Identity of Hall voter who bypassed Jeter may never be known

By: Ronald Blum, The Associated Press Posted: 5:51 PM CST Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 Last Modified: 5:52 PM CST Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020

Advertise with us

NEW YORK - The identity of the voter who kept Derek Jeter from being a unanimous Hall of Fame pick may never be known — and both Jeter and the Hall are OK with that.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

NEW YORK - The identity of the voter who kept Derek Jeter from being a unanimous Hall of Fame pick may never be known — and both Jeter and the Hall are OK with that.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/01/2020 (2126 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK – The identity of the voter who kept Derek Jeter from being a unanimous Hall of Fame pick may never be known — and both Jeter and the Hall are OK with that.

Individual members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America decide whether to make their votes public. When the BBWAA decided to release individual ballots for MVP, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year starting in 2012, it also chose to make all Hall of Fame ballots public. BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell said the decision was made “to be completely transparent.”

“The Hall’s board turned that down,” O’Connell said Wednesday. “They said they preferred that the individual decide whether he or she wishes to make the ballot public, and that’s the option this voter has.”

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter fits his cap after receiving his outfit for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Wednesday Jan. 22, 2020, during a news conference in New York. Jeter and Colorado Rockies outfielder Larry Walker will both join the 2020 Hall of Fame class. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Hall chair Jane Forbes Clark, speaking at a news conference alongside O’Connell, said she is comfortable with the current procedure.

The BBWAA will announce votes on Feb. 4 of those who checked a box allowing their ballots to be released. All 228 ballots collected through Wednesday by Ryan Thibodaux’s vote tracker listed Jeter. There were 397 voters in all.

Asked what he would say to the voter who didn’t chose him, Jeter said he wasn’t interested.

“I focus on the ones that did,” he explained. “It takes a lot of people to all agree to get you to this point, so I am not thinking about that. I’m happy that I’m sitting up here on this stage right now. And that’s something that just doesn’t cross my mind.”

Mariano Rivera, Jeter’s New York Yankees teammate for five World Series titles, became the first unanimous pick last year when he was on all 425 ballots. He broke the record for highest percentage that had been held by Ken Griffey Jr., who was on 437 of 440 ballots in 2016 for 99.3%.