, George Gore, Hardy Richardson, Ezra Sutton, Arlie Latham, Fred Pfeffer and Joe Start.
By primary fielding position the nominees were starting pitchers, relief pitchers, catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, left fielders, center fielders and right fielders.
Of the 15 players who were dropped from the 2005 list, nearly all were infielders or pitchers, with Hank Sauer being the only outfielder; as had been true in earlier years, the list of preliminary candidates seemed to have been developed based on raw offensive totals, with less regard for defensive ability or considerations of era.
Contributors. The committee also named 60 managers, umpires and executives., umpires by and executives by
Gene Autry - Buzzie Bavasi - Samuel Breadon - Charles Bronfman - August Busch, Jr. - George W. Bush - Roger Craig - Harry Dalton - Bing Devine - Bill Dinneen - Charles Dressen - Barney Dreyfuss - Chub Feeney - John Fetzer - Charles O. Finley - Calvin Griffith - Charlie Grimm - Doug Harvey - Garry Herrmann - Whitey Herzog - John Heydler - Ralph Houk - Bob Howsam - Fred Hutchinson - †Davey Johnson - Ewing Kauffman - Bowie Kuhn - Frank Lane - Billy Martin - Gene Mauch - John McSherry - †Jack McKeon - Marvin Miller - Danny Murtaugh - Hank O'Day - Walter O'Malley - Steve O'Neill - Paul Owens - Steve Palermo - Gabe Paul - Babe Pinelli - Bob Quinn - Alfred Reach - Beans Reardon - Paul Richards - Cy Rigler - Bill Rigney - Jake Ruppert - Ben Shibe - Charles Somers - Billy Southworth - Bill Summers - Chuck Tanner - Birdie Tebbetts - Chris von der Ahe - Lee Weyer - Bill White - Dick Williams - Phil Wrigley - †Don Zimmer
53 of the 60 nominees were holdovers from the 2003 list; along with the three newly eligible candidates, the four additions were Bing Devine, John McSherry, Jake Ruppert, and Charlie Grimm. The candidates include 31 individuals who were primarily executives, 19 who were managers, and 10 who were umpires. Davey Johnson, like Grimm, was dropped from the players' ballot after being included there in 2003 and 2005; evidently the review committee members regarded Johnson as having been retired since 2000 even though he had managed the U.S. team in the 2005 Baseball World Cup, and served as a bench coach in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Some people eligible for the first time but not nominated were umpires Larry Barnett, Jim Evans, Rich Garcia, Dave Phillips and Harry Wendelstedt, and managers Jim Fregosi, Tom Kelly and Johnny Oates.
Phase two
The Historical Overview Committee nominations were forwarded to a 60-member BBWAA screening committee comprising two writers from each major league city. In summer 2006 they elected 25 players and 15 contributors who would appear on the final ballots. Meanwhile, a committee of six Hall of Fame members independently selected five of the 200 nominated players who would appear on the final ballot, so the final ballots would comprise 25 to 30 players and 15 contributors.Evidently the writers passed over two of the Hall of Fame members' five selections, for there were 27 on the final players ballot.
Final ballots
The final ballots were announced on September 28, 2006. 23 of the 25 players on the 2005 ballot returned, with Lefty O'Doul, Cecil Travis, Mickey Vernon and one newly eligible player added as well, replacing Elston Howard and Smoky Joe Wood. Those selected played primarily from the 1950s onward, with only six of the candidates having retired before 1960, and only three - pitchers Carl Mays and Wes Ferrell, and left fielder/pitcher O'Doul - having retired before 1947. The BBWAA screening committee failed to include any candidates from the era before 1910. This likely reflected a tendency among the voting writers to vote only for those players they had seen themselves, and to withhold votes from earlier players.All 61 living members of the Hall were eligible to cast ballots in the final election, along with the 8 living recipients of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, the 14 living recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award, and the sole additional member of the pre-2001 Veterans Committee whose term had not yet expired. Balloting was conducted by mail in January 2007, with voters permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates from each ballot; all candidates who received at least 75% of the vote would be elected. Results of the voting by the Veterans Committee were announced on February 27.
There were 84 eligible voters. 82 cast ballots in the players election, with 62 votes required for election; 81 cast ballots in the composite election, with 61 votes required for election. In all, 489 individual votes were cast on the players ballot, for an average of 5.96 votes per ballot, while 338 individual votes were cast on the composite ballot, an average of 4.17 votes per ballot. For the third consecutive Veterans Committee election, no one was elected. Of the 23 players who were also on the 2005 ballot, 14 received fewer votes in 2007, with only Jim Kaat, Don Newcombe, Maury Wills and Ron Santo increasing their totals by at least five votes. The 27 candidates on the players' ballot, with one player newly eligible since 2005 indicated with a † and candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections indicated in italics, were:
There were 15 candidates on the composite ballot, all of whom had been previously eligible. Again reflecting an emphasis on recent figures, all 15 were active in the sport in 1976 or later. The candidates, with the ten executives designated, the four managers designated and the sole umpire designated, and those who have since been selected in subsequent elections indicated in italics, were:
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