How to Be Inducted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is housed at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York and is made up of the builders, managers, players and umpires who have been enshrined. The first election was conducted in 1936 and 280 individuals are currently listed as of 2007. The following steps will outline the induction process for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Instructions

    • 1

      Play major league baseball for a minimum of 10 years and be retired for five years. You must be recommended by a screening committee that eliminates players of clearly lesser qualification from further consideration.

    • 2

      Be nominated by a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) with at least 10 years of membership. Each writer may nominate up to 10 players each year and the final ballot typically has 25 to 40 candidates. Any player selected by 75 percent of the writers on the final ballot is elected to the Hall of Fame.

    • 3

      Begin your career in 1943 or later and fail to be elected by the baseball writers within 20 years of your retirement as a player. You may then be selected by the Veterans Committee, a group that consists of living Hall of Famers.

    • 4

      Start your career before 1942 and be elected by a special committee that votes every five years, beginning in 2009. Managers and umpires are elected by a separate committee that votes in even-numbered years. Another committee also votes on executives and builders in even-numbered years.

    • 5

      Get elected under special circumstances. Players also may be inducted into the Hall of Fame even if they have not met all of the requirements. If a player dies before they have been retired for five years, they will become eligible in six months.