Hall of Fame Veterans Vote for Managers, Umpires, Executives and Pioneers

Two voting committees will consider ballots of 10 managers/umpires and 10 executives/pioneers for the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 2008 Veterans Committee election, with results to be announced Monday, December 3 at Baseball's Winter Meetings in Nashville at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. locally in Nashville. The press conference will be streamed live at baseballhall.org.

Seven managers and three umpires comprise the managers/umpires ballot and will be considered by a 16-member electorate of Hall of Fame members, current and former executives and veteran media members. Ten executives and pioneers comprise a second ballot to be considered by a 12-member panel of Hall of Famers, current and former executives and veteran media members.

Any candidate receiving 75% of the vote on either ballot will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted as part of the 2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, to be held July 27, 2008. Electors will be asked to vote for zero to four candidates on each ballot.

The 10 managers and umpires eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008: managers Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Southworth and Dick Williams; umpires Doug Harvey, Hank O'Day and Cy Rigler. Herzog, Johnson, Williams and Harvey are living candidates.

The 10 executives/pioneers eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008: Buzzie Bavasi, Barney Dreyfuss, John Fetzer, Bob Howsam, Ewing Kauffman, Bowie Kuhn, John McHale, Marvin Miller, Walter O'Malley and Gabe Paul. Bavasi, Howsam, McHale and Miller are living candidates.

The 16-member electorate charged with reviewing the Managers/Umpires ballot features Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins, Al Kaline, Tom Lasorda, Phil Niekro, Tony Perez, Earl Weaver and Billy Williams; former executive Jim Frey; current executives Roland Hemond (Diamondbacks) and Bob Watson (Major League Baseball); and veteran media members Jack O'Connell (MLB.com), Tim Kurkjian (ESPN) and Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated).

The 12-member electorate that with review the Executives ballot includes Hall of Famers Monte Irvin and Harmon Killebrew; former executives Bobby Brown (American League) and John Harrington (Red Sox); current executives Jerry Bell (Twins), Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), Bill Giles (Phillies), David Glass (Royals) and Andy MacPhail (Orioles); and veteran media members Paul Hagen (Philadelphia Daily News), Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) and Hal McCoy (Dayton Daily News).

The final Managers/Umpires ballot was developed by a Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) appointed Historical Overview Committee, comprised of 11 veteran members: Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune); Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Moss Klein (Newark Star-Ledger); Bill Madden (New York Daily News); Ken Nigro, (formerly Baltimore Sun); Jack O'Connell (MLB.com); Nick Peters (Sacramento Bee); Tracy Ringolsby (Rocky Mountain News); and Mark Whicker (Orange County Register). The final Executives ballot was developed by the executive voting committee, which considered both retired executives and active executives age 65 or older.

The Baseball Hall of Fame Committee on Baseball Veterans now has four ballots. The Managers/Umpires ballot and the Executive ballot are considered every other year starting with the 2008 Induction year. Players whose careers spanned a period beginning in 1943 will be considered every other year starting with the 2009 Induction year. Players whose careers began before 1943 will be considered every five years, beginning with the 2009 Induction year.

All Hall of Fame members will vote on 1943-and-beyond players in late 2008 for the 2009 Induction year. A special 12-member committee, yet to be appointed, will vote on players whose careers began to prior to 1943, at the Winter Meetings in December 2008 for the 2009 Induction year. Ballots for both the pre-1943 and 1943-and-beyond elections will be crafted and released in Fall 2008.

At its July meeting, the Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted to restructure the Committee on Baseball Veterans and its procedures for electing long-retired players, managers, umpires and executives. The changes maintain the high standards for earning election to the Hall of Fame, while the voting process will change, becoming three separate ballots - players, managers/umpires, and executives - reviewed by three separate electorates. In addition, a special committee will review the candidacies of players whose careers began prior to 1943.

"Historically, the Veterans Committee has continually evolved since its inception in 1936," said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "These newest changes uphold our belief that players should have a Veterans Committee review, while also recognizing the unique analysis needed for managers, executives and umpires. We believe that these new procedures and restructured committees will allow for more open dialogue among those who vote, promoting a more intensive study of player candidacies. The Board has always maintained that the standards for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame must remain very high."