During much of its existence, the Veterans Committee consisted of 15 members selected by the Hall of Fame for defined terms. A six-man subcommittee of this group met as a screening committee to determine who would be on the ballot. The committee met annually to consider candidates in four separate categories:
- Players
- Managers
- Umpires
- Executives
The Veterans Committee met privately, and its ballots and voting results were generally not revealed prior to 2003. From the mid-1970s until 2001, the top candidate in each category was elected to the Hall of Fame if he earned at least 75% of the committee's votes.
In 2001, the Hall of Fame radically changed the composition and election procedures for the Veterans Committee, which was revised to consist of:
All members of the former Veterans Committee remained active until the expiration of their terms. Only two were on the committee for the 2003 Election , the first under the new election procedures. Only one of the former Veterans Committee members ( John McHale ) remained on the committee for the 2005 and 2007 Elections , and his term expired immediately after the 2007 election.
The election procedures instituted in 2003 are listed below. The procedures were changed again in 2007 (see below). Rules, and portions thereof, that changed in 2007 are indicated in ''italics''.
- Elections for players would now be held every two years, starting in 2003.
- ''Managers, umpires, and executives would be elected from a single composite ballot every four years, starting in 2003.''
- The Historical Overview Committee, a 10-member panel appointed by the secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association Of America , created an initial list of figures from whom both ballots would be created. At this point, the players' ballot consisted of ''200 players''.
- Ballots were screened ''by two groups - a 60-member panel drawn from the membership of the BBWAA,'' and a panel of six living Hall of Famers selected by the Hall of Fame Board. The Hall of Famer panel selected five players for the players' ballot,'' and the BBWAA panel selected 25 players for the players' ballot, as well as all candidates for the composite ballot.''
- The selections of the Hall of Famer and BBWAA panels were then merged, creating a single players' ballot. Players chosen on both ballots appeared only once on this ballot, which now contained a ''minimum of 25 and a maximum of 30 players.''
- The players' ballot and ''composite ballot (15 candidates)'' are made public before voting.
- Balloting is held by mail, with a stated deadline.
- The Veterans Committee vote is made public after voting.
- All candidates who receive 75% or more of the vote are elected; election is no longer restricted to only the top vote-getter.
- ''Every player with 10 or more years of major-league experience who has not been active in the previous 20 years, and is not on Major League Baseball's ineligible list, is eligible for Veterans Committee consideration.'' In the past, players who did not receive a certain percentage of the votes on a BBWAA ballot were permanently ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
Using these procedures, no one was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2003, 2005 or 2007.
Following the 2007 elections, the makeup of the committee was again changed, and several procedures were also modified:1
- The composite ballot will be split into two separate ballots, one for managers and umpires and the other for executives.
- Voting on the managers/umpires ballot will now be conducted in even-numbered years, starting in 2008. Voting procedures for the executives ballot were not yet finalized as of late August 2007, but it is expected that voting for this ballot will also be conducted in even-numbered years.
- The players' ballot is now restricted to players whose careers began in 1943 or later.
- Players whose careers began before 1943 are now considered ''every five years'', starting in 2009, by a committee of 12 Hall of Famers, writers, and baseball historians, to be chosen by the Hall of Fame Board.
- Voting for the players' ballot is now restricted to Hall of Fame ''. Winners of the Frick and Spink Awards are considered "honorees" and are thus ineligible to vote on the players' ballot (but may be chosen for the panel that considers players from former eras).
- The voting body for the managers/umpires ballot will be a 16-member body of Hall of Famers, executives, writers, and baseball historians appointed by the Hall of Fame Board.
- The Historical Overview Committee will continue to formulate the players and managers/umpires ballots, but it will now present a players' ballot of only 20 players and a managers/umpires ballot of only 10 figures.
- The list of players eligible for the players' ballot will be separately reviewed by a six-member panel of Hall of Famers, which will select five players for the ballot.
- The two lists are then merged, with duplicate selections appearing only once, creating a single ballot of 20 to 25 players.
- Next, the players' ballot is sent to all living Hall of Famers, who will narrow the list to a final ballot of 10 players.
- The final players' ballot is sent to all living Hall of Famers, who can vote for as many as four individuals.
- The managers/umpires ballot is presented to the 16-member board. As is the case for the players' ballot, each voter can choose as many as four individuals.
The threshold for induction remains at 75% of all who voted on the appropriate ballot.
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