NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. • Shortly after the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced that Claire Smith will be the first woman honored by the Hall of Fame's Spink Award, the association also assured complete transparency with its own voting process for Hall of Fame players.
In the annual meeting of BBWAA members at baseball's Winter Meetings, the body voted to publish all Hall of Fame ballots starting with the 2018 election. The vote to approve the proposal was 80 to 9.
Presently, more than 50 percent of eligible voters do make their ballots public, but the process has been entirely voluntary.