Ted Turner Joins Ballot for 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame

Ted Turner has been named a candidate for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the museum announced on Monday. Turner, the founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting, is one of eight individuals on the ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era. The group includes four managers and four executives.

Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976. He transformed the franchise by broadcasting its games on his WTBS television station. That station carried the signal to cable providers across the country. The strategy created a new model for sports distribution. Under his ownership, the Braves won 14 consecutive division titles between 1991 and 2005, a record in Major League Baseball.

The owner also played a role in labor changes within the sport. He helped initiate the free-agent price wars by signing pitcher Andy Messersmith. The team’s stadium, constructed for the 1996 Olympics, was named Ted Turner Field. The Braves played 21 seasons at that venue. In 2016, the team replaced it with Truist Park in Cobb County.

Turner is the only candidate on this list who is deceased. He died in May after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disease. The other seven candidates are Sandy Alderson, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella, Brian Sabean, and Bill White.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will meet on Sunday, December 6, in California to review the candidates. The committee will vote on the prospects during that session. Results will be broadcast on the MLB Network show “MLB Tonight” at 8 p.m. ET on December 6.

Inductees must receive 75 percent of the votes cast by the committee. Those who meet that threshold will be formally inducted on July 25, 2027. The ceremony will take place at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.