Congratulations to Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and Roy Halladay on being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I think I have mentioned before how much I liked Roy Halladay and was ecstatic that he was inducted. It was cool seeing how excited his son was about the induction (Braden committed to Penn State to play baseball).
Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time. He is also the only player to ever get an unanimous vote. Definitely well deserved. Rivera was the definition of class, but also an incredible competitor. Is there anyone else you would want pitching in the ninth inning of a big game?
Edgar Martinez is one of those guys I barely remember. He was a great hitter, but he played for the Mariners. He was overshadowed by Griffey, A-Rod, and Ichiro. At first, I thought maybe he was borderline, but after looking back at his career…yeah, he deserves to be in the HOF.
Finally we have Mike Mussina. If I remember correctly, Mussina was a pitcher that the guy who ran our YMCA scouted (he had been a scout for the Orioles). Like Edgar, my initial reaction to Mussina is that he was borderline. Looking at his stats, he deserves the honor. He was almost always in the Cy Young discussion and you have to take the era he pitched into consideration. He was pitching during the steroid days. With so many hitters juicing, it is no wonder that he has a higher ERA than some pitchers who are not in the Hall.
And on a final note…Bonds & Clemens did not make the cut again. It is fairly apparent they will not be voted in this way. My guess is they get in via the committee (whatever it is called now). You can read all about my thoughts on Bonds/Clemens here.
