2020 Hall of Fame Election

The results of the 2020 Hall of Fame Election were announced on January 21, 2020, with first-year candidate Derek Jeter falling just one vote short of unanimity, while Larry Walker was elected in his 10th and final season of eligibility. Before that, the Veterans Committee voted on nominees from the "Modern Baseball" era of baseball (1970-1987). The results of that vote were announced on December 8, 2019, with C Ted Simmons and former union leader Marvin Miller being elected. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, the induction ceremony, which should have taken place at the end of July, was postponed by a year and a bit, not taking place until September of 2021.

BBWAA Voting

Eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted on a ballot comprising holdover candidates from the 2019 Hall of Fame Election and players who played their last major league game in 2014. The ballot, made public on November 18, 2019, included 32 names headed by first-timer Derek Jeter.

In all, there were 397 ballots sent, with 298 votes, or 75%, required for election.

Player	Votes	Percentage	Year on the Ballot	Result
Derek Jeter	396	99.7	1st	ELECTED
Larry Walker	304	76.6	10th	ELECTED
Curt Schilling	278	70.0	8th
Roger Clemens	242	61.0	8th
Barry Bonds	241	60.7	8th
Omar Vizquel	209	52.6	3rd
Scott Rolen	140	35.3	3rd
Billy Wagner	126	31.7	5th
Gary Sheffield	121	30.5	6th
Todd Helton	116	29.2	2nd
Manny Ramirez	112	28.2	4th
Jeff Kent	109	27.5	7th
Andruw Jones	77	19.4	3rd
Sammy Sosa	55	13.9	8th
Andy Pettitte	45	11.3	2nd
Bobby Abreu	22	5.5	1st
Paul Konerko	10	2.5	1st	Dropped
Jason Giambi	6	1.5	1st	Dropped
Alfonso Soriano	6	1.5	1st	Dropped
Eric Chavez	2	0.5	1st	Dropped
Cliff Lee	2	0.5	1st	Dropped
Adam Dunn	1	0.3	1st	Dropped
Raul Ibanez	1	0.2	1st	Dropped
Brad Penny	1	0.3	1st	Dropped
J.J. Putz	1	0.3	1st	Dropped
Josh Beckett	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Heath Bell	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Chone Figgins	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Rafael Furcal	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Carlos Pena	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Brian Roberts	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
Jose Valverde	0	0.0	1st	Dropped

Veterans Committee

The Veterans Committee, consisting of 16 members, voted on players and officials from the "Modern baseball" era (from 1970 to 1987). The ballot consisted of ten candidates: Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons and Lou Whitaker. All were nominated as players, apart from Miller who was nominated as an executive.

The results of the vote were announced on December 8, 2019.

Player	Votes	Percentage	Result
Ted Simmons	13	81.3	ELECTED
Marvin Miller	12	75.0	ELECTED
Dwight Evans	8	50.0
Dave Parker	7	43.8
Steve Garvey	6	37.5
Lou Whitaker	6	37.5
Tommy John	<4	<25.0
Don Mattingly	<4	<25.0
Thurman Munson	<4	<25.0
Dale Murphy	<4	<25.0

The 16 members of the panel included former players George Brett, Rod Carew, Dennis Eckersley, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount (all of them Hall of famers); executives Sandy Alderson, Dave Dombrowski, David Glass, Walt Jocketty, Doug Melvin and Terry Ryan; and veteran media members/historians Bill Center, Steve Hirdt, Jack O’Connell and Tracy Ringolsby.

Induction

The induction ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on July 26, 2020, in Cooperstown, NY. In late April, this was changed due to the coronavirus pandemic and limitations on large public gatherings. It was first decided that the ceremony would take place on July 25, 2021, jointly with that honoring the Class of 2021. That made 2020 the first year without an induction ceremony since 1960, when no one was elected. When there was a better sense of how the vaccination campaign was progressing, the ceremony was pushed back by a few more weeks, until September 8, 2021. As it turned out that no one had been elected in 2021, the ceremony was all about the 2020 inductees, whose moment was simply delayed by 15 months.

Other Awards

Former player and Chicago White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson, who retired following the 2018 season, was named the winner of the Ford Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. Nick Cafardo, formerly of the Boston Globe, who passed away in spring training in 2019, was the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

Further Reading

• "Modern Era ballot: Weighing each HOF case", mlb.com, December 4, 2019. [1]
• Associated Press: "Ken Harrelson wins Frick Award for broadcast excellence", USA Today, December 11, 2019. [2]
• Scott Boeck: "Derek Jeter heads list of players on 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot", USA Today, November 18, 2019. [3]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Here's the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot", mlb.com, November 18, 2019. [4]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons elected to Hall of Fame", mlb.com, December 8, 2019. [5]
• Anthony Castrovince: "HOF 2020: Jeter nearly unanimous; Walker gets in", mlb.com, January 21, 2020. [6]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Worth the wait: All-time greats enter Hall", mlb.com, September 8, 2021. [7]
• Michael Guzman: "Hall of Fame Inductions set for Sept. 8: Tickets required to attend outdoor ceremony; available beginning July 12", mlb.com, June 9, 2021. [8]
• Bryan Hoch: "2020 HOF induction postponed to July 2021", mlb.com, April 29, 2020. [9]
• Matt Kelly: "10 named to Modern Baseball Era ballot for HOF: John, Mattingly, Munson among candidates under consideration", mlb.com, November 4, 2019. [10]
• Matt Kelly: "Hall of Fame FAQ: What to know about '20 election: It's time to prepare for Tuesday's big announcement", mlb.com, January 16, 2020. [11]
• Gabe Lacques: "Ted Simmons, union chief Marvin Miller elected to Baseball Hall of Fame", USA Today, December 8, 2019. [12]
• Elizabeth Muratore: "Cooperstown set to welcome Class of 2020", mlb.com, September 5, 2021. [13]
• Bob Nightengale: "Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony expected to be postponed, as Cooperstown weeps", USA Today, April 28, 2020. [14]