There’s a certain comfort in knowing that Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will be finishing their baseball careers the way they started; as Hall of Fame teammates. Equally comforting is knowing that one of baseball’s most underappreciated hitters of all-time will be joining them, Frank Thomas. On Sunday, July 27, 2014, Maddux, Glavine and Thomas will join baseball immortality as Hall of Famers in Cooperstown.
Shuffling through a box of old things recently, I found an old toy I hadn’t seen in at least 10 years; my Greg Maddux action figure. Being a West Coast guy, I was never able to fully appreciate the art that was watching Maddux pitch in his prime. However, I was at a young age able to appreciate the greatness of his first name. All jokes aside, Maddux entering the Hall of Fame on his first ballot is fitting since he finished first in pretty much everything else throughout his career. Leading the league in walks per nine innings (nine times), innings pitched (five times), wins (three times) and strikeout to walk ratio (three times) are all just part of the brilliance that was Greg Maddux for 23 spectacular seasons. Plus, Maddux may have been the most twisted and perverse locker room joker of his generation; which has to count for something.
Amongst the many teammates who likely played victim to Maddux’s childish sense of humor, is Tom Glavine. Glavine posted 22 dazzling years in his own right, despite any harassment he may have received from Maddux for much of it. A first ballot Hall of Famer as well, Glavine too made it a habit of finishing first in his career, leading the league in wins five times. An interesting tidbit about Glavine’s and Maddux’s careers: they won a combined five consecutive Cy Young awards from 1991-95 and six of eight from 1991-98. But Glavine was so much more than just Maddux’s teammate. Glavine made 10 all-star games in his career the first being in 1991 and the last being in 2006; a remarkable 17 year span of putting a hurt on opposing team’s bats.
Speaking of ‘hurt’, lets talk about the ‘Big Hurt’, aka Frank Thomas (how many of you guys saw that predictable pun coming?). If you need any proof that Frank Thomas is the most underrated hitter of all-time, look no further than his measly five all-star game selections. Yes, you read that right, Frank Thomas, the owner of 521 home runs was only elected to five all-star games (1993-1997). In fact, Thomas hit 40 or more home runs in two separate seasons in which he was not elected to the all-star game. Let me just reiterate, in 2000, Thomas posted a 43/143/.328/.436 and didn’t make the all-star team. I was so shaken by that fact that I literally went and looked up if there was even an all-star game played in that year, just to make sure I wasn’t missing something. And how many of you knew that Thomas’ career .419 OBP ranks 19th all-time and ahead of the likes of Stan Musial, Rickey Henderson, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera? Probably not a lot of you. At least the BBWAA got this one right.
But none of this addresses what might be the greatest managerial Hall of Fame class in history. Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre. These guys combined for eight Manager of the Year awards and eight World Series championships as managers. I confess that I’m not exactly sure how common it is for managers to be elected by 100 percent of the voters, but all three of these guys were unanimous selections; something at the very least worth noting. And I’d also venture to guess they lead all Hall of Fame classes in ejections thanks to the work of Bobby Cox (all-time leader with 158).
As is the case with every Hall of Fame class, thousands will flock to Cooperstown to honor their favorite MLB players and managers. This class will be no different than any other Hall of Fame ceremony; but that doesn’t mean there won’t be an extreme case of nostalgia throughout. Funny stories will be told, favorite moments will be shared, and somebody is bound to crack a bad joke about Bobby Cox’s anger issues. And that is exactly why we all care so much. To embrace these special baseball icons for one last time on center stage and to remember them from their years as simple baseball mortals.
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