The baseball Hall of Fame is central to the lore and history of the game. Election to the hallowed Hall is viewed as a validation of greatness, the highest achievement to be earned in the sport, and a personal honor for the players who are enshrined. Unfortunately, at various times in the Hall's history, voting has been swayed, if not dominated, by politics, cronyism, prejudices, and sometimes just simple ignorance. The Hall of Merit was born of the idea that there should be a hall that honors the highest on-field achievers in the history of the game based solely on merit - to the best of the electorate's honest ability to determine - and avoiding the mistakes that have sometimes cast a shadow on the MLB Hall of Fame.