Baseball Hall Of Fame Class Of 2015

This comes around every year at this time. Thirty four names are on a list. Each guy hoping to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Its something that baseball players can only dream about. Becoming a hall of famer carries a lot of weight. By definition, a Hall of Famer is a group of persons, or person, judged outstanding, as in a sport or profession. To become known as a hall of famer, it means that you are the best at what you do. Baseball will now add four new members to their hallowed halls in Cooperstown, New York on July 26.

First up is the man known as the Big Unit, the one and only Randy Johnson. Johnson spent 22 years in the Majors, playing for the Expos, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Giants and Astros. His best years were spent in both Seattle (10 years, 130-74 record) and Arizona (8 years, 118-62 record). When all was said and done, Johnson claimed five Cy Young Awards. Johnson finished with a lifetime record of 303-166 with a career ERA of 3.29. Those 303 wins had him 22nd on the all time list. His 4,875 career strikeouts are the second most all time and the most by a left handed pitcher ever. He won 20 or more games in a season three times, with his best season coming in 2002 (at age 38), when he went 24-5 for Arizona. Once the playoffs rolled around, it was a bit different. Johnson finished with a lifetime 7-9 record in the playoffs, but does have a World Series ring (2001 with Arizona).

What made Johnson different from everybody else was his size. Coming in at 6'10", he was a giant amongst his peers, as most other pitchers were around 6' to 6'4. So the ball is coming down from a higher plain. Throw in the fact that he was a side arm pitcher, the ball came out of his hand at a much different angle. That made life for hitters difficult. He was a consistent pitcher his entire career. The 97.3 percentage for the Big Unit was the eighth-highest in the history of voting.

Next up is a personal favorite of mine, in the person of Pedro Martinez. Pedro spent 8 years in the Majors, playing for the Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers, Expos and Phillies. Martinez was 219-100, struck out 3,154, led the major leagues in ERA five times, and in 2004 helped the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. Pedro's best single season was in 1999, when he went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts. Those numbers were the best in the American League that season. With his election, Martinez also became the second player from the Dominican Republic to head to Cooperstown, joining Juan Marichal (1983).

Sure there were other right handed pitchers that had more wins in their careers, like Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens and others. But what made Pedro so good was intimidation. When Pedro took the mound, he wanted to win every single time. He had this look about him that said your going to be in for a long day. Pedro had the ability to change speeds on his pitches, move the ball all over the strike zone. He could really control again when he wanted to. Injuries took there toll on Martinez near the end of his career, but he still had enough in the tank to show he could dominate opposing hitters.

Next up on the list is former Braves pitcher John Smoltz. During his 21 year career, he will be forever rememberd as the third part of the pitching trifecta in Atlanta, along with fellow hall of famers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. His final year in the majors was split between Boston and St. Louis, but the other twenty years were on the hill with the Atlanta Braves. Smoltz, who walked away with the National League Cy Young Award in 1996, finished his career with a 213-155 record. To add to that, he also finished his career with 154 saves, thus being the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves. Smoltz also went 15-4 in the postseason, helping Atlanta reach the World Series five times and win a championship in 1995.

Smoltz was the 3rd man in the Atlanta rotation till an injury kept him out of the 2000 season. Because of the injuries, he switched to the bullpen and managed to save 154 games over the next four years, before switching back to the starting rotation to finish out his career. What separates Smoltz from Johnson and Martinez is that, unlike the other two guys, he didn't blow people away with his stuff. He was more of a control pitcher who had solid command of his pitches. The fact that he was able to take four years of his career to turn from a starting pitcher to a closer speaks volumes as to how good a pitcher he was. He may not have been the flashiest pitcher ever, but he was consistent, which is what got him into the hall.

Rounding out this years hall of fame class was 2nd baseman Craig Biggio. Biggio spent his entire 20 year big league career as a member of the Houston Astros. He was a lifetime .281 hitter, collecting 3,060 hits during that time.  He became the 27th player in MLB history to join the 3,000-hit club in 2007, and the first in Astros history. Biggio was named to the all star team six times. He was also hit by a pitch 285 times, the 2nd most in baseball history. During his playing days, he averaged 174 hits a season, 17 of which would go for home runs. He’s the only player in baseball history with 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases and 250 home runs.

When you think of some of the other hall of fame 2nd baseman, guys like Roberto Alomar, Rod Carew, Rogers Hornsby, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg. All of those guys have the same thing in common in that they had outstanding fielding careers and could swing the bat almost as well. What makes Biggio a little different is that he didn't put up the offensive numbers that really stand out like the other guys. He was a steady hitter, not really relying on power, as he was more of a contact hitter. He could beat you with his legs, by getting on base and making the smart play, both at the plate and in the field.

With the election coming down, it also leads to the debate about the guys who couldn't get the nod to get into the hall. You need 75% votes to make it in, and if you fail to get 5% of votes on the ballot you will be taken off future ballots. Mike Piazza came up short on votes for this year for election, coming in 28 votes short, finishing at 69.9%.  I still find it a little hard to believe that the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history hasn't been able to get into the hall yet. I think the problem is that he just happen to fall into rough ballot classes, going against guys who put up better numbers. Would it have been nice to see him get in? Yes it would. Will he get in next year? That I have no doubt.

Other notiables not selected were Don Mattingly (in his final year on the ballot), Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent, Curt Schilling, Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez. Of those guys, there are a few who have a real long shot to get into the hall in general. Clemens, Bonds, McGuire and Sosa all have to deal with the steroid alligations. Now of those guys, Bonds and Clemens are locks to get in, had they not had ties to steroids. Now there is still a chance they could get in, but it might be a long shot. With Jeff Kent, much like Piazza, he has a good chance to get in depending on the ballot. he put up huge numbers in his own right playing second base.

Looking ahead to next year, the 2016 ballot, there are some interesting names on there for the first time. The big name first timers include Ken Griffey, Jim Edmonds, Troy Glaus, Luis Castillo, Randy Winn, Garret Anderson, Trevor Hoffman and Brad Ausmus.

So there you have it, the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2015!