When the baseball industry makes its way to Las Vegas this weekend for the winter meetings, among the early arrivals will be the members of the 16-person "Hall of Fame-appointed electorate," which is charged with evaluating the candidacies of the 10 names on the Today's Game Era ballot for possible enshrinement in Cooperstown.
Before the deliberations even begin, the electorate's outcome is preordained to be disappointing. That's because the ballot they will be evaluating is incomplete. Here are the names under consideration:
Harold Baines, player
Albert Belle, player
Joe Carter, player
Will Clark, player
Orel Hershiser, player
Lee Smith, player
Davey Johnson, player and manager
Charlie Manuel, manager
Lou Piniella, player and manager
George Steinbrenner, owner
Here is a name that is not under consideration: Mark McGwire, player.