All eyes turned towards the small hamlet of Cooperstown yesterday, as the votes were tallied and four new members were announced as the Hall of Fame class of 2019: Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina. Rivera, in his first year of eligibility, becomes the first player ever to be elected with 100% of the vote. Halladay, who passed away in 2017, earned 85.4% in his first year on the ballot. Martinez, in his tenth and final year of eligibility, also found himself on 85.4% of the ballots. Mussina snared 76.7% of the vote in his sixth year on the ballot, just 7 votes more than the minimum needed for enshrinement.
Four others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Curt Schilling, who jumped up to 60.9%. Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds saw modest increases, which makes their eventual induction unlikely with only three more elections for each. Larry Walker, heading in to his final shot on the ballot, saw a huge increase, going from 34.1% to 54.6%. Fred McGriff scored 39.8% of the vote in his final go around.
Michael Young, Lance Berkman, and Miguel Tejada led the list of 16 players who failed to get 5% and will drop off the ballot, including local stars Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, Ted Lilly, and Juan Pierre.
As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Rivera pitch 9 times, followed by 6 career games for Martinez, 3 for Mussina, and 2 for Halladay. These 4, along with Harold Baines and Lee Smith, who were previously elected by the Today’s Game Era Committee, will enter the Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 21.
Mariano Rivera’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:
| Wins | Losses | ERA | Saves | IP | Hits | Runs | ER | Walks | Strike Outs | HR | HBP | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11.001 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Roy Halladay’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:
| Wins | Losses | ERA | Saves | IP | Hits | Runs | ER | Walks | Strike Outs | HR | HBP | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Edgar Martinez’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:
| BA | At Bats | Runs | Hits | RBI | Walks | Strike Outs | Doubles | Triples | HR | SB | GIDP | Errors | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Mike Mussina’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:
| Wins | Losses | ERA | Saves | IP | Hits | Runs | ER | Walks | Strike Outs | HR | HBP | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 7.875 | 0 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 |