As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players.

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

Also eligible was Rafael Palmeiro, who recorded over 3000 hits and 500 home runs, which would typically foreshadow a first-ballot election; however, his candidacy has generated controversy due to his testing positive for steroids.

Palmeiro has steadfastly maintained his innocence in the steroid controversy, stating that he must have tested positive due to a tainted B12 injection.

Walker's candidacy was also affected by voters' assessment of his extreme home/away statistical splits, attributed by many to the fact that he spent slightly more than half his career with hitter's paradise Coors Field as his home park,[5][8] though he also spent several years playing in the more pitching-friendly Olympic Stadium.

Players who were eligible for the first time who were not included on the writers' ballot were: Terry Adams, Wilson Álvarez, Brian Anderson, James Baldwin, Pat Borders, Ricky Bottalico, Frank Castillo, Roger Cedeño, Jason Christiansen, Wil Cordero, Midre Cummings, Cal Eldred, John Flaherty, Buddy Groom, Jeffrey Hammonds, Dave Hansen, Félix Heredia, Denny Hocking, Al Levine, Luis López, Matt Mantei, Dave McCarty, Jim Mecir, Ramiro Mendoza, Mike Mordecai, Greg Myers, C. J. Nitkowski, José Offerman, Keith Osik, Antonio Osuna, Eddie Pérez, Jay Powell, Paul Quantrill, Steve Reed, Rey Sánchez, Ugueth Urbina, Ismael Valdez, Gabe White, Matt Whiteside, Gerald Williams and Dan Wilson.

In keeping with the new Hall of Fame voting procedure, the Historical Overview Committee identified 12 Expansion Era candidates who were judged to have made their greatest contributions from 1973 to present.

Along with the 1973 to present time era, these rules defined the consideration set:[9] Historical Overview Committee (eleven veteran BBWAA members): Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune); Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Moss Klein (formerly Newark Star-Ledger); Bill Madden (New York Daily News); Ken Nigro (formerly The Baltimore Sun); Jack O'Connell (BBWAA secretary/treasurer); Nick Peters (formerly Sacramento Bee); Tracy Ringolsby (FSN Rocky Mountain); and Mark Whicker (Orange County Register).

The new Expansion Era Committee (16-members appointed by the Hall's Board of Directors) was announced at the same time as the final ballot:[10] The Committee convened at the 2010 winter meetings in Orlando, Florida with the standard 75% or 12 of 16 votes required for election and July 2011 Hall of Fame induction.

The three nominees for the 2011 award were Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News, and Joe Giuliotti of the Boston Herald.

The winner of the 2011 J. G. Taylor Spink Award, announced at the winter meetings, was Bill Conlin, who received 188 votes from the 434.

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

[17] Five candidates were living when the ballot was announced—the active McCarver, Nadel, and Van Horne; and the retired Cárdenas and Doucet.

He began his career with the Richmond Braves in the Triple-A International League before joining the English-language radio broadcast team for the Montreal Expos in their inaugural year of 1969.

In 1996, he received the Jack Graney Award, given irregularly for excellence in either writing or broadcasting, from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

The award was created in 2008 in honor of Buck O'Neil, a Negro leagues star who went on to become one of baseball's leading ambassadors until his death in 2006.

According to the Hall, The Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball's positive impact on society, broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O'Neil.

Hemond returned to the White Sox as an adviser in 2001, and to the Diamondbacks in 2007 as a special assistant to the president, a position he still holds.