The BBWAA ballots have been counted and Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine have been elected as to the Hall of Fame. Maddux lead the pack with 97.2% of the vote, followed by his former Braves teammate Glavine with 91.9%. Thomas finished third with 83.7% of the vote. Narrowly missing induction, with 74.8% of the vote (the Hall of Fame does not round up) was Craig Biggio.
Maddux, of course, got his start with the Cubs, whom he helped lead to the 1989 NL East title. He won the first of his 4 consecutive NL Cy Young awards with the North Siders in 1992 before being allowed to leave as a free agent by GM Larry Himes. Maddux signed with the Braves, where he continued to dominate and helped lead Atlanta to the 1995 World Series championship. After 11 seasons, he returned to the Cubs in 2004. He defeated the Giants in August of that year to win his 300th game and, in July of 2005, he struck out his 3000th batter. In 2006, with the Cubs far out of contention, he was traded to the Dodgers for their stretch run. For 2007, Maddux signed with the Padres, where he spent the next year and a half before being traded back to the Dodgers for another stretch run. After the Dodgers were bounced from the playoffs, Maddux announced his retirement.
Frank Thomas was the first round draft pick of the White Sox in the 1989 draft, and made his debut for the White Sox the following year. Thomas won the AL MVP award in 1993 while leading the White Sox to their final AL West title. Thomas repeated as MVP in 1994, putting up a .353 average with 38 homers and 101 RBIs in the strike-shortened season. In 1997, Thomas won the AL batting title and finished third in the MVP race. After two substandard seasons, at least for him, Thomas rebounded in 2000, leading the White Sox to the AL Central title and narrowly losing the MVP award to a juiced-up Jason Giambi. Thomas struggled with injuries after that, appearing in only 20 games in 2001, 74 games in 2004, and 34 games in 2005. He spent the entire post-season on the disabled list as the White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years. Following that year, the White Sox cut ties with Thomas and he headed out west to play for the A’s. In his first game back in Chicago as a visiting player, Thomas homered twice. Thomas spent 2007 and the start of 2008 with the Blue Jays, before finishing the season, and his career, back with the A’s.
I have been witness to milestones for all 3 enshrined players. I was at Wrigley Field when Greg Maddux made his first attempt at winning his 300th game against the Phillies, the start before he won it on the road against the GIants. I was there the next season for the rain delayed night game where he would strike out his 3000th batter, again against the Giants. I was in Shea Stadium for Tom Glavine’s first appearance as a New York Met, which did not turn out well for him. 4 years later, I was at Wrigley Field for a Sunday night matchup where things worked out better for him as he defeated the Cubs for his 300th victory.
Thomas is now the Hall of Famer I have seen in action more than any other. I was at his first return appearance as a member of the A’s, where, before the first of his 2 home runs, he was treated to a standing ovation. An ovation which panned the crowd and found me amongst the masses, which I happened to notice that night on Baseball Tonight and now lives on as part of the White Sox Memories DVD. I first saw Thomas play in his rookie year of 1990 and caught 66 of his games over the years. I was there when he threw out the first pitch before the 2005 ALDS Game 1 against the Red Sox and in 2010 when his number 35 was retired.
Maddux, Thomas, and Glavine’s numbers in games I attended were:
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Well, this is a nice collection of players selected to represent the Braves. 6 of the 8 have been elected to the Hall of Fame with a 7th sure to make it once he is eligible. Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn rise above their Hall brethren, so they take the first two slots. The last two slots come down to Eddie Mathews, with his 512 career home runs, and the 3 aces of the 90s, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. I’m going to go with Mathews and Maddux.
