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Baseball Hall of Fame reduces election window from 15 to 10 years

The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced that it will be reducing the number of years a player may remain on the ballot from 15 to 10, according to The Associated Press.
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The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced that it will be reducing the amount of time a player may remain on the ballot from 15 to 10 years.

The move will give players linked to performance enhancing drugs, like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire fewer chances to join the Hall.

Three players, Don Mattingly, Alan Trammel and Lee Smith, currently eligible to remain on the ballot after more than ten years will be allowed the full 15 year allotment. For an unelected player to remain eligible they must receive at least five percent of the previous year's vote.

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Since the first class was inducted in 1939, ESPN reports only six players have been voted in by the Baseball Writers' Association of America after appearing on the ballot for more than ten years: Ralph Kiner, Bob Lemon, Duke Snider, Bruce Sutter, Jim Rice, and Bert Blyleven.

On Sunday, the Hall of Fame will hold an induction ceremony for Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas, who were elected to the Hall of Fame in January, along with managers Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox, who were selected by the Hall's expansion era committee.

-Brendan Maloy