We start this list with Moose, Mike Mussina. In his career, Moose got in on his 6th year on the ballot, playing from 1991 to 2008. He pitched for a decade in Baltimore, and the last eight years of his career in the Bronx. Once all was said and done, Mussina finished with a 279-153 record, a 3.68 ERA and 2,813 strikeouts. He lead the AL in wins with 19 in 1995 and was a 20 game winner once, his final year in the Majors with the Yankees in 2008. During that 18 year career, Mussina did this pitching over 3,500 innings in his career. He never won a Cy Young Award, but he did claim seven Gold Gloves and make five All-Star Games during his stellar career.
He spent his entire career in the AL East and did something no other pitcher has done. Mussina won at least 11 games in 17 consecutive seasons, which by the way is an American League record. Moose was a competitive player like few others. He had a tough as nails mentality and should have had a higher win total if he had gotten a little more run support.
A posthumous induction for Roy Halladay, who passed away in November of 2017. During a 16-year career, he won two Cy Young Awards and received the nod in eight All-Star Games. During that time, he spent twelve years, winning 148 games during that span, with the Blue Jays. The final four years, and 55 wins of his career, came as a member of the Phillies.He finished with a 3.38 ERA and 2,464 strikeouts. A lot of what people will remember Doc for was he was one of the last true workhorses. A perfect example of that is his 250-inning season in 2010. That year was a great year for Doc, who went 21-10 on the year and threw a perfect game in the regular season. To follow that up, once the playoffs got started, he threw only the 2nd no hitter in playoff history, doing it against the Reds in game one of the divisional round.
Doc twice won more than 20 games in a season, and in both of those years won the Cy Young award, becoming one of only six guys to win the award in each league. What helped make Doc so special was his command of his pitches. Halladay's efficiency and durability were reflected in his total innings pitched every year, also due to his ability to strike out hitters and induce ground ball outs to escape jams. He often led the league in innings pitched and complete games, while ranking among the leaders in WHIP and ERA. He could move the ball so well with that two seam fastball, it was just plain nasty to try and hit.
Now on to the greatest closer the game of baseball has ever seen in Mariano Rivera. Mo becomes the first person ever to get a unanimous vote. In 19 years in the Majors, Mo saved a league record 652 games. That's just during the regular season. During his 19 years in the Majors, he had 40 or more saves in a season nine times and had more than 50 saves twice in his career. He had a career 2.21 ERA and 1,173 strikeouts. To go along with that, Mo was a 13 time all star, won five Rolaids Relief Awards, five World Series titles, and MVP Awards from an All-Star Game, ALCS, and World Series. Rivera was as dominant, reliable, and likable as any pitcher we've seen.
More men walked on the moon (12) then scored on Mo (11) in the playoffs. That's a level of dominance that has never and will never be seen again. He dominated games with his big pitch, the cutter. Nobody threw one better and it helped Rivera set the record for most saves ever by a closer. There was nobody any better at shutting the door on a game than Riavera. He was good, really good and deserved this honor more than any other pitcher.
Finally, the only hitter to get into the hall this year, Designated Hitter Edgar Martinez. Martinez was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger who also won a pair of batting titles. Edgar spent his entire 18 year career in Seattle, playing 2,055 games, hitting .312 for his career, clubbing 309 home runs and driving in 1,261 runs. He was a solid all around hitter, his highest average being .356 in 1995. He was one of the toughest guys to play against, he was such a tough out at the plate a lot of pitchers said he was the toughest out to get.
Just looking at the rest of the list, you see a few surprises. Curt Schilling (60.9 percent), Roger Clemens (59.5), and Barry Bonds (59.1) received the highest percentages of anyone not elected. The only other guy on the ballot who got more than half the votes was Larry Walker (54.6 percent), and he's coming up on his last year on the ballot next year.
Now the big question. Looking ahead, who gets in next year? Jeff Kent got more home runs and runs driven in than any other 2nd baseman in history, its still a surprise he's not in yet. Bonds and Clemens the debate will still rage on but will get in some day. The one guy who is viewed by many, myself included, as a lock to get in next year is Derek Jeter. That debate will take place next year.
This year's Ceremony takes place in Cooperstown on July 21st.
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