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Baseball-Pitchers and Pedro rule at Hall of Fame induction

Published 2015-07-26, 08:55 p/m
Baseball-Pitchers and Pedro rule at Hall of Fame induction

NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez
and John Smoltz became the first trio of pitchers inducted into
the Baseball Hall of Fame in the same year as they joined Craig
Biggio in Sunday's Class of 2015 at Cooperstown, New York.
Tens of thousands attended the ceremony in the quaint
upstate village with the liveliest, loudest contingent coming to
support Martinez, the second Dominican after Juan Marichal in
1983 to be enshrined in the Hall.
"Ola, Ola," he shouted to compatriots who were waving small
Dominican flags.
"It's a great moment, not only for me, for my family. It's a
great moment for the Dominican Republic and Latin America,"
added Martinez in a speech in English and Spanish.
Forty-nine Hall of Famers assembled on an outdoor stage to
welcome the new members, including pitching greats Sandy Koufax,
Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford and the
'Dominican Dandy' himself, Marichal.
After finishing his speech, Martinez called former Giants
ace Marichal to join him and together they held a Dominican
flag.
Martinez won 219 games across 18 seasons in Los Angeles,
Montreal, Boston, New York and Philadelphia, winning five ERA
titles, three Cy Young Awards and the Red Sox's 2004
breakthrough World Series title.
Johnson, a towering lefthander who won 303 games, garnered
five Cy Youngs including four in a row from 1999 and led the
league in strikeouts nine times. He won three games in the 2001
World Series triumph for Arizona over the Yankees.
"If you were cheering for me, I'd run through a brick wall
for you and throw as many pitches as needed to get the victory,"
Johnson said.
Smoltz showed his diversity by beginning as a dominant
starter and after surgery on his elbow became a top flight
closer for Atlanta.
"At 6-10 (2.08m), (Johnson) is truly the freak that mastered
the game in a way that no other could," Smoltz, who donned a wig
during his speech to poke fun at his baldness, said.
"With Pedro Martinez being on the opposite end of the
spectrum and with me kind of fitting in the middle, it shows why
baseball is a game of all sizes and shapes."
Biggio collected more than 3,000 hits in a 20-year career
spent entirely with the Houston Astros and played catcher,
second base and outfield.
"I gave the game everything I had every day," Biggio said.
"In baseball, tomorrow is not guaranteed, and I tried to play
every game as if it was going to be my last."


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