Some Hall of Fame candidates are no-doubt picks, cruising into Cooperstown on the first ballot. Other cases aren't so simple, requiring years of debate, hand-wringing, and consternation, as supporters try to change minds, and doubters dig in their heels. Sometimes progress is incremental, and sometimes it comes all at once.

ATLANTA -- Nearly three decades after retiring, Dale Murphy might finally have a chance to enjoy that Hall of Fame election celebration, which many had anticipated before he spent 15 years on the official ballot and never came close to garnering enough votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association

DETROIT -- Lou Whitaker was barely on the Hall of Fame ballot long enough to enjoy a healthy debate when Baseball Writers' Association of America writers considered him in 2001. He has enjoyed a much deeper discussion over the past couple years, and chatter surfaced again when the National Baseball

Ted Simmons is one of 10 finalists on the Modern Baseball Era ballot for the Hall of Fame. This is his third time being considered for election. Simmons debuted on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot in 1994, but he fell off after after receiving just 3.7 percent of

Thurman Munson’s passion as a ballplayer was undeniable. The debate surrounding his Hall of Fame qualifications could prompt similar intensity. Munson, the Yankees’ regular catcher from 1970-79, appears on the latest Modern [Baseball] Era ballot featuring Hall of Fame candidates whose impact on baseball emerged primarily between 1970-87. Munson --

DETROIT -- Nearly 20 years after Lou Whitaker was snubbed on the Hall of Fame ballot, the Tigers great has another chance to gain induction to Cooperstown. The former All-Star second baseman is one of 10 names on the Modern Era Committee ballot, which will be voted on next month.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Edgar Martinez, who used to weigh his bats to make sure of their precision, carefully weighed his words Sunday as he accepted his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He also gave a quick estimate on his newest prize possession, his Hall of Fame plaque

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Because baseball can sometimes resemble religion and a special Sunday service was scheduled, they poured into this tiny town, and they streamed up Susquehanna Avenue in paraphernalia-wearing packs. New Yorkers donning the No. 42, teal-clad Pacific Northwesterners and folks from all points in-between came to pay homage

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Lee Smith's journey from the mound to Cooperstown was much like his entrance in from the bullpen, slow and deliberate. On Sunday, he finally arrived. • Complete Hall of Fame coverage Smith, 61, retired in 1997 as baseball’s all-time saves leader. He still ranks third on the

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The hallowed halls in Cooperstown gained a pillar of consistency on Sunday as Mike Mussina, one of baseball’s most dependable starters of the last few decades, took his place among the game’s all-time greats. Mussina -- a durable, cerebral Orioles and Yankees right-hander of the 1990s and

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Well, of course, Mariano Rivera was the closer. To have him fill any other role in the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony outside the Clark Sports Center would have been some sort of sacrilege. So just after former teammate Bernie Williams filled this picturesque summer

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- It is something that crossed everybody’s mind over the past several months, but never more so than Sunday. How would Roy Halladay have felt about Sunday’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which he joined posthumously alongside Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Lee Smith

As Harold Baines stepped to the podium Sunday after officially being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, he delivered a message to his old friends and teammates. “You can start your stopwatch now to time how long this speech is going to be,” Baines said. “I

Every July, baseball's greatest legends gather in Cooperstown as new members of the Hall of Fame are inducted into the sport's most hallowed institution. The Class of 2019 -- Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, Edgar Martinez, Lee Smith and Harold Baines -- includes the greatest closer of all time

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Among the more than 40,000 three-dimensional artifacts in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, one stands out as profoundly poignant on this induction weekend. It’s a baseball with two fingers and a thumb traced in blue ink over the curved red seams and white horsehide,

When Induction Day rolls around in Cooperstown, the biggest thrill for a fanbase (outside of celebrating the actual player, of course) might be seeing its team's logo ensconced on the bronze plaque. The designation typically means that the player defined his career in that city -- or perhaps even led

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- For Harold Baines, the spotlight that comes with being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is definitely not his favorite part of the process. After posing for pictures with the other four living members of the 2019 class for a huge throng of photographers on

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- For Mike Mussina, the situation seems obvious. With six speeches scheduled for the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, what makes more sense than for him to go first and his old teammate, Mariano Rivera, to wrap things up at the end? Rivera was Mussina's closer

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The great victories will be felt, as will one great loss. In the vast field, there will be the tens of thousands of baseball fans braving the heat and the threat of rain. On the stage will be five men, the Class of 2019, whose realized dreams

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- As Edgar Martinez prepares to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday (with coverage of the induction beginning at 8 a.m. PT on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com), here’s what others are saying about the long-time Mariners standout: Fellow Hall of

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Jayson Stark dreamed as a child that he would become a baseball writer. He went on to become one of the best. How cool is that? On Saturday, Stark received the 70th J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his “meritorious contribution to baseball writing” at the famed Doubleday

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- For Edgar Martinez, this moment has been 10 years in the making. Or 36 years, really, from the time he broke into professional baseball as a shy 20-year-old at Class A Short Season in Bellingham, Wash. But the reality is finally sinking in for Martinez. He’ll finally

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- It took Lee Smith a long time to get to Cooperstown, but he is savoring the experience now that he is here. “All the work paid off,” he said. Smith, 61, smiled and laughed easily Saturday afternoon at the Clark Sports Center, just outside of town and

The Hall of Fame's Plaque Gallery is an art museum. Each of the 323 tablets -- with six more coming this weekend -- is different, and not just because each one depicts a different person, but because of numerous other variations -- the angle of the portrait, the Hall of

I'll admit that I was as guilty as anyone. I'd rehearse the jump throw in the backyard until my dad practically dragged me in for dinner. I held on to the Sports Illustrated cover -- "Good field, good hit, good guy" -- for years. I didn't show up for my