Johnson, Baines to learn Hall of Fame fate on Sunday

The Today’s Game Era ballot for induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be voted upon this Sunday at the Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Md. Five former Major League players, three executives and two managers will be considered, and the results of the voting will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 6 p.m. ET.

The players named on the ballot are Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser and Mark McGwire. The three executives are John Schuerholz, Allan H. “Bud” Selig and George M. Steinbrenner. The two former managers are Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella.

Any candidate receiving 75 percent or more of the votes cast by the 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 30, along with those elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Jan. 18, which will be announced on MLB Network.

The Today’s Game Era Committee is one of four Era Committees identified by the Hall of Fame last July, when the board of directors announced changes to the Era Committee system. The Era Committee system is an avenue for managers, executives and umpires with careers spanning 10 or more years, as well as players who have been retired for more than 15 years, to gain induction.

The 16-member committee charged with the review of the Today’s Game Era ballot includes Hall of Fame members Roberto Alomar, Bobby Cox, Andre Dawson, Dennis Eckersley, Pat Gillick, Ozzie Smith, Don Sutton and Frank Thomas; Major League executives Paul Beeston (Blue Jays), Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), David Glass (Royals), Andy MacPhail (Phillies) and Kevin Towers (Reds); and veteran media members/historians Bill Center, Steve Hirdt and Tim Kurkjian.

The Today’s Era Ballot consists of individuals whose major career contributions took place from 1988 to the present, as selected by a BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview …

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