Inductee Mike Piazza is introduced at Clark Sports Center during...

 Inductee Mike Piazza is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. Credit: Getty Images / Jim McIsaac

OXON HILL, Md. — The ballots of individual voters for baseball’s Hall of Fame will be released publicly starting with the election results announced in January 2018.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America approved the decision by an 80-9 vote Tuesday during its winter meetings session. The ballots will be made public seven days after the vote totals are announced.

Voters, who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years, have been free to announce their votes on their own, and about half have done so in recent years

At the meeting, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post was elected to a one-year term as BBWAA president and Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald was elected vice president, putting him in line to become president next year.

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