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 9, 2013.

[3] As the ballot featured numerous strong candidates, the result was widely viewed as a reflection of the deep controversy over players who were primarily active during a period when the sport was riddled with rumored use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and candidates appeared to have suffered in the voting regardless of whether they had been closely tied to any such rumors.

[5] The induction class of 2013 consisted of the three deceased individuals elected by the new Pre-Integration Era Committee: player Deacon White, umpire Hank O'Day, and executive Jacob Ruppert,[6] all of whom died in the 1930s.

Results of the 2013 election by the BBWAA were announced on January 9, live on the MLB Network and streamed on the Hall's website.

[3][7][12][13] ESPN.com columnist Jim Caple noted in the days before the announcement of the 2012 results that the PED issue, combined with the BBWAA's limit of 10 votes per ballot, was likely to result in a major backlog in upcoming elections:[13] 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 Martínez, Randy Johnson, Sammy Sosa, Jeff Bagwell, John Smoltz, Edgar Martínez, 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].

Finding room for Bonds, Clemens, Pedro, Johnson and others means I'll have to dump more good players from my ballot than the Marlins dumped after winning the 1997 World Series.Another ESPN.com writer, Tim Kurkjian, added that the 2013 ballot would include several new candidates who either tested positive or were strongly linked to PEDs:[14] The next Hall of Fame ballot will include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Craig Biggio, and Kenny Lofton.

They all have Hall of Fame numbers, some stronger than others, but Bonds, Clemens, Sosa and Piazza certainly are not going to be elected on the first ballot — and in the case of Bonds, Clemens and Sosa, they might not make it to Cooperstown for many, many years to come.Several other players returning from the 2012 ballot with otherwise strong Hall credentials have been linked to PEDs, among them Mark McGwire (who admitted to long-term steroid use in 2010),[15] Jeff Bagwell (who never tested positive, but was the subject of PED rumors during his career),[16] and Rafael Palmeiro (who tested positive for stanozolol shortly after publicly denying that he had ever used steroids).

[17] Players who were eligible for the first time who were not included on the ballot were: Antonio Alfonseca, Tony Batista, Mark Bellhorn, Hector Carrasco, Alberto Castillo, Rhéal Cormier, Juan Encarnación, Robert Fick, Steve Kline, Ricky Ledée, Mike Lieberthal, John Mabry, Tom Martin, Damian Miller, Doug Mirabelli, Mike Myers, Orlando Palmeiro, Neifi Pérez, Desi Relaford, Paul Shuey, Scott Spiezio, Kelly Stinnett, John Thomson, José Valentín, John Wasdin, Rick White, Bob Wickman, Preston Wilson, Jay Witasick, and Jaret Wright.

The eleven BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee members were Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune); Bob Elliott (Toronto Sun); Rick Hummel (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Steve Hirdt (Elias Sports Bureau); Bill Madden (New York Daily News); Ken Nigro (formerly The Baltimore Sun); Jack O'Connell (BBWAA secretary/treasurer); Tracy Ringolsby (Root Sports Rocky Mountain/MLB.com); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Claire Smith (ESPN); and Mark Whicker (Orange County Register).

[6] The Pre-Integration 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:[19] The Pre-Integration Committee which elected three candidates to the Hall of Fame at the 2012 winter meetings in Nashville on December 2–3, with 75% or 12 of 16 votes required for election, convened at the July 28, 2013 induction.

They were Paul Hagen of MLB.com; Jim Hawkins, formerly of the Detroit Free Press; and Russell Schneider, formerly of The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

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

Six candidates were living when the ballot was announced—the active Doucet, Nadel, Ortega, Shannon, and Staats; and the retired Gordon.

[26] On December 5, Cheek, the lead radio play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays from the team's establishment in 1977 until his retirement in 2004, was named the recipient.

In 2001, while active with the Blue Jays, he received the Jack Graney Award, given irregularly for excellence in either writing or broadcasting, from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.