Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2010 proceeded according to rules enacted in 2001 and revised in 2007.

The next Veterans Committee elections, held in December 2010 as part of the 2011 induction cycle, considered only figures from what the Hall deemed the "Expansion Era", 1973 and later.

Those candidates who received less than 5% of the vote will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, but may eventually be considered by the Veterans Committee.

[10] Players who were eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Paul Abbott, Andy Ashby, Danny Bautista, Darren Bragg, Brian Boehringer, Dave Burba, Greg Colbrunn, Mike Fetters, Brook Fordyce, Karim García, Tom Goodwin, Ricky Gutiérrez, Jimmy Haynes, Sterling Hitchcock, Curt Leskanic, Josías Manzanillo, Brent Mayne, Mark McLemore, Scott Service, Chris Stynes, Scott Sullivan, Todd Van Poppel, John Vander Wal, Fernando Viña, and Turk Wendell.

Alomar fell 8 votes short in his first appearance on the ballot, and received the highest percentage ever for a first-time candidate who was not elected at that time.

A Historical Overview Committee of sportswriters appointed by the BBWAA's Board of Directors met to develop a ballot of 10 managers and umpires.

Voting was conducted at baseball's winter meetings in Indianapolis on December 6, 2009, with the results announced the next day; as was the case with the 2008 class of inductees, the Committee met to discuss the candidates, although the previous three elections had been conducted by mail.

Of the ten candidates for election, Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog received the 75% needed to garner induction.

Of the 10 candidates, six (Fetzer, Howsam, Kauffman, McHale, Miller, and Paul) were holdovers from the 2008 ballot.

The new voters were Hall of Famers Roberts and Seaver, executive Schuerholz, and sportswriter Pepe.

The J. G. Taylor Spink Award has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962.

[16] The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, but instead are featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum.

Three final candidates, selected by a three-member BBWAA committee, were named on July 14, 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in conjunction with All-Star Game activities: Bill Madden, national baseball columnist for the New York Daily News, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun and Joe Giuliotti, retired from the Boston Herald.

All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.

In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a committee composed of the living recipients, along with additional broadcasting historians and columnists.

They based the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.

[19] Beginning his career in 1974 with the Oakland Athletics, he is best known for his radio work with the Baltimore Orioles from 1983 through 1996, and the Giants from 1997 to the present.