Welcome to a Braves Cooperstown summer and a Hall of Fame of perfection pitching and big swings, all from a bunch of HOF rookies with no steroid shadows in their glorious pasts.
Atlanta pitching mates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine and White Sox slugger Frank Thomas were all easily elected to the Hall of Fame Wednesday by the Baseball Writers Association of America in their first year on the ballot, while former Mets catcher Mike Piazza struck out in his second year.
While those in performance-enhancing-drug purgatory such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens slid downward, Thomas, the big man who mashed 521 home runs and drove in 100 or more runs 11 times, took whacks at baseball’s steroid users.
“No they shouldn’t get in,’’ Thomas said. “The writers definitely got it right. I left it between the lines. I did it the right way. I know I won’t be getting a call in the middle of the night with somebody saying, ‘He did this or he did that.’
“Over the last year, doing a couple of charity events with Hall of Famers, they have a strong stance against anyone who has taken steroids. They do not want them in. They don’t care when they started or when they did it. They do not want them in. This Hall of Fame means a lot to them. I have to take the right stance. They shouldn’t get in. There shouldn’t be cheating allowed to get to the Hall of Fame.’’
The voters concurred, sending Maddux to Cooperstown with 97.2 percent of the vote. He collected 555 of the 571 votes. Glavine received 91.9 percent and Thomas breezed in with 83.7 percent.
Piazza checked in at 62.2, up a few ticks from last year’s total of 57.8, but still short of the 75 percent required for induction.
“Big Congrats to Mad Dog, Tommy and Big Hurt,” Piazza wrote on Twitter. “Well deserved Guys! Many Thanks to all the voters for their support!”
The heartbreak of the day belonged to Craig Biggio, who received 74.8 percent of the vote in his second year of eligibility. Biggio fell short Wednesday by just two votes, tying Nellie Fox (1985) and Pie Traynor (1947) for nearest miss. The longtime Astro was the leading vote-getter last year at 68.2 percent when no one was elected by the BBWAA.
Braves manager Bobby Cox, along with managers Joe Torre, who began his career with the Braves in Milwaukee and went on to play and manage in Atlanta, and Tony LaRussa were selected last month by the expansion-era committee to enter the Hall.
“It really would’ve been disappointing not to have the opportunity to go in with Bobby and Greg,” Glavine said. “If there’s anything that would’ve killed me about not getting that phone call today, that would’ve been it. It’s such a rare opportunity to go into the Hall of Fame. It’s even rarer to have a teammate and your manager go in at the same time.”
Mets fans will be disappointed with Piazza’s snub, but Glavine spent five years in Flushing and won his 300th game with the franchise. Of course, he also was hammered in Game No. 162 in 2007 and lost two front teeth in a taxi cab accident. Mets COO Jeff Wilpon was quick to congratulate the lefty, saying, “We are proud that Tom won his 300th game as a Met and were fortunate to have him on our club. His excellence as a player is equaled by his excellence as a person.’’
The Braves signed Maddux away from the Cubs as a free agent after the 1992 season, one of the greatest free-agent signings ever. The Yankees were in on Maddux, but he wanted to stay in the National League.
Maddux also thought the Braves were going to be the better team through the rest of the ’90s and into 2000. The Yankees, however, won four World Series, the Braves just one.
“I wanted to get a World Series ring,’’ said Maddux, who won 355 games. “Had I a crystal ball, yeah, it would have been great to go to New York, three or four World Series, but we did get one in Atlanta in ’95.’’
Now they will all be together again this summer in Cooperstown.