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

The results were announced on January 24, 2018, with the BBWAA electing Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman to the Hall of Fame.

[3] The Modern Baseball Era Committee convened on December 10, 2017, to select from a ballot of retired players and non-playing personnel who made their greatest contributions to the sport between 1970 and 1987,[3] with Jack Morris and Alan Trammell elected by this body.

The BBWAA voted at the 2016 winter meetings to make all Hall of Fame ballots public one week after the results were announced, effective with this election.

Voting results from 2018:[9] Players who were eligible for the first time in 2018 but were not on the ballot included Rod Barajas, Miguel Batista, Geoff Blum, Miguel Cairo, Aaron Cook, Francisco Cordero, Juan Cruz, Brian Fuentes, Bill Hall, Willie Harris, Nick Johnson, Adam Kennedy, Rodrigo López, Mike MacDougal, Guillermo Mota, Will Ohman, Vicente Padilla, Carl Pavano, Scott Podsednik, Juan Rivera, J. C. Romero, Brian Schneider, Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan, Kip Wells, Dan Wheeler and Jack Wilson.

Scott Rolen's 10.2% was the lowest first-year vote percentage in history for a candidate who was eventually elected by the BBWAA.

[3] Considering candidates whose greatest contributions occurred from 1970 to 1987, the Modern Baseball Era Committee met in 2017 as part of the elections for the next calendar year.

[14] 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."

He began his sportscasting career as a play-by-play caller for the Spirits of St. Louis in the American Basketball Association, and went from there to calling NBA and NFL games for CBS, but made his greatest mark as part of NBC's broadcast team for its national MLB telecasts from 1982 to 2009.