Outrageous Fortune

The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, enshrines some players whose worthiness seems questionable to the game's most knowledgeable fans--and excludes others whose credentials are remarkable. Critics of the current voting system, which uses two sets of electors and has been used for over sixty years, argue that it is too subjective--the only measurable requirement is that the player have at least ten years of major league service at the position for which he is selected. This critical and statistical study identifies the errors of selection and omission in Hall of Fame voting. It proposes a method that adapts objective, statistical criteria to the current selection process. The method preserves positives that exist in the current subjective method, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of injustices to players, managers, and Negro Leaguers.