the 10-year members of the bbwaa had the authority to select any players active in 1924 or later, provided they had not been active in 1948. voters were instructed to cast votes for 10 candidates; any candidate receiving votes on at least 75% of the ballots would be honored with induction to the hall. if no candidate received votes on 75% of the ballots, the top 20 candidates would advance to a runoff election.