It's been eight months since we last looked at the Half-Baked Hall, which I believe is the appropriate amount of half-bakedness. There seemed to be general agreement that it had become kind of a slog for some people, yours truly included, and after giving some significant thought to the matter (at least more than Murray Chass), some changes will be implemented in order to speed things up and hopefully keep things interesting.

My Stuff

1. The real Hall of Fame ballot always includes guys everyone knows have zero chance of ever making it, like Matt Stairs. While it can be fun to talk about those guys on occasion, the Half-Baked Hall has had many a player that I am confident 100% of you would have been fine never mentioning. For example, Mike Smith. He received zero votes. Anybody remember Mike Smith? Ergo, I will be a little more critical of who I place on the ballot. Thus far, my general criteria has been 30 WAR or a player who otherwise significantly contributed to the game or was notable in some way. I plan on upping the threshold to around 40 WAR. With the exception of 1800s players and modern day relievers, it is doubtful that any nameless hitter from the 1930s with 30.8 WAR is going to receive election, or get anywhere close. Of course, this is a benign dictatorship, and I will gladly place players on the ballot that I miss if someone makes a mildly convincing case.
2. Right now, each player stays on the ballot for six cycles. I remain comfortable with this amount. So far, several players have been elected on the 5th or 6th ballots after discussion and lobbying, and I like giving players that opportunity. However, according to the spreadsheet, no player has been elected by us ever having received lower than 48% on any ballot (and they were 1800s players). I think it is clear that it is unlikely that if a player starts out with 26% of the vote that they are going to be elected within six cycles, so I will be raising the threshold to stay on the ballot. Now a player that drops below 40% on any ballot will be dropped.
3. These changes will surely help us get through the years faster, hopefully soon to players that some of us saw play. Of course, it is possible a deserving player will be unfairly dropped due to these rule changes. It is for certain that periodically we will hold reconsideration ballots, much like the veterans committees. However, this will not be a selected group of voters; everyone will participate. It is just another periodic look at some guys perhaps with new perspective (or new WGOM voters).

Your Stuff

Of course, all of this is possible because of you guys. Let me know if you have any other suggestions. Some questions:

--Should we keep "Maybe" as a voting option?
--How quickly should we hold each vote?
--Do people still want to do player write-ups?

Any thoughts are welcome as I want this to be enjoyable for everyone and not feel like a chore.

Right now, the following roles are still assigned for help:

Nibbish: Stats spreadsheet
DaneekasGhost: Results spreadsheet
hungry joe: Plaques

Expect a new ballot sometime in the next couple weeks. For now, enjoy the new plaques below of previously enshrined Half-Baked Hallers.