The Baseball Writers’ Association of America came down hard on Dan Le Batard one day after the longtime sportswriter admitted to handing his Baseball Hall of Fame vote over to Deadspin.
Le Batard has been suspended for one year and has lost his Hall of Fame voting privileges for life, the BBWAA announced in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“The BBWAA board of directors has decided to remove Dan Le Batard’s membership for one year for transferring his Hall of Fame ballot to an entity that has not earned voting status,” the statement read. “The punishment is allowed under the organization’s constitution. In addition, Le Batard will not be allowed to vote on Hall of Fame candidates from this point on. The BBWAA regards Hall of Fame voting as the ultimate privilege, and any abuse of that privilege is unacceptable.”
Le Batard, who has covered sports for the Miami Herald since 1990 and currently hosts Highly Questionable on ESPN2, tweeted after the BBWAA’s announcement that he will not be allowed to attend a baseball game as a credentialed media member for the next year.
[tweet https://twitter.com/LeBatardShow/statuses/421371472607588352 align=’center’]
On Le Batard’s ballot, Deadspin readers voted for Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Edgar Martinez, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling. Maddux, Thomas and Glavine earned induction into Cooperstown as the only players to garner more than 75 percent of the overall vote.
Update: Le Batard later added an amendment to his earlier tweet, saying that he can be credentialed at baseball games but will not be allowed to vote on awards for the next year.Â
[tweet https://twitter.com/LeBatardShow/status/421381917888753664 align=’center’]
