The Baseball Hall of Fame is not the kiss of death.

E. Abel andM. Kruger (2005) reported that the median life expectancy of Major League Baseball players after election to the Baseball Hall of Fame is 5 years shorter than that of players of the same age who are not elected to the Hall of Fame. This conclusion is surprising because there is no compelling explanation for such a dramatic reduction in life expectancy. However, the data used in that study are incorrect. A robust test applied to correct data shows that there is no statistically persuasive difference in the life expectancy of players elected to the Hall of Fame and their peers.