On Tuesday, Jan. 6, four players were elected into the MLB Hall of Fame. They are Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio.

Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz were all pitchers that were elected on their first year on the ballot. Biggio, a second baseman, was on his third year on the ballot. All four got over 75% of the votes needed to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Johnson played twenty-two seasons in the MLB. He spent ten seasons with the Seattle Mariners, eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, two seasons apiece with the Montreal Expos and New York Yankees, and one season each with the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros. Standing at 6’10”, Johnson had a tall, lanky frame that intimidated almost every hitter that stepped into the box, not to mention his blazing 100 MPH fastball coming from the left side. In his career, he was a ten-time All-Star, nine-time strikeout leader, and a three-time ERA leader. This also came with five Cy Young Awards, and one World Series title, in 2001. He also won the MVP in the World Series. He also had some hefty career numbers to back up his Hall of Fame case. This includes 303 wins, 3.29 ERA (earned run average), and 4,875 strikeouts. He collected 534 votes out of 549 ballots by members of the BBWAA, and that was good for 97.3% of the vote. Also, his 97.3% of the vote was good for eighth all-time for the highest percentage of votes. He will likely go into the Hall of Fame as an Arizona Diamondback.

Martinez spent eighteen seasons on the big league mound. He played for four different teams, including the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies. However, he spent most of his career with the Red Sox. On the mound, Martinez was the complete opposite of fellow Hall of Fame inductee Randy Johnson; Martinez was listed at 6’0″ but it is often said that he stands around 5’10”. What he lacked in height, he made up for with his steaming fastball. He regularly lit up the radar gun with a fastball that sat right around 100 MPH. Throughout his career, he won three Cy Young Awards, four ERA titles, three strikeout titles, and an eight-time All-Star. In his career, he racked up 219 wins, 2.93 ERA, and 3,154 SO. Also, he was a part of two World Series winning teams (2004 and 2008). In the 2004 World Series, he won the series MVP award. He collected 500 votes on the Hall of Fame ballot, which is good for 91.1% of the vote. Without out any doubt, Martinez will go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Smoltz was a very interesting pitcher throughout his career. He had twenty-two big league seasons, spending twenty of them with the Atlanta Braves, one with the St. Louis Cardinals, and one with the Boston Red Sox. He went from a dominant starter in the 90’s to a shutdown closer from 01-04, then back to a starting pitcher the rest of his career. His move to the closer role from 01-04 is part of the reason he only has 213 wins, but he is the first player to every go into the Hall of Fame with at least 200 wins and 150 saves. He is was a seven-time All-Star, and along with that he collected one Cy Young Award, two-time wins leader, two-time strikeout leader, and a one-time saves leader.

The final player elected into the Hall of Fame in 2015 was Houston Astros 2nd baseman Craig Biggio. During his career, he spent all 20 of his MLB seasons in Houston, and also helped them reach the World Series in 2005. Although he was voted in this year, he wasn’t believed to be the first player from this era of Astros baseball to be voted into the Cooperstown. Jeff Bagwell was expected to get in first, but his stock decreased because of steroid allegations. Regardless, Biggio was filled with hustle; he’s often known as a model of what the typical baseball player should look like and plays like day in and day out. In three different seasons, he played all 162 games, which is almost unheard of in today’s game. Also, he led the league in plate appearances four different times. Don’t be mistaken by these stats, because he did more to become a Hall of Famer than playing every day. Biggio could also swing the bat and field very well. He led the league in doubles twice and was voted into the All-Star game seven times. He also collected five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Glove awards. This was Biggio’s third year on the ballot, and he has finally made it in after collecting 82.7% of the vote, which is good for 454 ballots with his name on it. Biggio will go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Astros.

Other players that came close to the 75% of the vote needed to get into the Hall of Fame. They are listed in the following table:

There are many compelling cases here, as many of these players are left off the ballots because they were linked to steroids.

Mike Piazza is no doubt the best offensive catcher in the history of baseball. He composed 2,127 hits, 427 HR, and a .308/.377/.545 slash line throughout his career. Not to mention, he was a twelve-time All-Star and a ten-time Silver Slugger winner. The only reason he has yet to get voted in: he was accused of using steroids.

As discussed earlier, it was believed that Bagwell would be the first inductee into the Hall of Fame out of the killer B’s (Bagwell, Berkman, and Biggio), but that was not the case. Bagwell was also linked to steroids, but there is no proof that he ever took them. He is a four-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner, one-time Gold Glove winner, and one-time NL MVP Award winner. These accolades alone could get him into Cooperstown, but he also has high career stats to back up his case. In fifteen big-league seasons, he collected 2,314 hits, 449 home runs, and a .297/.408/.540 slash line.

Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are still stuck below 40% on the ballot after another Hall of Fame ballot has passed. Personally, I believe it is ridiculous that they can’t get into the Hall of Fame. Yes, we all know they took steroids, but we are talking about two of the greatest players in the history of the game. If there were no steroid allegations, Bonds and Clemens could very well be at the top of everyone’s list of the greatest pitchers and hitters in the history of the game.

Baseball was dying in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but with the help of Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, and Sosa (all steroid users) they helped get fans to the games again. That should not go unnoticed. Voters need to realize how they saved the game, and put these guys on their ballots in 2016. Also, don’t forget the amount of achievements these guys have all had throughout their respective careers.

Ultimately, the voters did end up putting four solid players into the Hall of Fame class of 2015 in Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio.