Posted By:
ChadI think the opposite is true, that there is in fact a movement NOT to elect members through the Veteran's Committee which is why it was recreated in the form it is now. These special Negro league elections have less to do with drumming up interest--who besides us uber geeks will care if Pete Hill is elected, much less travel to Cooperstown for the ceremony or to see the plaque--than it is to make the Hall of Fame historically more accurate. We can't get rid of the Jim Bottomley's and Jesse Barnes', unfortunately. Including guys like Pete Hill and Biz Mackey will actually raise the average caliber of hall of famer, as these guys were unconditionally great players. So I don't think Buck O'Neill or Dobie Moore is going to be elected in 2025 just to have a ceremony. What I do think you're going to see is the induction of more foreign stars like Perucho Cepeda and Sadahara Oh, guys who are Innner-Inner Circle hall of famers in their own countries despite not having played in the U.S. And, honestly, it's about freaking time. It's the Baseball Hall of Fame, not the Provincial Hall of Fame of the USA. IMHO, of course. In the long view, these dead guys aren't going to get any glory from this, but they were great no matter what the HOF says.
--Chad