Slideshow: Johnson, Martinez, Smoltz, Biggio to join Hall of Fame - STLtoday.com
COOPERSTOWN, N. Y. • Three dominated on the mound, the other excelled at three positions up the middle. Together, pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and multi-talented Craig Biggio left a remarkable imprint on baseball. Playing through an era tainted by steroids and dominated by offense — compliments of bulked-up sluggers, a smaller strike zone and smaller ballparks — the trio of pitchers combined for 735 wins, 11,113 strikeouts and nine Cy Young Awards. And the indefatigable Biggio became the only player in major league history with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases and 250 home runs while being asked to play four positions in his 20-year career. All four, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January, will be inducted Sunday in Cooperstown. “I don’t condone anybody doing anything bad as far as cheating the game,” said Martinez, who joins former Giants righthander Juan Marichal (1983) as the only natives of the Dominican Republic elected to the hall. Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz were elected by big margins their first time on the ballot and represent the first trio of pitchers voted in together. During a 22-year career, spent mostly with the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, the dominant lefthander with the imposing fastball won 303 games and five Cy Young Awards, including four in a row from 1999 to 2002 with the Diamondbacks. , led his league in strikeouts nine times and had a career total of 4,875, second all-time only to Nolan Ryan. Source: www.stltoday.com
