On April 22, 2022, The National Baseball Hall of Fame again announced a restructuring of their Era committees.

Per the Hall’s announcement:

… the Classic Baseball Era, consisting of the period prior to 1980 and including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars.

… each ballot consisting of eight candidates.

… December 2024 (for Class of 2025) – Classic Baseball. This cycle will repeat every three years…

National Baseball Hall of Fame

The good news is that the Classic Baseball Era is on a 3-year cycle, Doc Adams will be eligible for the Class of 2028 (the December 2027 ballot. But that’s where the good news ends. He is competing against an even larger pool making it much more difficult. He finally appeared on a ballot in 2015. He fell just 2 votes short and although his handwritten “Laws of Base Ball” were re-discovered in early 2016, he has been astonishingly snubbed on two subsequent ballots. Hopefully, this true pioneer of the game will soon be given the same consideration some much lesser contributors have been given previously. #DocAdamsHOF!!!

The full announcement can be read here.

A positive from the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s announcement about restructuring their Era Committees is that the new Classic Baseball Era Committee will meet every 3 years. This means that Doc Adams is next eligible to be considered for the Class of 2028. That’s great news. However, as if the composition of the Historical Overview Committees that develop the ballots, a lack of appropriate attention focused on early pioneers of the game, and additional hurdles chronicled by others, aren’t enough, buried in the details of the restructuring announcement are some additional aspects that will undoubtedly make it even more challenging for Doc to get elected.

• The Early Baseball Era Committee considered individuals whose primary contributions occurred prior to 1950. The new Classic Baseball Era Committee time covered will be expanded to include the period up to 1980. That represents an increased timeframe of about 30%. With the additional years of 1951-1979, the number of eligible candidates will be increased by an even greater percentage and unlike the Contemporary Baseball Era Committees, both players and non-players will be considered together.
• The size of the ballot was reduced by 20% from 10 to 8.
• The maximum number of individuals each Committee member can vote for on their ballot was reduced by 25% from 4 to 3.

Some quick, rough math (which therefore may be off a bit) seems to show, all things being equal, the odds be being elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee will be about half of those for the former Early Baseball Era Committee.

So, we will continue our efforts to raise awareness of Doc Adams and his contributions, count on the Committee to do its homework objectively and without bias, and continue to hope that Doc will finally (sooner rather than later) receive his LONG, LONG overdue recognition as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.