COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Six baseball greats, led by Mariano Rivera, will join the exclusive fraternity that is the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rivera is bringing in fans from around the world, including Panama's newly elected president, according to All Otsego.
History was made with this year's class of inductees. Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A career Yankee – Rivera played 19-years in the big leagues – winning five World Series titles.
He is the Major League Baseball all-time saves leader with 652. He was the World Series MVP in 1999, ALCS MVP in 2003, and the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2013. He finished his career with a 2.21 era – good for 11th lowest all-time.
Shall we go on? A 13-time all-star – Rivera had his number 42 retired by the Yanks in 2013. And with the league-wide retirement of Jackie Robinson’s 42 - he's the last player who will ever wear that number on his back regularly in Major League Baseball. He also has one career RBI.
Moose, Rivera's former Yankee teammate, Mike Mussina had kind of a tale of two careers. He started as a Bronx Bomber rival – spending 10 years with the Baltimore Orioles. He joined the Yankees in 2001, pitching his final eight seasons in New York. He was a five-time all-star - and seven-time gold glover. His final record stood at 270-153 – putting him in the top 50 all-time for winning percentage. He also finished with a 3.68 e-r-a and over 28-hundred strikeouts. The MLB wins leader in 1995 – Mussina got in on his sixth ballot.
Career Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez just made the cut, getting in on his tenth and final ballot. One of the most feared hitters during his 18-year career – he finished with a .312 batting average – over 2,200 hits, 309 home runs and over 1,200 RBIs.
He was a seven-time all-star, five-time silver slugger, the AL RBI leader in the year 2000 and the AL batting champion twice. His No. 11 is retired by the Mariners.
Roy Halladay was elected into the hall posthumously on his first ballot. He died in November of 2017 at the age of 40 in a plane crash off the coast of Florida. During his career – he was dominant. He won the Cy Young in 2003 and 2010, he was the MLB wins leader those same years.
An eight-time all-star selection - Halladay pitched a perfect game in May of 2010 - before going on to pitch just the second-ever postseason no-hitter later that year in October. He finished his 16-year career with a record of 203-105, with a 3.38 ERA and over 2,100 strikeouts.
Our final two Hall of Famers were elected by the Modern Era Committee. Harold Baines. He played 22 years for six teams in the majors. An all-star six times, his No. 3 has been retired by the Chicago White Sox. In his career, he hit .289 with over 2,800 hits, 384 home runs, and over 1600 RBIs. A silver slugger award winner in 1989, he won a World Series as a coach with the White Sox in 2005.
Lee Smith finished his 18-year career with 478 saves, which was the most in MLB history from 1993 until Trevor Hoffman broke the record in 2006. With a 3.03 ERA and over 1,200 strikeouts, Smith was the MLB saves leader four different times. He was also named to seven all-star games and still holds the team record with 180 saves for the Chicago Cubs.
So, there you have it, per WKTV’s Spencer Davidson, the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
