Mariano Rivera Inducted into Hall of Fame Unanimously; Joined by Martinez, Halladay, and Mussina
Mariano Rivera, formerly of the New York Yankees, has been unanimously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is an unprecedented achievement, as Rivera’s name was featured on all 425 ballots. In the past, the closest anyone got to this kind of unanimity was Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016, being featured on 99.3 percent of the ballots. Prior to this, Tom Seaver had received 98.8 percent of the vote in 1992.
Universally respected, Rivera is considered to be the greatest closer of all time. His historic career features many significant highlights. Across 19 seasons, he made 13 All-Star appearances. Not to mention, upon retirement, he was the MLB’s all-time saves leader, with 652 saves. Rivera was also a key player in securing five World Series titles for the Yankees and on top of this, he was the backbone of the team for post-season games.
Across 141 playoff innings, the number of hits he allowed were 86, while his strikeouts were at the impressive number of 110. He also had 42 post-season saves and allowed 11 earned runs and 21 walks. In 1999, Rivera was given the honor of World Series MVP and later in 2003, he was the American League Championship Series MVP.
Joining Rivera in the class of 2019 are Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Edgar Martinez along with Lee Smith and Harold Baines. The latter two were selected by the Today’s Game Era Committee back in December.
The other inductees have also had impressive careers, such as Edgar Martinez who was loyal to the Mariners for his entire career and became a franchise icon. Being among the rare few who began their baseball careers after World War II, he won two batting titles and scored 309 home runs over 18 seasons. Upon retirement, he sported a .300 batting average, .500 slugging percentage, and .400 on-base percentage.
Halladay, unfortunately, lost his life prematurely in a plane crash in 2017, but he will be remembered for his impressive career. He finished 203-105 in his career with a 3.38 ERA across 12 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. His last four seasons were spent with the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with which he threw a perfect game and tossed a no-hitter in 2010. He also won 2 Cy Young Awards, one with each franchise.
Mussina spent 10 seasons with the Orioles and 8 with the Yankees for a total of 18 seasons across his career. He sports a record of 270-153 along with 2,813 strikeouts and a 3.68 ERA. He earned seven Gold Gloves and was a five-time All-Star.