The 2015 induction class for the Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced on Tuesday, and four players will be joining baseball’s immortal’s in Cooperstown: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio.
Johnson received 97.3% of the vote on his first year on the ballot to coast into Cooperstown. He’ll be the first player to wear either a Mariners or Diamondbacks cap on his plaque, unless he follows the example set by Greg Maddux and goes blank. In his illustrious career, Johnson won 303 games, struck out 4,875 hitters (the second-highest total ever), and had a 3.29 ERA while pitching throughout the height of the PED era. Johnson won a total of five Cy Young awards, including four in a row from 1999-2002. The only pitcher to win more is Roger Clemens.
ST LOUIS – OCTOBER 26: Starting pitcher Pedro Martinez #45 of the Boston Red Sox throws a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of game three of the World Series on October 26, 2004 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Martinez received 91.1% of the vote, also in his first year on the ballot. He’ll more than likely be wearing a Red Sox cap on his plaque thanks to his dominant years with the club in the late-90s and early-2000s. Martinez won three Cy Young awards over four seasons, and was the runner-up for the 1999 AL MVP award. He struck out 3,154 hitters in his career (13th most all-time), and had a mind-bending 2.93 ERA while pitching in a hitter-friendly ballpark against players juiced to the gills.
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: John Smoltz #29 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch against the New York Mets during their game on September 12, 2007 at Shea Stadium in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Smoltz was also in his first year on the ballot, and he received 82.9% of the votes to join long-time Braves rotation teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in Cooperstown. Smoltz spent the bulk of his career as a starter, but had four excellent seasons as a reliever as well. In his career, he won 213 games, saved 154, struck out 3,011, and had a 3.33 ERA. He was an eight-time NL All-Star, and won the 1996 NL Cy Young award.
CHICAGO – SEPTEMBER 2: Craig Biggio #7 of the Houston Astros swings at the pitch during the game agaiinst the Chicago Cubs on September 2, 2007 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Finally, Biggio was elected in his third year of eligibility after falling just two votes short a year ago, receiving 82.7% of the vote. Biggio will be the first player to enter the Hall of Fame with an Astros cap. During his career, he was a seven-time NL All-Star and a four-time NL Gold Glove winner. He also tallied 3,060 hits during his career, spent entirely with Houston.
Falling just short of induction was Mike Piazza, who earned 69.9% of the vote in his third year on the ballot. Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell also made gains in their eighth and fifth year on the ballot, rising to 55.0% and 55.7% of the vote, respectively.
The PED crew continued to tread water. Roger Clemens received 37.5% of the vote, Barry Bonds received 36.8% of the vote, Mark McGwire received 10.0% of the vote, and Sammy Sosa received 6.6% of the vote. In his first year on the ballot, Gary Sheffield received 11.7% of the vote.
The one player who will fall off the ballot in 2016 because of the 15-year rule is Don Mattingly, who went out with 9.1% of the vote.
Here are the percentage totals for the rest of the ballot, with all players receiving less than 5% falling off for the 2016 ballot.
Curt Schilling, 39.2%
Lee Smith, 30.2%
Edgar Martinez, 27.0%
Alan Trammell, 25.1%
Mike Mussina, 24.6%
Jeff Kent, 14.0%
Fred McGriff, 12.9%
Larry Walker, 11.8%
Nomar Garciaparra, 5.5%
Carlos Delgado, 3.8%
Troy Percival, 0.7%
Aaron Boone, 0.4%
Tom Gordon, 0.4%
Darin Erstad, 0.2%
Jason Schmidt, 0.0%
Cliff Floyd, 0.0%
Jermaine Dye, 0.0%
Rich Aurilia, 0.0%
Tony Clark, 0.0%
Brian Giles, 0.0%
Eddie Guardado, 0.0%
The newbies on next year’s ballot include Ken Griffey Jr, Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, Jim Edmonds, and Jason Kendall.
