Do Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy belong in Cooperstown? Breaking down the contemporary era ballot

"There are now two ballots up for consideration. While the writers' process tends to soak up most of the attention, the contemporary baseball era committee ballot -- announced Nov. 3 -- is more urgent and intriguing. The results will be determined by a yet-to-be-named committee just before the upcoming winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, and announced on Dec. 7. Though the writers have until the end of the year to determine their choices for the primary ballot,"

"Each of the Hall's era committees meet every three years, and this year, the contemporary era committee is considering player candidates from 1980 on. It's the stronger ballot; the eight candidates average 74.1 career bWAR, while the 33 candidates on the primary ballot average 41.3. Even if you just take the top eight on the main ballot, that group averages 70.4."

"Much of the attention has been focused on two candidates: Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy. Heck, the Murphy constituency has its own web site, which among other things features documentaries narrated by country singer Jason Aldean and sportscaster Ernie Johnson. I get it. Mattingly and Murphy were MVPs in the 1980s who attracted legions of fans in their time, many of whom considered one or the other their favorite player."

Release of the 2026 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot begins Cooperstown deliberations with two separate ballots: the writers' ballot and the contemporary-era committee ballot. The contemporary-era committee ballot, announced Nov. 3, will be decided by a yet-to-be-named committee before the winter meetings in Orlando and announced Dec. 7. The contemporary ballot is statistically stronger: its eight candidates average 74.1 career bWAR versus 41.3 for 33 candidates on the primary writers' ballot. The top eight on the writers' ballot average 70.4. Major attention centers on Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy. Murphy's constituency operates a website featuring documentaries narrated by Jason Aldean and Ernie Johnson; Mattingly was the Yankees' captain while Murphy benefited from national exposure through WTBS.

Read at ESPN.com