Hot Stove Special: Hall of Fame Inductees

For the first time since 1999, three first timers made it into the Hall of Fame.  Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas are all going into the Hall in their first year of eligibility, all gaining over 80% of the vote.

Greg Maddux (555/571 votes, 97.19%).
Greg Maddux got into the Hall of Fame on 97.19% of the ballot, falling behind only Tom Seaver (98.84%), Nolan Ryan (98.79%), Cal Ripken Jr. (98.53%), Ty Cobb (98.23%), George Brett (98.19%), Hank Aaron (97.83%), and Tony Gwynn (97.61%).  As far as total number of votes go, he is the highest ever at 555, breaking Ripken's 537.  Maddux was quite possibly the smartest pitcher of his era.  The following is an excerpt from Sports Illustrated in 2004: Once while seated in the Braves' dugout as third baseman Jose Hernandez batted for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Maddux blurted out, "Watch this. The first base coach may be going to the hospital." On the next pitch Hernandez drilled a line drive off the chest of the first base coach.  And there are more stories like that one.  He was also so accurate on the mound that people threw around the saying "You could catch him with your eyes closed".  Well, one day in San Diego, catcher Ben Risinger and bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds decided to test the the theory.  Akerfelds would tell Risinger when to close his glove, and Risinger would catch with his eyes closed.  On the second try, Maddux hit Risinger square in the glove, but he closed it too late.  On the third, he caught it... with his eyes closed.  Maddux was that accurate.  In my opinion, he was the King of the 90's from the mound.  He pitched better than anyone else and could also field his position like few other pitchers in history.  Now, let's go to a year by year recap of the great Maddux's career.
Hailing from Las Vegas, "The Professor" reached the majors in 1986, breaking in with the Cubs.  The 20 year old righty made five starts (and one relief appearance) for Chicago in his September cup of coffee, ending up 2-4 with a 5.52 ERA.  In 1987, he made the team out of spring training and from there on out there was no going back.  Though he was not overly effective from the mound, going 6-14 with a 5.61 ERA in 30 games (27 starts), he would establish himself the next season.  1988, when he was just 22, turned out to be the year his career took off.  He made 34 starts and went 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA and made his first of eight All Star teams.  The breakout star of 1988 would top his own success in 1989, finishing 19-12 with a 2.95 ERA in 35 starts.  He took a step backwards in 1990, opening what would be his decade with a 15-15 record and a decent 3.46 ERA in 35 starts.  However, he won the NL Gold Glove Award, something no other pitcher but himself would claim until 2003.  A second pitcher not named Greg Maddux would not win an NL Gold Glove Award until 2009.  1991 turned out to be a bit of a turnaround, as the now 25 year old went 15-11 with a 3.35 ERA and what was then a career best 1.13 WHIP in a league leading 37 starts.  In 1992, he took off for a breakout season even from his status as Cubs ace, embarking on a four year stretch that would be the greatest since Sandy Koufax from 1963-1966.  Making 35 starts, he went 20-11 with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP and earning his first NL Cy Young Award, ahead of future teammate (and Hall of Fame classmate) Tom Glavine, who was 20-8 with a 2.76 ERA.  Joining the Braves, Maddux was just as good in 1993, going 20-10 with a 2.36 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, winning his second straight NL Cy Young Award, this time defeating Bill Swift (21-8, 2.82 ERA).  1994 may have been strike-shortened, but that didn't stop Maddux from turning in one of the most dominant seasons seen in recent memory.  Having made 25 starts at the time of the strike, he was 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP, allowing him to run away with a third straight NL Cy Young Award, this time unanimously.  It was the first time in major league history that a pitcher won three straight Cy's.  Maddux's 1.56 ERA led the majors by more than a full run, way ahead of Steve Ontiveros' second place 2.65.  He also completed 10 of those 25 starts.  However dominant he was in 1994, he managed to be even better in 1995.  The season, which started late due to the 1994 strike, saw him go 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP in 28 starts, unanimously giving him a fourth straight NL Cy Young Award (and second straight unanimous).  Already the only pitcher with three straight, Maddux extended his record to four, though Randy Johnson would match that mark with four straight from 1999-2002.  Over his four years, Maddux was 75-29 with a 1.98 ERA in 124 starts.  During the Braves run to the World Series in 1995, he was 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA as Atlanta celebrated.  In 1996, Maddux set out for a fifth straight Cy.  He ended up 15-11 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 35 starts, but finished fifth in the voting, with teammate John Smoltz (24-8, 2.94 ERA) ultimately winning.  He wasn't completely hardware free that season; he did make his fifth All Star team and he won his seventh straight NL Gold Glove for pitchers.  On top of that, he was 3-2 with a 1.70 ERA in five postseason starts. In 1997, he came back strong, going 19-4 with a 2.20 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP, but he finished second in the NL Cy Young race to up and comer Pedro Martinez (17-8, 1.90 ERA).  Oh yeah, and he walked only 20 batters in 232.2 innings.  At that time, his 8.85 K/BB ratio second lowest of all time, behind only Brett Saberhagen's 11.00 in 1994.  Of course, he was dominant in three postseason starts, going 1-2 with a 1.23 ERA.  Over the past three postseasons, he had been 7-5 with a 2.04 ERA in 13 starts.  In 1998, he continued his dominance, going 18-9 with a 2.22 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young race.  He had now been in the top five for the NL Cy Young Award in seven straight seasons.  The decade that he defined actually ended with a mediocre season.  In 1999, the superstar went 19-9 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP, the latter two stats being his worst marks since 1987.  For the 1990's, he had been 176-88 with a 2.54 ERA, four Cy Young Awards, six All Star appearances, and all ten NL Gold Glove Awards for pitchers.  2000 may have been the year of the hitter, but Maddux must not have realized.  Though now 34 years old, he went 19-9 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, finishing a solid third in the NL Cy Young Award voting.  2001 was just as good, as he went 17-11 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  In 2002, where he would turn 36 at the start of the season, he posted his final dominant season.  Making 34 starts, he went 16-6 with a 2.62 ERA.  2003 would be the beginning of the end for the aging legend.  He made 36 starts, still enough to lead the majors, but went 16-11 with a 3.96 ERA.  He rejoined the Cubs in 2004, ending his eleven year tenure as a Braves legend.  Pitching in his first games since 1992 for the team that brought him up, Maddux went 16-11 with a 4.02 ERA in 33 starts.  In 2005, he posted his first losing record in 18 years, going 13-15 with a 4.24 ERA in 35 starts.  He split 2006, his age 40 season, between the Cubs and Dodgers, going 15-14 with a 4.20 ERA.  A strong showing with Los Angeles (6-3, 3.30 ERA) kept him in the game for the 2007 season, where he went 14-11 with a 4.14 ERA for the Padres.  In 2008, his final year, he split time with the Padres and Dodgers.  Overall, he went 8-13 with a 4.22 ERA, capturing his 18th Gold Glove Award in 19 years.  
He retired after the season with a 355-227 career record, a 3.16 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and 3371 strikeouts over 23 major league seasons.  His 355 victories are eighth all time, but removing 19th century pitchers Cy Young, Pud Galvin, and Kid Nichols leaves him in fifth place.  Among pitchers of the last 50 years, he is first.  He is also one of 16 members of the 3000 strikeout club, slotting in at tenth place between Walter Johnson and Phil Niekro.  His 740 career starts are fourth all time, behind only Cy Young (815), Nolan Ryan (773), and Don Sutton (756).  He is also one of 13 pitchers to throw over 5000 innings.  Among the 5000 inning men, he is one of only three (the others being Pud Galvin and Grover Alexander) with fewer than 1000 walks.  His 18 Gold Gloves are the most ever for a pitcher, ahead of Jim Kaat's 16.  In 2009, both the Braves and Cubs retired his #31 jersey.  Greg Maddux is truly one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game. I rank him among Pedro Martinez, Tom Seaver, and Sandy Koufax as the greatest pitchers of the last half century.

Tom Glavine (525/571 votes, 91.94%).
Though not the iconic pitcher that Greg Maddux was, Glavine ruled as one of the most dominant lefties in the league throughout the 1990's and into the 2000's.  He, along with Maddux and John Smoltz, helped form one of the greatest one-two-three punches ever for a rotation.  During the 1990's, the Braves featured three Hall of Famers (Smoltz will likely be inducted next year) at the prime of their careers in their rotation.  Tom Glavine hails from Billerica, Massachusetts, where he was a superstar in both baseball and hockey.  He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 4th round of the 1984 NHL Draft, as well as by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round of the 1984 MLB Draft.  He chose baseball, which turned out to be a pretty good choice.  Three years later, in 1987, he made his major league debut at the age of 21.  Making nine starts, he went 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in his uneventful rookie campaign.  However, he pitched well enough to earn his way onto the Braves Opening Day roster in 1988, and he went 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA in 34 starts.  1989 would turn out to be a breakout season for him, as he went 14-8 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, completing six of his 29 starts and tossing four shutouts.  In 1990, he went 10-12 with a 4.28 ERA in 33 starts.  Like Maddux, he featured a second breakout season, this one coming in 1991.  He was absolutely dominant in 1991, his age 25 campaign, going 20-11 with a 2.55 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and nine complete games in 34 starts. He won his first NL Cy Young Award, topping Lee Smith (2.34 ERA, 47 SV).  Riding his success from 1991, Glavine was just as good in 1992, going 20-8 with a 2.76 ERA, also leading baseball with five shutouts.  Glavine finished second in the NL Cy Young voting, behind Greg Maddux.  He continued his dominance in 1993, going 22-6 with a 3.20 ERA, but new teammate Maddux had him beat again in the NL Cy Young race (as well as Bill Swift).  During the strike shortened 1994 season, he did not enjoy the historical dominance that Maddux did, finishing just 13-9 with a 3.97 ERA in 25 starts.  He pitched a little better in 1995, going 16-7 with a 3.08 ERA and finishing third in the NL Cy Young race (behind Maddux and Pete Schourek).  During the postseason, he went 2-0 with a 1.61 ERA, with both victories coming in the World Series.  He won the World Series MVP honors when the Braves won it all.  In 1996, he brought his ERA back under 3.00, going 15-11 with a 2.98 ERA in 36 starts.  He kept up the good work in 1997, going 14-7 with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts.  In 1998, he returned to his early '90's form by going 20-6 with a 2.47 ERA in 33 starts, barely netting him a second NL Cy Young Award, just ahead of Trevor Hoffman (1.48 ERA, 53 SV).  Despite all his success from 1998, he posted a pedestrian season in 1999, finishing just 14-11 with a 4.12 ERA, his highest ERA since 1990.  However, he bounced back in 2000, the year of the hitter, by going 21-9 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, finishing second in the NL Cy Young race to Randy Johnson (19-7, 2.64 ERA).  In 2001, he went 16-7 with a 3.57 ERA.  2002, his 16th and final season in a Braves uniform (at least for now), he put up one of the best years of his career by going 18-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 35 starts.  He joined the Mets in 2003, but struggled to a 9-14 record and a 4.52 ERA.  It was his first losing record since 1990.  He bounced back somewhat in 2004, his age 38 season, by going 11-14 with a 3.60 ERA.  He continued to pitch well in 2005, going 13-13 with a 3.53 ERA.  2006 would be his final dominant season, as he finished 15-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 32 starts.  Pitching his final full season in 2007, he went 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA in 34 starts.  He returned to the Braves in 2008 for one last season, and finished with the same numbers from his rookie 1987 campaign: 2-4, 5.54 ERA.  
After the season, the 42 year old retired with a 305-203 career record and a 3.54 ERA over 682 major league starts.  He is one of 24 members of the 300 win club, and his 305 wins are 21st in major league history.  His 682 starts rank him 11th, and his 4413.1 innings pitched are 29th.  He led the NL in wins five times and in starts five times, and was elected to nine All Star teams.  In his 35 start postseason career, he is 14-16 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.  Those numbers get even better if you limit them to his eight World Series starts, where he is 4-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP.  In 2010, the Atlanta Braves retired his #47 jersey.

Frank Thomas (478/571 votes, 83.71%).
In an era where big hitters reigned supreme, Frank Thomas stood out at the top alongside Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.  However, unlike the latter three, Thomas was never tied to steroids.  In fact, he spent much of his career denouncing them and campaigning for expanded drug testing.  In the batters' box, the Big Hurt carried the same intimidation factor that made players like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, McGwire, and Bonds famous, even swinging a rusty piece of steel rebar in the on deck circle.  He stood at 6'5" and over 250 pounds, and became the first player in history to play more than half of his games at DH and be elected to the Hall of Fame.  A multi-sport star as a young man, he actually attended Auburn University on a football scholarship after attending high school in Columbus, Georgia.  While at Auburn, he became widely recognized as a baseball star (and 1989 SEC baseball MVP), and was drafted by the White Sox seventh overall in the 1989 draft.  By August of 1990, he was already in the majors.  Playing 60 games for the White Sox that year, the 22 year old hit seven home runs and batted .330 to earn the starting first base job.  The White Sox decided to make him the Opening Day first baseman in 1991, when he was still only 22 years old.  He didn't disappoint, knocking 32 home runs, driving in 109, and batting .318 to finish third in the AL MVP voting behind Cal Ripken and Cecil Fielder.  He also won his first of four Silver Slugger Awards.  His power dropped a little in 1992, as he hit "only" 24 home runs while driving in 115 and batting .323.  He did hit 46 doubles, helping him finish eighth in the AL MVP race.  1993 ended up being his breakout season, as he hit 41 home runs, drove in 128, and batted .317 with 36 doubles to unanimously win the AL MVP Award (and another Silver Slugger).  He was even better in the strike shortened 1994 season, knocking 38 home runs, driving in 101, and batting .353 with 34 doubles in only 113 games to win a second straight AL MVP Award (and a third Silver Slugger).  Had he played a full 160 games, he would be on pace for 54 home runs, 143 RBI, and 48 doubles to go along with his .353 average.  He continued to set the tone for league offense in 1995, when he hit 40 home runs, drove in 111, and batted .308 in 145 games.  1996 was even better, as he hit 40 more home runs, drove in a then-career high 134, and batted .349.  In 1997, he posted his seventh straight season of at least 20 home runs, 100 RBI, a .300 average, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks, breaking Ted Williams' record of six.  Thomas finished the season with 35 home runs, 125 RBI, and a .347 average with 35 doubles.  However, all great streaks eventually come to an end, and in 1998, he hit 29 home runs, drove in 109, and batted .265 to end his streak.  However, he did steal seven bases, a new career high.  Injuries limited him to 135 games in 1999, and his power dropped starkly, as he finished with only 15 home runs and 77 RBI, though he did bat .305.  Was the Big Hurt losing his touch?  Not quite.  In the year of the hitter, he joined in with a huge comeback season.  Playing in 159 games, he hit a career high 43 home runs, drove in a career high 143 runs, and batted .328 with 44 doubles.  He just barely finished second in the AL MVP race behind Jason Giambi (43 HR, .333 AVG), but did win the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.  After his huge 2000 season, his 2001 season was interrupted by injury in April, and he finished with just four home runs and a .221 average in 20 games.  Fully healthy in 2002, he came back to play 148 games, but hit only 28 home runs, drove in 92, and batted. 252.  It looked like the 34 year old was finally starting to slow down.  Again, he had a huge comeback season, this time in 2003, as he hit 42 home runs, drove in 105, and batted .267 with 35 doubles.  Injuries hampered him again in 2004, but despite playing in only 74 games, he put up respectable numbers with 18 home runs and a .271 average.  Nagging injuries again limited him in 2005, as he ended up with just 34 games and a .219 average to show, though he did smack 12 home runs to put up a big .590 slugging percentage.  In 2006, he joined the Oakland A's, effectively ending his 16 year tenure in Chicago.  In 137 games, he had a third big comeback season, hitting 39 home runs, driving in 114, and batting .270.  He won a second AL Comeback Player of the Year Award.  2007 would turn out to be his final full season, as he joined the Blue Jays and played in 155 games, hitting 26 home runs, driving in 95, and batting .277 with 30 doubles.  Continuing to bounce around, he spent his final season, 2008, with the Blue Jays and A's, batting .240 with eight home runs in 71 games.  
After the season, he retired at the age of 40.  His career totals included 521 home runs (tied for 18th on the all time list with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams), 1704 RBI (22nd all time), and a .301 average (129th all time).  His 495 doubles place him 63rd on the all time list, tied with Adrian Beltre, while his 1494 runs scored are 70th.  He owns the 14th best on-base percentage of all time at .419, as well as the 21st best slugging percentage at .555.  They combine to form a .974 OPS, the 14th best ever.  One thing that was great about Thomas is that he rarely struck out.  Of the 25 members of the 500 home run club, he is one of only nine with fewer than 1400 strikeouts (the others being Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Jimmie Foxx, Rafael Palmeiro, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Gary Sheffield, and Ted Williams), as well as one of only eight with a .300 average.  He is also the White Sox all time leader in runs (1327), doubles (447), home runs (448), RBI (1465), walks (1466), on-base percentage (.427), slugging percentage (.568), and OPS (.995).  He is quite likely the greatest hitter in White Sox history, ahead of Joe Jackson, Eddie Collins, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Harold Baines. Luke Appling, Minnie Minoso, and Luis Aparicio.

Just Missed
Craig Biggio (427/571 votes, 74.78%).
Mike Piazza (355/571 votes, 62.17%).
Jack Morris (351/571 votes, 61.47%).
Jeff Bagwell (310/571 votes, 54.29%).

Many players from this year's ballot will not return next year.  Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas are in. Jack Morris' 15 years on the ballot are up.  Rafael Palmeiro (25), Moises Alou (6), Hideo Nomo (6), Luis Gonzalez (5), Eric Gagne (2), J.T. Snow (2), Armando Benitez (1), Jacque Jones (1), and Kenny Rogers (1) earned an insufficient amount of votes to return for next year, the minimum being 29, or 5%.  Sean Casey, Ray Durham, Todd Jones, Paul Lo Duca, Richie Sexson, and Mike Timlin all went without a single vote.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman