For This Voter, Hall Calls Are Now Private

Filed under: MLB Hall of Fame

As a reporter, I am naturally in favor of openness.

However, from now on, I will no longer reveal my ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. And that is because journalistic principles of fairness trump the desire for openness.

Let's make this clear: The Hall of Fame asked the Baseball Writers' Association of America, from the very beginning, to elect inductees. It is not the BBWAA's Hall of Fame, but we take the responsibility seriously -- at least every Hall of Fame voter I know does.

It's not an easy task to vote on the Hall of Fame even just considering a player's career accomplishments. The debates over Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris should make that clear.

But the instructions to voters make it even harder: "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/01/03/for-this-voter-hall-calls-are-now-private/

Takeishi Araoka Adrian Araujo Gilbert Argo Manuel Arias Ken Armstrong