John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Craig Biggio were all elected to the baseball Hall of Fame class of 2015, the three pitchers made the Hall on their first ballot, while Biggio reached the feat on his third ballot.
Mike Piazza was snubbed for the third year in a row, earning a 69.9 percent of the vote, just barely missing the 75 percent vote threshold.
Randy Johnson was one of the most dominant lefties to every play baseball and gathered 97.3 percent of the votes, missing Tom Seaver’s 98.8 record by just 1.5. The “Big Unit” won five Cy Young awards, one being with the Mariners and the other four with the Diamondbacks, which he won consecutively. He finished his 22-year career with 303 wins and an ERA of 3.29, striking out 4,875 and leading the league nine times in strike outs. He was the last pitcher to win 300 games in 2009, which is something that most people think will never happen again. Johnson won just one World Series in 2001 with the Diamondbacks, he was the MVP of the series. He was also a 10-time All Star. If Johnson can’t break Seaver record then I don’t think anyone every will.
Triple Crown winning pitcher Pedro Martinez collected 91.1 percent of the vote. The eight time All Star won 219 games over his 18-year career with the Red Sox, Dodgers, Expos, Phillies, and Mets, posting a 2.93 ERA and striking out 3,154. Martinez was a three time Cy Young winner and helped the Boston Red Sox win the 2004 World Series. He won the Triple Crown for pitchers in 1999, going 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and striking out 313. He
John Smoltz had a very unique career, saving 154 games and winning 213 something no other pitcher has every done. The eight time All Star got 82.9 percent of the vote. Smoltz just like Martinez and Johnson won just one World Series in 1995 with the Atlanta Braves. Smoltzie played with the Braves, Red Sox, and the Cardinals over his 21-year career, posting a 3.33 ERA and striking out 3,084. In 2002 he became the second pitcher in history to have a 20-win season (1996) and a 50-save season (2002), the only other pitcher was Dennis Eckersley. Smoltz won the Cy Young award in 1996 and had two NL strikeout titles.
After missing the Hall of Fame two straight years, Craig Biggio made the Hall on his third ballot with 82.7 percent of the vote. The 2007 Roberto Clemente Award winner and Astro great Biggio had 3,060 career hits and a .281 batting average. His career spanned for 20 years, playing for the same team and making the All Star game seven times. Biggio never won a World Series, but made it there in 2005, losing to the White Sox.
Here are the Final Vote Totals:
- Randy Johnson: 97.3 percent
- Pedro Martinez: 91.1 percent
- John Smoltz: 82.9 percent
- Craig Biggio: 82.7 percent
- Mike Piazza: 69.9 percent
- Jeff Bagwell: 55.7 percent
- Tim Raines: 55.0 percent
- Curt Schilling: 39.2 percent
- Roger Clemens: 37.5 percent
- Barry Bonds: 36.8 percent
