The Baseball Hall of Fame will reduce the number of voters in its annual election by revoking the voting privileges of writers who have been inactive for more than 10 years, the Hall's board of directors announced Tuesday.
Going forward, potential voters must be active members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America or have held active status within the past decade.
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"BBWAA members previously holding Hall of Fame voting privileges who are no longer active in the game and are more than 10 years removed from active status will have the opportunity for annual reinstatement, based on their coverage of the game in the preceding year," the Hall said in a statement.
Before Tuesday, about 650 people were eligible to vote. Players need to be listed on at least 75 percent of the ballots that are submitted to be elected to the Hall. Critics of the voting system claim inactive BBWAA members, many of whom are retired or no longer covering the sport, are unqualified to make informed decisions about modern-day players.