Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America yesterday voted in three new inductees to the United States’ prestigious MLB National Baseball Hall of Fame (NBHOF), two of whom served the USA National Baseball team in international competition.
Greg Maddux, who oversaw Team USA’s pitching staff in last year’s World Baseball Classic, used a legendary career as a pitcher, earning over 300 wins in Major League Baseball competition and winning a record 18 Gold Glove Awards for his work with his glove around the mound, to easily surpass the 75% approval benchmark needed to earn a place in the NBHOF. Maddux recorded a vote tally of 97.2%.
Frank Thomas slugged over 500 home runs and maintained a .301 lifetime batting average in his 19-year career in Major League Baseball, which prompted 83.7% of the Baseball Writers to cast their votes in his favour. Thomas was selected in 1987 to serve his country as a member of the US Collegiate National Team while he was a student-athlete at Auburn University in Alabama.
Pitcher Tom Glavine, who, incidentally, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1984 National Hockey League draft, won approval of 91.9% of the Baseball Writers. The left-handed Glavine won 305 games in Major League Baseball, which is currently the 4th highest sum of victories ever recorded by an MLB southpaw.
In 2013, the annual vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America did not result in any MLB ballplayer meeting the 75% requirement that would have opened the doors of the Hall.
Historically, the Class of 1936 was the first group selected to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The official 2014 NBHOF induction ceremony will be held on July 27th in Cooperstown, New York.
For National Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility, selection criteria and election rules, click here.
