Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1995

The 1995 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame used a new system for the first time. The BBWAA election applied a 75% rule to all eligible players, while the Veterans Committee met in closed door sessions to select from players ineligible for the BBWAA election, as well as managers and executives.

The BBWAA election

The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1975 or later, but not after 1989; the ballot included candidates from the 1994 ballot who received at least 5% of the vote but were not elected, along with selected players, chosen by a screening committee, whose last appearance was in 1990. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote.

Voters were instructed to cast votes for up to 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the Hall. The ballot consisted of 39 players; a total of 460 ballots were cast, with 345 votes required for election. Those candidates receiving less than 5% of the vote (23 votes) will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, but may eventually be considered by the Veterans Committee.

Candidates who were eligible for the first time are indicated here with a †. The one candidate who received at least 75% of the vote and was elected is indicated in "bold italics"; candidates who have since been elected in subsequent elections are indicated in "italics". The 14 candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with a *.

Thurman Munson was on the ballot for the 15th and final time.

Players eligible for the first time who were "not" included on the ballot were: Luis Aguayo, Neil Allen, Tony Armas, Alan Ashby, Bruce Benedict, Mike Davis, Bob Dernier, Bo Diaz, Leon Durham, Tim Flannery, Damaso Garcia, Greg Gross, Jerry Hairston, Glenn Hubbard, Lee Mazzilli, Keith Moreland, Dwayne Murphy, David Palmer, Shane Rawley, Craig Reynolds, Harry Spilman, Bob Stanley, Tim Stoddard, Steve Trout, Ron Washington, and Joel Youngblood.

In addition to Schmidt, Phillies broadcaster and former centerfielder Richie Ashburn was inducted to the hall by the Veteren's Committee. Phillie fans were elated over the results, and came to Cooperstown that July in droves.

External links

* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/voting_year.jsp?year=1995 1995 Election] at www.baseballhalloffame.org.