Brett, Ryan, and Yount were all newly eligible, as they each played their last game in 1993. It was the first time the writers elected more than two first-ballot candidates, other than the five players selected for the inaugural class of 1936.[3]
The BBWAA was authorized to elect players active in 1979 or later but not after 1993 (final game, 1979 to 1993). There were 28 candidates, 17 returning from the 1998 ballot, where they received at least 5% support, and 11 on the ballot for the first time (†), chosen by a screening committee from players who last appeared in 1993.
The field of newly-eligible candidates, who played their last games during 1993, included 19 All-Stars (10 on the ballot) with a total of 63 All-Star selections. They included 13-time All-Star George Brett, 11-time All-Star Carlton Fisk, 8-time All-Star Nolan Ryan, and 7-time All-Star Dale Murphy. There were four Most Valuable Players in the field (Brett, Murphy, Robin Yount, and George Bell, of whom Murphy and Yount won two MVPs) and two Rookies of the Year (Fisk and Alfredo Griffin).
All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to participate by voting for as many as 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots returned would be honored with induction to the Hall. The results were announced on January 5, 1999. A total of 497 ballots were cast, so 373 votes were required for election. A total of 3,348 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.74 per ballot. Three players were elected: Ryan, Brett, and Yount. Sixteen players who last appeared from 1980 to 1993 were forwarded to next year.
Candidates who received less than 5% support, or 25 votes, would not appear on future BBWAA ballots (*). They were also eliminated, at the time, from future consideration by the Veterans Committee.[a]Mickey Lolich and Minnie Miñoso were on the ballot for the 15th and final time,[5] although Miñoso's term as a candidate was not consecutive.
Key
†
First time on the BBWAA ballot.
Hall of Fame member elected on this ballot (named in bold italics).
Hall of Fame member elected subsequently to 2024 (named in plain italics).
Renominated for the 2000 BBWAA election by adequate performance on this ballot. Not elected to 2024.
Eliminated from annual BBWAA consideration by poor performance or expiration on this ballot. Not elected to 2024.
*
Eliminated from annual BBWAA consideration by poor performance or expiration on this ballot.
The Veterans Committee met in closed sessions to elect as many as two executives, managers, umpires, and older major league players—the categories considered in all its meetings since 1953.
The older players eligible were those with 10 major league seasons beginning 1945 or earlier; those who received at least 100 votes from the BBWAA in an election up to 1990; and those who received at least 60% support in an election beginning 1991. Players on Major League Baseball's ineligible list were also ineligible for election.
By an arrangement since 1995, the committee separately considered candidates from the Negro leagues and from the 19th century with authority to select one from each of those two special ballots. It elected four people, the maximum number permitted: first baseman Orlando Cepeda from the 1960s, umpire Nestor Chylak, pitcher Smokey Joe Williams from the Negro leagues, and manager Frank Selee from the 19th century.[6]
Bob Stevens received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award honoring a baseball writer. (The award was voted at the December 1998 meeting of the BBWAA, dated 1998, and conferred in the summer 1999 ceremonies.)[7]
^Arrangements for inducting "veteran" players, those inactive for about 25 years or more, have since been revised. Since 2001, a player's eligibility for the veterans ballots does not depend on performance in the BBWAA elections.
