Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2015: Pitching Trio Is Among All-Time Best

Craig Biggio may feel like a lonely man Sunday.

In many ways, it may be the greatest day in Biggio’s life. He is going into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, after a stellar 20-year career as a catcher, second baseman and outfielder for the Houston Astros that saw him put up a .281/.363/.433 slash line with 291 home runs and 1,175 RBI.

Biggio was the kind of player who got everything out of his 5’11”, 185-pound frame as was humanly possible.

But on a day when his bronze bust will be unveiled at baseball’s historical shrine, he will be overshadowed.

Biggio will be the fourth in a class of four because all three of the other enshrinees were pitchers. Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz were three of the very best pitchers of their eras, and they form the greatest class of pitchers to enter the Hall of Fame since Sandy Koufax, Lefty Gomez and Early Wynn were enshrined in 1972.

There have been several strong pitching classes since then, but nothing like this year’s trio.

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Pedro. Smoltz. The Big Unit. HOF pitching trio overcame a juiced-up era to achieve greatness: http://t.co/1PVHoAPmc1 pic.twitter.com/XT7nXghyto

— ESPN (@espn) July 24, 2015"

Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux were enshrined last year, and the two Atlanta Braves teammates were an exceptional duo. Tom Seaver, Rollie Fingers and Hal Newhouser made it to the Hall in 1992. Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry went in together in 1991, and they were both dominant pitchers who specialized in complete games.

In 1972, the magical name of Koufax (165-87, 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts) could have made any class special, but Gomez was one of the top New York Yankees pitchers of all time, and Wynn made up in dependability what he lacked in pizzazz. Gomez had a 189-102 record and was 6-0 in the World Series. Wynn won 300 games for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.

That class of ’72 was memorable, but it may not rank ahead of this year’s enshrinees.

When Martinez was at his best, he was nearly untouchable. What made his performance even more remarkable was how effective he was during the height of the steroid era. Hitters who were belting moonshot home runs and building Ruthian long-ball totals simply couldn't touch him

In 1999, Martinez had what is often recognized as the best pitching season since Bob Gibson's wondrous 1968 season. Gibson was 22-9 that year with a 1.12 ERA, 268 strikeouts, 28 complete games and 13 shutouts. While '68 was the Year of the Pitcher and many other hurlers were brilliant that year, Gibson's performance is largely recognized as the reason the pitching mound was lowered the following year.

Martinez went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts, and he followed that up with an 18-6 record in 2000 to go with his mind-boggling 1.74 ERA and 284 strikeouts.

He was a master on the mound, but it looked like he would never pitch in the World Series for the Boston Red Sox. The heartbreak reached its peak in 2003, when Red Sox manager Grady Little left Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series to pitch the final innings against the Yankees. Instead of letting the strong Red Sox bullpen take over, Little asked more than the tiring Martinez could deliver, and the Yankees took the series in heartbreaking fashion.

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Pedro Martínez: on 91% of ballots in voting for the Hall of Fame and will be inducted Sunday (graphic: @ESPNDatos) pic.twitter.com/fOnkcncBRd

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 25, 2015"

However, a year later, the Red Sox worked their own magic and rallied to beat the Yankees after trailing 0-3 in the ALCS.

Once the Red Sox got to the World Series, Martinez artfully defeated the St. Louis Cardinals as Boston rolled to the championship in four games.

Johnson may have been the most intimidating pitcher of all time. The 6'10 southpaw would come directly at left-handed hitters with his devastating slider, and it was a no-contest. He also quashed right-handed power hitters with his velocity and command.

The 1993 All-Star Game confrontation with John Kruk is widely remembered as great baseball theater. While there may have been some showmanship as Kruk was jelly-legged against the great pitcher, it was a clear example of how Johnson overpowered the best hitters in the sport.

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On this date in MLB history, Randy Johnson accomplished something that no one has ever matched. pic.twitter.com/2b6lUQApTg

— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) July 22, 2015"

Johnson was spectacular in his best seasons—he averaged 354.3 strikeouts per season from 1999 through 2002—but he was also consistent enough to win 303 games in his career.

Smoltz probably should have gone into the Hall with pitching mates Maddux and Glavine last year, but he retired one season (2009) after that pair and had to wait an extra year.

Smoltz was one of the best postseason pitchers of all time, putting together a 15-4 record in the playoffs and World Series with a 2.67 ERA. He pitched the remarkable seventh game of the 1991 World Series and blanked the Minnesota Twins for 7.1 innings before manager Bobby Cox went to the bullpen.

Smoltz didn't allow a run in that game, but neither did Jack Morris for the Twins, who ultimately won the game and the Series with a run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

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Starting then closing - John Smoltz still managed to strike out 3,000 batters: http://t.co/PVJXtdbHBm #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/BfbeA5DDsD

— MLB (@MLB) July 24, 2015"

Smoltz may have been the most unselfish superstar pitcher in history. When the Braves were lacking a legitimate closer in the middle part of his career, he volunteered to go into the bullpen and take over that role. He was brilliant in recording 154 saves over three seasons.

If he had not gone to the bullpen, he might have approached 300 victories in his career instead of settling for 213.

It's a superior Enshrinement Day for pitchers—one that hasn't seen this type of brilliance in more than 40 years.