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| Baseball Hall of Fame: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio get 2015 nod | Baseball Hall of Fame: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio get 2015 nod |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| They are odes to how different pitchers can look and be, one little and lithe and right-handed, the other gangly and gargantuan slinging from ungodly angles with his left arm. Tuesday, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson – two of the most dominant and intimidating pitchers of an era defined by offense – were overwhelmingly voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. | They are odes to how different pitchers can look and be, one little and lithe and right-handed, the other gangly and gargantuan slinging from ungodly angles with his left arm. Tuesday, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson – two of the most dominant and intimidating pitchers of an era defined by offense – were overwhelmingly voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. |
| Martinez, the Dominican right-hander known mostly for his time with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, and 6-foot-10 Californian Johnson both gained entry into the Hall in their first year of eligibility, and they headline a four-man class that also includes Houston second baseman Craig Biggio and Atlanta Braves right-hander John Smoltz – also eligible for the first time. | Martinez, the Dominican right-hander known mostly for his time with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, and 6-foot-10 Californian Johnson both gained entry into the Hall in their first year of eligibility, and they headline a four-man class that also includes Houston second baseman Craig Biggio and Atlanta Braves right-hander John Smoltz – also eligible for the first time. |
| [Boswell: A Hall of Fame vote that makes you feel good again.] | |
| The Baseball Writers Association of America, which conducted voting among its members of a decade or more for the 71st time, continued to show that it will not allow entry into the Hall for those players who are suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers. Thus, all-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens fell short of the necessary 75 percent tally for the third straight year. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who helped revitalize baseball with their chase for Roger Maris’s single-season home run record in the summer of 1998, both fell woefully short. | The Baseball Writers Association of America, which conducted voting among its members of a decade or more for the 71st time, continued to show that it will not allow entry into the Hall for those players who are suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers. Thus, all-time home run king Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens fell short of the necessary 75 percent tally for the third straight year. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who helped revitalize baseball with their chase for Roger Maris’s single-season home run record in the summer of 1998, both fell woefully short. |
| Each inductee, who will be honored in July at a ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., presented a compelling case for inclusion. | Each inductee, who will be honored in July at a ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., presented a compelling case for inclusion. |
| Martinez, at just 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, presents the case for honoring a player who dominated over a period of time rather than simply compiled statistics for decades. His 1999 and 2000 seasons with the Red Sox – in which he went 41-10 with a 1.90 ERA when the American League’s collective ERA was 4.90 – compare favorably with the best back-to-back campaigns ever turned in, those authored by the likes of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. But expand out, and for the seven seasons from 1997 and 2003, he struck out 31.8 percent of the batters he faced – indeed, striking out 5.87 hitters for every man he walked, almost 1-2/3 more strikeouts per walk than the next best during that span – and notched a 2.20 ERA mostly in the American League during the height of the Steroid Era. | Martinez, at just 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, presents the case for honoring a player who dominated over a period of time rather than simply compiled statistics for decades. His 1999 and 2000 seasons with the Red Sox – in which he went 41-10 with a 1.90 ERA when the American League’s collective ERA was 4.90 – compare favorably with the best back-to-back campaigns ever turned in, those authored by the likes of Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. But expand out, and for the seven seasons from 1997 and 2003, he struck out 31.8 percent of the batters he faced – indeed, striking out 5.87 hitters for every man he walked, almost 1-2/3 more strikeouts per walk than the next best during that span – and notched a 2.20 ERA mostly in the American League during the height of the Steroid Era. |
| No, Martinez didn’t win 300 games – as Johnson did – but his 219-100 career mark and 2.93 ERA didn’t hurt him at all. He won three Cy Young awards, authored an unforgettable relief appearance in the 1999 American League Division Series against Cleveland, and received 91.1 percent of the vote. | No, Martinez didn’t win 300 games – as Johnson did – but his 219-100 career mark and 2.93 ERA didn’t hurt him at all. He won three Cy Young awards, authored an unforgettable relief appearance in the 1999 American League Division Series against Cleveland, and received 91.1 percent of the vote. |
| Johnson both compiled and dominated during his 22 seasons that began in Montreal and Seattle but was perhaps defined by his eight-year stay in Arizona, where he won the National League Cy Young award every season from 1999 to 2002, adding that hardware to the AL version he took while still with the Mariners in 1995. He won his 300th game during a final-season swansong with San Francisco to bring his career mark to 303-166, led his league in strikeouts eight times and struck out more than 300 men six times. That leaves him second on the all-time strikeout list with 4,875 and first in strikeouts per nine innings pitched at 10.610. | Johnson both compiled and dominated during his 22 seasons that began in Montreal and Seattle but was perhaps defined by his eight-year stay in Arizona, where he won the National League Cy Young award every season from 1999 to 2002, adding that hardware to the AL version he took while still with the Mariners in 1995. He won his 300th game during a final-season swansong with San Francisco to bring his career mark to 303-166, led his league in strikeouts eight times and struck out more than 300 men six times. That leaves him second on the all-time strikeout list with 4,875 and first in strikeouts per nine innings pitched at 10.610. |
| Johnson’s 372 strikeouts in 2001 have been exceeded only twice since 1900 – by gentlemen named Koufax and Ryan. Throw in his MVP performance in the 2001 World Series – which included a 1.04 ERA in three appearances, the last a four-up-and-four-down performance in Game 7 – and it’s no wonder Johnson received 97.3 percent of the vote. | Johnson’s 372 strikeouts in 2001 have been exceeded only twice since 1900 – by gentlemen named Koufax and Ryan. Throw in his MVP performance in the 2001 World Series – which included a 1.04 ERA in three appearances, the last a four-up-and-four-down performance in Game 7 – and it’s no wonder Johnson received 97.3 percent of the vote. |
| Smoltz, who garnered 82.9 percent of the vote, was a contemporary of both Martinez and Johnson, but he had a much different career. Few pitchers have entered the election process with such a diverse resume – with Dennis Eckersley and perhaps Hoyt Wilhelm the only hybrid starter-relievers in Smoltz’s class. | Smoltz, who garnered 82.9 percent of the vote, was a contemporary of both Martinez and Johnson, but he had a much different career. Few pitchers have entered the election process with such a diverse resume – with Dennis Eckersley and perhaps Hoyt Wilhelm the only hybrid starter-relievers in Smoltz’s class. |
| From 1989-99, as the Braves transitioned from laughingstocks to perennial division winners, Smoltz became one of the most reliable starters in the game, posting a 3.29 ERA while striking out 2,061 men – topped only by Johnson, Clemens and David Cone during that span. He missed all of 2000 following Tommy John surgery, and when he struggled in his return to the rotation in 2001, he became the closer. In 2002, he led the NL with 55 saves, and from 2002-04 he saved 144 games with just 13 blown opportunities. He then returned to the rotation and went 44-22 with a 3.22 ERA over the ensuing three years. Smoltz and Eckersley are the only players to have both won 20 games in a season and saved 50 games in a season. | From 1989-99, as the Braves transitioned from laughingstocks to perennial division winners, Smoltz became one of the most reliable starters in the game, posting a 3.29 ERA while striking out 2,061 men – topped only by Johnson, Clemens and David Cone during that span. He missed all of 2000 following Tommy John surgery, and when he struggled in his return to the rotation in 2001, he became the closer. In 2002, he led the NL with 55 saves, and from 2002-04 he saved 144 games with just 13 blown opportunities. He then returned to the rotation and went 44-22 with a 3.22 ERA over the ensuing three years. Smoltz and Eckersley are the only players to have both won 20 games in a season and saved 50 games in a season. |
| Biggio gained entry a year after missing by the scantest of margins – gaining 74.8 percent of the vote. Though he played nearly 800 games as a catcher and in the outfield, he is truly considered as a second baseman, and during his era there may have been none better. He was an all-star seven times, scored more than 100 runs eight times, led the National League in doubles three times. | Biggio gained entry a year after missing by the scantest of margins – gaining 74.8 percent of the vote. Though he played nearly 800 games as a catcher and in the outfield, he is truly considered as a second baseman, and during his era there may have been none better. He was an all-star seven times, scored more than 100 runs eight times, led the National League in doubles three times. |
| Biggio, though, is one of those players whose best case is made by those who watched him every day, because he essentially had no weakness. A four-time Gold Glover, he could move a runner over, steal a base (seven times more than 20 and as many as 50 in a season), and take a pitch in the arm (a career total of 285, second only to Hughie Jennings). His 3,060 hits are the second-most of anyone who primarily played second base – trailing Eddie Collins but more than Rod Carew or Rogers Hornsby — and his 1,844 runs scored lead that list. Throw in his 291 homers, more than Ryne Sandberg and Joe Morgan and fourth all-time (if you include Alfonso Soriano as a second baseman), and Biggio moved up to 82.7 percent of the vote this year. | Biggio, though, is one of those players whose best case is made by those who watched him every day, because he essentially had no weakness. A four-time Gold Glover, he could move a runner over, steal a base (seven times more than 20 and as many as 50 in a season), and take a pitch in the arm (a career total of 285, second only to Hughie Jennings). His 3,060 hits are the second-most of anyone who primarily played second base – trailing Eddie Collins but more than Rod Carew or Rogers Hornsby — and his 1,844 runs scored lead that list. Throw in his 291 homers, more than Ryne Sandberg and Joe Morgan and fourth all-time (if you include Alfonso Soriano as a second baseman), and Biggio moved up to 82.7 percent of the vote this year. |
| Piazza, who played primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, was simply one of the best hitting catchers of all-time, but did not pass muster in 2015. He hit 427 homers, more than anyone else at the position, and slugged .545, also the best career mark for a catcher. A year ago, he received just more than 62.2 percent of the vote, but rose only to 69.9 percent this year. | Piazza, who played primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, was simply one of the best hitting catchers of all-time, but did not pass muster in 2015. He hit 427 homers, more than anyone else at the position, and slugged .545, also the best career mark for a catcher. A year ago, he received just more than 62.2 percent of the vote, but rose only to 69.9 percent this year. |
| Bonds, who received 36.8 percent of the vote, and Clemens, who landed 37.5, essentially stayed put, with very little movement after a third year of eligibility. Bonds was up from 34.7 percent a year ago; Clemens up from 34.5 percent – negligible gains. McGwire, still 10th on the all-time homer list, and Sosa fell to 10 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively – flirting with the five percent threshold necessary to remain on the ballot. | Bonds, who received 36.8 percent of the vote, and Clemens, who landed 37.5, essentially stayed put, with very little movement after a third year of eligibility. Bonds was up from 34.7 percent a year ago; Clemens up from 34.5 percent – negligible gains. McGwire, still 10th on the all-time homer list, and Sosa fell to 10 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively – flirting with the five percent threshold necessary to remain on the ballot. |
| More on the Hall of Fame | More on the Hall of Fame |
| Reviewing the 18 contenders for 2015 | Reviewing the 18 contenders for 2015 |
| On Baseball: Baseball’s broken Hall of Fame process | On Baseball: Baseball’s broken Hall of Fame process |
| Kilgore: Ken Griffey Jr. eligible in 2016, which makes us all old | Kilgore: Ken Griffey Jr. eligible in 2016, which makes us all old |