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 18, 2017.

[1] The BBWAA elected Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez to the Hall of Fame.

[3] The newly created Today's Game Committee convened early in December 2016 to select from a ballot of retired players and non-playing personnel who made their greatest contributions to the sport after 1987.

[8] The ballot included two categories of players: Players who were eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Josh Bard, Danys Báez, Milton Bradley, Russell Branyan, Juan Castro, Ramón Castro, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Jack Cust, Doug Davis, Adam Everett, Ryan Franklin, Ross Gload, Wes Helms, Mark Hendrickson, Scott Linebrink, Felipe López, Julio Lugo, Jason Michaels, Trever Miller, Corey Patterson, Joel Piñeiro, Dennys Reyes, Aaron Rowand, Marcus Thames, Brett Tomko, Javier Vázquez, and Chris Woodward.

Voting results from 2017:[10] On July 23, 2016, the Hall of Fame announced changes to the Era Committee system.

[3] Considering candidates whose greatest contributions occurred in 1988 and later, the Today's Game Era Committee met in 2016 as part of the elections for the next calendar year.

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

According to the Hall, the new criteria for selection are "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers."

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.

In this case, the recipients are listed alongside a life-size statue of O'Neil that stands at the entrance to the museum.

[22] In announcing the award, Hall of Fame chair Jane Forbes Clark said, "Rachel Robinson has worked tirelessly to raise the level of equality not only in baseball, but throughout society.