NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera has become baseball's first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, elected Tuesday along with Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina.
Rivera received all 425 votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The quartet will be enshrined in Cooperstown along with Today's Game Era Committee selections Harold Baines and Lee Smith on July 21.
Ken Griffey Jr. held the mark for top percentage at 99.32 percent when he was on 437 of 440 ballots two years ago.
Rivera is baseball's career saves leader with 652. With a steady demeanor and a fearsome cut fastball, he won five World Series over 19 seasons with the New York Yankees. He was always at his best in October, getting 42 saves with a 0.70 ERA over 16 postseasons, including 11 saves in the World Series.
Halladay, an ace with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, got 85.4 percent and will be the first posthumous inductee since Deacon White in 2013 and Ron Santo in 2012. Halladay died in November 2017 at 40 years old when an airplane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
Martinez was a .312 hitter over 18 seasons with Seattle. He got 85.4 percent in his 10th and final try on the writers' ballot. He and Baines will join 2014 inductee Frank Thomas as the only Hall of Famers to play the majority of their games at designated hitter. David Ortiz will be eligible in 2022.
Mussina was a steady right-hander for the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles who went 270-153 with 2,813 strikeouts over 18 seasons. He received 76.7 percent, getting seven more votes than the 319 required for election.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens made gains but again fell short in their seventh times on the ballot. Bonds got 59.1 percent and Clemens 59.5.
Rivera grew up in Panama the son of a fisherman. He signed with New York in 1990, debuted in the majors as a 25-year-old in 1995 and a year later emerged as one of the game's best relievers. Along with a core including Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, Rivera helped the Yankees win four World Series from 1996-2000 and another in 2009.
"Hall of Fame teammate. Hall of Fame person," Jeter said in a statement.
The Yankees didn't even wait until his final game to retire his No. 42 -- he was the last player in the major leagues to wear that number, grandfathered to him when No. 42 was retired in honor of Jackie Robinson in 1997.
"Wearing No. 42, representing Jackie Robinson, I assume he was the first No. 42 elected," Rivera said. "To be the last No. 42 elected to the Hall of Fame, and unanimously, is amazing."
Rivera and Smith will be the seventh and eighth relievers in the Hall, joining Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006), Rich Gossage (2008) and Trevor Hoffman (2018).
Halladay won two Cy Young Awards, one each with Toronto and Philadelphia, before ending his career in 2013 at 36 years old due to back injuries.
The right-hander was a first-round draft pick by Toronto in 1995, debuted in the majors in 1998 and struggled terribly until being demoted to the minor leagues in 2001. With the help of sports psychologist Harvey Dorfman, Halladay reinvented himself and became an All-Star in 2002, then won 22 games and an AL Cy Young in 2003.
Halladay's best season came in 2010, his first after a trade to Philadelphia. Halladay pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins in May, then delivered a no-hitter against Cincinnati in the opener of the NL division series. It was just the second no-hitter in postseason history after the Yankees' Don Larsen pitched a perfect game against Brooklyn in the 1956 World Series.
In an era marked by pitch counts and early hooks, Halladay was a workhorse. Since 2000, Halladay's 65 complete games are by far the most in the majors -- Livan Hernandez is second at 39.
Martinez was among the game's steadiest hitters throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, winning two batting titles and hitting 309 home runs.
A late bloomer from Puerto Rico, Martinez never played more than 100 games in the majors until he was 27. He broke in as a third baseman before becoming a full-time DH at 32, a role he held until retiring at 41 years old in 2004.
Martinez got just 36.2 percent of the vote in his first ballot appearance in 2010 and fell as low as 25.2 percent in 2014 -- the cutoff for induction is 75 percent. With a push from the sport's analytics community and a hearty social media campaign, Martinez made major progress in recent votes, including 70.4 percent in 2018.
Mussina got 20.3 percent in his first ballot in 2014 but has steadily gained support since. Armed with a nasty knuckle curveball, Mussina also got a push from the sabermetric community.
It was only the fourth time the writers voted in four players in one class -- it also happened in 2015, 1955 and 1947. The largest group selected by writers was the inaugural five-member class of Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson in 1936. The writers and Today's Game Era Committee have combined to elect 31 people since 2014.
At a glance
Hall Of Fame voting percentages Players elected by the BBWAA
Ballots
Player Year Votes-Cast Pct.
Mariano Rivera 2019 425-425 100.00
Ken Griffey Jr. 2016 437-440 99.32
Tom Seaver 1992 425-430 98.84
Nolan Ryan 1999 491-497 98.79
Cal Ripken Jr. 2007 537-545 98.53
Ty Cobb 1936 222-226 98.23
George Brett 1999 488-497 98.19
Hank Aaron 1982 406-415 97.83
Tony Gwynn 2007 532-545 97.61
Randy Johnson 2015 534-549 97.27
Greg Maddux 2014 555-571 97.20
Chipper Jones 2018 410-422 97.15
Mike Schmidt 1995 444-460 96.52
Johnny Bench 1989 431-447 96.42
Steve Carlton 1994 436-455 95.82
Babe Ruth 1936 215-226 95.13
Honus Wagner 1936 215-226 95.13
Rickey Henderson 2009 511-539 94.81
Willie Mays 1979 409-432 94.68
Carl Yastrzemski 1989 423-447 94.63
Bob Feller 1962 150-160 93.75
Reggie Jackson 1993 423-396 93.62
Ted Williams 1966 282-302 93.38
Stan Musial 1969 317-340 93.24
Vladimir Guerrero 2018 392-422 92.89
Roberto Clemente 1973 393-424 92.69
Jim Palmer 1990 444-411 92.57
Brooks Robinson 1983 344-374 91.98
Tom Glavine 2014 525-571 91.94
Wade Boggs 2005 474-516 91.86
Ozzie Smith 2002 472-433 91.74
Pedro Martinez 2015 500-549 91.07
Christy Mathewson 1936 205-226 90.71
Rod Carew 1991 401-443 90.52
Roberto Alomar 2011 523-581 90.01
Jim Thome 2018 379-422 89.81
Frank Robinson 1982 370-415 89.16
Joe DiMaggio 1955 223-251 88.84
Al Kaline 1980 340-385 88.31
Mickey Mantle 1974 322-365 88.22
Mel Ott 1951 197-226 87.17
Carl Hubbell 1947 140-161 86.96
Red Ruffing 1967 266-306 86.93
Sandy Koufax 1972 344-396 86.87
Robin Roberts 1976 337-388 86.86
Harry Heilmann 1952 203-234 86.75
Duke Snider 1980 333-385 86.49
Ted Lyons 1955 217-251 86.45
Barry Larkin 2012 495-573 86.39
Jeff Bagwell 2017 381-442 86.20
Tim Raines 2017 380-442 85.98
Goose Gossage 2008 466-543 85.82
George Sisler 1939 235-274 85.77
Billy Williams 1987 354-413 85.71
Yogi Berra 1972 339-396 85.61
Roy Halladay 2019 363-425 85.41
Edgar Martinez 2019 363-425 85.41
Eddie Murray 2003 423-496 85.28
Paul Molitor 2004 431-506 85.18
Charlie Gehringer 1949 159-187 85.03
Hank Greenberg 1956 164-193 84.97
Joe Medwick 1968 240-283 84.81
Luis Aparicio 1984 341-403 84.62
Frankie Frisch 1947 136-161 84.47
Dave Winfield 2001 435-515 84.47
Bob Gibson 1981 337-401 84.04
Luke Appling 1964 189-225 84.00
Ernie Banks 1977 321-383 83.81
Hoyt Wilhelm 1985 331-395 83.80
Frank Thomas 2014 478-571 83.71
Juan Marichal 1983 313-374 83.69
Walter Johnson 1936 189-226 83.63
Nap Lajoie 1937 168-201 83.58
Paul Waner 1952 195-234 83.33
Dennis Eckersley 2004 421-506 83.20
Harmon Killebrew 1984 335-403 83.13
Mike Piazza 2016 365-440 82.95
Rabbit Maranville 1954 209-252 82.94
Warren Spahn 1973 315-380 82.89
John Smoltz 2015 455-549 82.88
Craig Biggio 2015 454-549 82.70
Willie Stargell 1988 352-427 82.44
Kirby Puckett 2001 423-515 82.14
Tris Speaker 1937 165-201 82.09
Joe Morgan 1990 363-444 81.76
Dazzy Vance 1955 205-251 81.67
Don Sutton 1998 386-473 81.61
Willie McCovey 1986 346-425 81.41
Rollie Fingers 1992 349-430 81.16
Grover Cleveland Alexander 1938 212-262 80.92
Phil Niekro 1997 380-473 80.34
Bill Dickey 1954 202-252 80.16
Trevor Hoffman 2018 337-422 79.85
Lou Brock 1985 315-395 79.75
Bert Blyleven 2011 463-581 79.69
Carlton Fisk 2000 397-499 79.55
Mickey Cochrane 1947 128-161 79.50
Eddie Mathews 1978 301-379 79.42
Roy Campanella 1969 270-340 79.41
Jimmie Foxx 1951 179-226 79.20
Dizzy Dean 1953 209-264 79.17
Joe Cronin 1956 152-193 78.76
Bob Lemon 1976 305-388 78.61
Don Drysdale 1984 316-403 78.41
Rogers Hornsby 1942 182-233 78.11
Gary Carter 2003 387-496 78.02
Andre Dawson 2010 420-539 77.92
Whitey Ford 1974 284-365 77.81
Eddie Collins 1939 213-274 77.74
Gabby Hartnett 1955 195-251 77.69
Herb Pennock 1948 94-121 77.69
Jackie Robinson 1962 124-160 77.50
Robin Yount 1999 385-497 77.46
Bill Terry 1954 195-252 77.38
Lou Boudreau 1970 232-300 77.33
Gaylord Perry 1991 342-443 77.20
Tony Perez 2000 385-499 77.15
Bruce Sutter 2006 400-520 76.92
Pie Traynor 1948 93-121 76.86
Mike Mussina 2019 326-425 76.71
Jim Rice 2009 412-539 76.44
Lefty Grove 1947 123-161 76.40
Catfish Hunter 1987 315-413 76.27
Ryne Sandberg 2005 393-516 76.16
Cy Young 1937 153-201 76.12
Early Wynn 1972 301-396 76.01
Ivan Rodriguez 2017 336-442 76.01
Willie Keeler 1939 207-274 75.55
Ralph Kiner 1975 273-362 75.41
Ferguson Jenkins 1991 334-443 75.40
Al Simmons 1953 199-264 75.38
Hall of Fame voting
Voting results for the Baseball Hall of Fame 2019 induction class announced Tuesday. A total of 425 votes were cast and 319 were needed for induction. x-denotes first year on the ballot:
PLAYER VOTES PCT.
x-Mariano Rivera 425 100.0
x-Roy Halladay 363 85.4
Edgar Martinez 363 85.4
Mike Mussina 326 76.7
Curt Schilling 259 60.9
Roger Clemens 253 59.5
Barry Bonds 251 59.1
Larry Walker 232 54.6
Omar Vizquel 182 42.8
Fred McGriff 169 39.8
Manny Ramirez 97 22.8
Jeff Kent 77 18.1
Billy Wagner 71 16.7
x-Todd Helton 70 16.5
Scott Rolen 73 17.2
Gary Sheffield 58 13.6
x-Andy Pettitte 42 9.9
Sammy Sosa 36 8.5
Andruw Jones 32 7.5
Sports on 01/23/2019