(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen & Marco Stoovelaar)
 Four players elected into Hall of Fame; Mariano Rivera unanimous
Nederlands
 NEW YORK, New York (USA) -
Four players were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday-evening (January 22).
Mariano Rivera, who is generally recognized as the best closer ever, became the first player in history to be elected unanimously.
The Hall of Fame now has 329 members, including 232 players.
...Mariano Rivera with Robert Eenhoorn in Tampa (USA)...
...in 2012 during a trainingcamp of the Netherlands Team...
...Eenhoorn then was Technical Director of the Netherlands...
...In 1995 and 1996, Rivera and Eenhoorn were teammates...
...with the New York Yankees; In December last year,...
...Eenhoorn was elected into the Dutch Hall of Fame...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Also elected were pitcher Roy Halladay, infielder Edgar Martinez and pitcher Mike Mussina.
They all got the required 75 percent of the votes to be elected.
They were followed by pitcher Curt Schilling (60.9%), pitcher Roger Clemens (59.5%), outfielder Barry Bonds (59.1%) and outfielder Larry Walker (54.6%), who all got more than 50 percent.
To remain eligible for future elections, players needed at least five percent.
Curaçao-born Dutch outfielder Andruw Jones just ended above that.
Jones got 32 votes to give him 7.5%, being the 19th and last player on the list to finish with five percent or higher.
Sixteen players finished with a lower total, meaning they will be dropped from future ballots.
Centerfielder Andruw Jones recorded 434 homeruns in his 17-year career, including 12 for Atlanta Braves, won ten Gold Gloves and played in five All Star Games.
In 2011, pitcher Bert Blyleven became the first Dutch-born player to be elected into the Hall of Fame.
The four elected players will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21.
They will be joined then by outfielder Harold Baines and pitcher Lee Smith, who were elected in December by the Today's Game Era Committee of the Hall of Fame.
Last year, there also were six new inductees.
It also marks the third time in the past five years that the members of the BBWAA (media) elected four players in the regular election in January.
Before that, it happened only two times since the first election was held in 1936.
Back then, legends Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson were elected, making it the lone year in which five players were elected.
Mariano Rivera and the late Roy Halladay were eligible for the first time.
Edgar Martinez was on the list for the tenth and final time, while Mike Mussina was in his sixth year of eligibility.
Mariano Rivera (425 votes, 100%) became the first player ever to be elected unanimously, as his name was mentioned on all ballots.
Before Rivera, outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. came closest in 2016 when he received 437 of a possible 440 votes.
...The entrance of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
Rivera, who comes from Panama, played his entire career for the New York Yankees in 1995-2013.
In his impressive career, Rivera was credited with 652 saves, which the all-time record.
He pitched in 13 All Star Games and retired when he was 43 years old.
Rivera, who played in five World Series, pitched in 1,115 games of which he started only ten.
Rivera finished a record 952 games and was 82-60.
He struckout 1,173 batters in 1,283 2/3 inning.
In 1995-1996, Rivera was a teammate of Dutch player Robert Eenhoorn, who in those seasons played in 17 games for the Yankees.
Roy Halladay (363 votes, 85.4%) pitched for Toronto Blue Jays (1998-2009) and Philadelphia Phillies (2010-2013).
Halladay won the Cy Young Award in 2003 and 2010 and is one of only two pitchers to throw a No-Hitter in a postseason.
He accomplished this feat in 2010 in Game 1 of the NLDS after having thrown a Perfect Game in the regular season in May.
Halladay, who pitched in eight All Star Games, passed away in November 2017 in an airplane crash at age 40.
In his career, he won 203 games and struckout 2,117 batters in 2,749 1/3 inning.
Halladay pitched in 416 games.
Edgar Martinez (363 votes, 85.4%) also played his entire career for one club, as he played for Seattle Mariners in 1987-2004.
He is one of only ten players with 300 or more homeruns, 500 or more doubles and 1,000 or more walks with a batting average of over .300.
Last year, he ended up just 20 votes short of being elected.
The third baseman/designated hitter played in seven All Star Games and was the Best Hitter in the American League twice (1992, 1995).
Martinez played in 2,055 games and collected 2,247 basehits, including 309 homeruns.
Mike Mussina (326 votes, 76.7%) pitched for Baltimore Orioles (1991-2000) and New York Yankees (2001-2008).
In his career, Mussina won 270 games and played in five All Star Games
The righthander threw in 537 games (536 starts) and struckout 2,813 batters in 3,562 2/3 inning.
Mussina finished in second place for the Cy Young Award in 1999.
(January 22)
Related Articles:
 Van Groningen Schinkel, Eenhoorn in Dutch Hall of Fame. (December 8, 2018)
Chipper, Guerrero, Thome, Hoffman elected into Hall of Fame. (January 24, 2018)
Jack Morris & Alan Trammell in Hall of Fame. (December 10, 2017)
Andruw Jones for first time on Hall of Fame-ballot. (November 20, 2017)
Former pitcher Roy Halladay dies in place-accident. (November 7, 2017)
Bagwell, Raines and Rodriguez elected into Baseball Hall of Fame. (January 18, 2017)
John Schuerholz & Bud Selig elected into Hall of Fame. (December 4, 2016)
Ken Griffey, Jr. & Mike Piazza elected into Hall of Fame. (January 6, 2016)
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