Former Major League Baseball stars Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday.
2014 Baseball Hall of Fame: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas elected
Three of the greatest players of the 1990s received enough votes for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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A total of 571 votes were cast by writers across the nation.
All three new inductees were elected in their debut year on the ballot. Maddux was named on 555 (97.2 percent) of ballots. He fell just short of the record 98.8 percent of the vote Tom Seaver received in 1992. Glavine received 91.9 percent of the vote, and Thomas 83.7 percent.
Jack Morris, in his 15th and final year on the ballot, received 61.5 percent of the vote, falling short of the necessary 75 percent for induction to Cooperstown. Craig Biggio, in his second year of eligibility, came about as close as he could to making the Hall of Fame. Biggio received 74.8 percent of the vote, missing election by just two votes. Mike Piazza, also in his second year on the ballot, appeared on 62.2 percent of ballots.
Falling off the Hall of Fame ballot will be Rafael Palmeiro, Moises Alou, Hideo Nomo, Luis Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, and J.T. Snow, all of whom failed to earn the necessary 5 percent of votes to stay on another year.
Maddux was as close to a no-brainer of a selection as there has been since Cal Ripken in 2007 thanks to a 23-year career during which he posted 355 wins and a 3.16 ERA. Maddux was particularly dominant during a decade-long stretch, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, from 1992 through 2002 in which he won four Cy Young Awards, was selected to seven all-star squads and posted a 2.47 ERA. His 104.6 rWAR as a pitcher ranks eighth among all hurlers in the history of the game.
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Glavine, who pitched alongside Maddux in Atlanta for 10 years, was the second-most recent pitcher to eclipse the 300-win plateau, finishing with 305. He was the definition of a crafty lefty; he struck out only 5.3 batters per nine innings during his 22-year career. However, Glavine had a run of success just as long -- and almost as impressive -- as that of his long-time teammate, winning 209 games while posting a 3.15 ERA from 1991 through 2002. Glavine won two Cy Young Awards and appeared on 10 all-star teams.
Thomas was one of the best at hitting for power and getting on base during his 19-year stint in the majors. He hit 521 home runs, posted a .419 on-base percentage and, perhaps more importantly, was never attached to any performance-enhancing drug suspicion, something that plagued similar players who honed their craft during his era. Thomas was especially dominant early in his career, before offense really started taking off throughout the league. From 1991 through 1993, Thomas hit .319/.439/.565 while averaging 32 home runs and 124 walks per season. He was named the American League MVP in 1993 and 1994 and was selected to five consecutive all-star teams.
Maddux, Glavine, and Thomas will be inducted along with the Veterans Committee managerial trio of Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre in a ceremony on July 27 in Cooperstown.
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