[1] As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players, with results announced on January 6, 2015.

Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio were elected to the Hall of Fame.

[3] The Golden Era Committee, one of three voting panels by era that replaced the more broadly defined Veterans Committee following an earlier rules change in July 2010, convened at Major League Baseball's winter meetings in San Diego on December 8, 2014, to select from a ballot of 10 retired players and non-playing personnel who made their greatest contributions to the sport between 1947 and 1972.

[6] Among the other portions of the ceremonies was a presentation by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus honoring the service of baseball personnel in World War II; he also announced the naming of the littoral combat ship USS Cooperstown.

One member of the 2014 electorate, Dan Le Batard, was suspended from the BBWAA for a year (which automatically made him ineligible to cast a vote in this election) and also banned for life from voting in any future Hall of Fame election after he revealed that he had turned over his 2014 ballot to Deadspin and allowed the website's readers to make selections.

[10][11] ESPN.com columnist Jim Caple noted in the days before the announcement of the 2012 results that the PED issue and the BBWAA's limit of 10 votes per ballot was likely to result in a major backlog in upcoming elections:[11] Due to the steroid issue and a general lack of consensus, the following players will probably be on the ballot in three years: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Sammy Sosa, Jeff Bagwell, John Smoltz, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Alan Trammell, Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, Lee Smith, Tim Raines, Gary Sheffield, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and, of course, Bernie [Williams].

Another ESPN.com writer, Tim Kurkjian, noted that the 2013 ballot would include several new candidates who either tested positive or were strongly linked to PEDs:[12] The next Hall of Fame ballot will include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling.

Players who were eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Marlon Anderson, Paul Bako, Michael Barrett, Chad Bradford, Doug Brocail, Emil Brown, Paul Byrd, Raul Chavez, Joe Crede, David Dellucci, Adam Eaton, Alan Embree, Kelvim Escobar, Chad Fox, Tony Graffanino, Matt Herges, Braden Looper, Mark Loretta, Ramón Martínez, Doug Mientkiewicz, Kevin Millar, Eric Milton, Greg Norton, Tomo Ohka, Sidney Ponson, Glendon Rusch, B.J.

Ryan, Brian Shouse, Justin Speier, Julián Tavárez, Ron Villone, Luis Vizcaino, Jamie Walker, Jarrod Washburn and David Weathers.

Along with the 1947–1972 era, these rules defined the consideration set:[5] The eleven Historical Overview Committee members (the same members who served in 2011) were: Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune), Bob Elliot (Toronto Sun), Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post Dispatch), Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau), Bill Madden (New York Daily News), Ken Nigro (formerly Baltimore Sun), Jack O'Connell (BBWAA Secretary/Treasurer), Tracy Ringolsby (MLB.com), Glen Schwartz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle), Claire Smith (ESPN) and Mark Whicker (Los Angeles News Group).

Among the holdovers from the 2011 Golden Era balloting were four who received at least half of the committee votes: Kaat (10), Hodges (9), Miñoso (9), and Oliva (8).

The Golden Era Committee's 16-member voting electorate, appointed by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors, was announced at the same time as the ballot of 10 candidates.

In July 2016, the Hall announced a major change to its era-based committee system, replacing the then-existing three voting bodies with four new panels.

The change will have a significant effect on future elections of individuals who had been considered by the Golden Era Committee.

He had twice been Michigan's sportswriter of the year, and had also not missed a day while on the Tigers beat – including covering a night game after undergoing a root canal procedure that morning.

Candidates are now considered every third year, based on the era in which they made their most significant contributions:[27] Also, the committee that selects the final recipient no longer has a role in determining any of the finalists.