The baseball Hall of Fame inductions are upon us; six players are going in. Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera voted in by the writers. Harold Baines and Lee Smith voted in by the veterans committee. All these players are very deserving of this honor. Much was made about Harold Baines getting in, but he was very good for a long time and deserved to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera is the first player to be selected unanimously into the Hall of Fame. There is no debate that Rivera is the greatest closer of all time. In 18 seasons, Rivera has 652 saves and only had an ERA over 3.00 just once in his career. In the post-season, Rivera was excellent, posting 8-1 record with a 0.70 ERA and 42 saves in 141 post-season innings. Rivera made the All-Star team 13 times in an 18-year career. When Mariano came in the game, it pretty much was a wrap for the opposing team.
Edgar Martinez
Edgar Martinez was one of the most consistent hitters in baseball history. He has a career batting average of .312 and won two batting titles in his career. Also. Martinez had a career on-base percentage of .418. Martinez made the All-Star team seven times and was one of the most feared hitters in MLB history. The former Mariner also has 309 career home runs. Sadly, it took Edgar ten tries before he got into the Hall of Fame. It probably is due to being a DH for many years.
Mike Mussina
Mike Mussina won 270 games in his career as a pitcher. He was known for being able to locate his fastball and throwing his famous knuckle-curve pitch. Mussina had a career ERA of 3.68 and 2,813 career strikeouts. The former Oriole pitcher won 15 or more games in 11 seasons. Mussina never won a Cy Young award but won seven gold gloves in his career. He may have never been the best pitcher, but he was always consistent.
Roy Halladay
Roy Halladay had a career record of 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA. Halladay threw a variety of sinking fastball and located his pitches very well. From 2002 to 2011 with the Blue Jays and Phillies, Halladay was 170-75 with a 2.97 ERA and two Cy Young awards. Doc Halladay also has a perfect game and a post-season no-hitter on his resume. He threw nine complete games three seasons in a row, Halladay was a very dominate pitcher in his prime.
Harold Baines
Harold Baines was an outstanding hitter; he had a career average of .289. Baines was never a big star but always was consistent at the plate. Even late his career at the age of 40, Baines had a .312 batting average. In his career, Baines hit 384 home runs, 2,866 hits, and 1,628 RBIs. In the post-season, Baines hit .324 in 31 post-season games. A lot of people have questioned Baines getting in the Hall of Fame, but his longevity speaks for itself, he was just as good as a hitter at age 23 as he was at 40. Harold Baines made five All-Star teams in his career.
Lee Smith
When Lee Smith retired in 1997, he was the all-time save leader with 478 saves. When Lee Smith became the closer for the Cubs in 1982, he pitched 100 plus innings in three straight seasons. Smith was a very good closer but never was dominate as the other Hall of Fame closers. But Smith inherited a lot more base runners than Rivera. Smith inherited 510 runners and Rivera 367; games were had to close in the 80s and 90s. It is still to see Lee Smith get in the Hall of Fame.
