When the Hall of Fame voting results were unveiled today, we found four big winners who will be inducted into the 2015 class. Three pitchers -- Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz -- were all on the ballot for the first time. The one position player voted in was Craig Biggio in his third year of eligibility.
Johnson and Martinez were the two biggest locks on the ballot. Of course, neither got 100 percent of the vote, but that hardly matters now. Johnson checks off everything that we looking for in a Hall of Fame pitcher. He won 303 games, five Cy Young Awards, and a World Series MVP. Constantly among the most feared hurlers of his era, Johnson finished his career with 4,875 strikeouts (second all-time behind only Nolan Ryan) and a 3.29 ERA.
Martinez wasn't quite as tall as Johnson on the mound, but he was just as intimidating and in some seasons, even more dominant. From 1997 to 2000, Pedro won the Cy Young Award three times with ERA figures that would be considered minuscule even today when pitching dominates the game. Martinez, however, pitched during the steroid era, so you have to look at his ERA+ numbers to really appreciate how awesome he was. Five times during his 18-year career, he posted an ERA+ above 200. Martinez wrapped up his playing days with 3,154 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA (154 ERA+).
Smoltz doesn't sport career numbers as impressive as the other elected pitchers, but his longevity and history of postseason success were more than enough to earn the votes he needed. With 209 career postseason innings, Smoltz is one of very few pitchers with an entire season's worth of experience in October. During that "season," Smoltz struck out 199 batters and walked 67 for a 2.67 ERA. That was good enough for a 1995 World Series title as well as the 1992 NLCS MVP. During the regular season, Smoltz took home the 1996 Cy Young Award and struck out 3,084 batters despite missing all of the 2000 season due to injury and pitching out of the bullpen for the next four years.
That brings us to Biggio, who played all 20 of his season with the Houston Astros. Although he never won MVP, the Smithtown, New York native went to seven All-Star Games and collected 3,060 career hits. Biggio never had the power figures to dominate as one of the top faces in the game, but he did put up 9.3 fWAR in 1997 thanks to his line drive stroke and defense at second base. Even without the postseason success, Biggio's leadership and great hitting at the top of the order give him a Derek Jeter-like vibe in Houston.