Biggio, Johnson, P. Martinez and Smoltz elected to Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., will open its doors to four inductees this summer, the largest class in 55 years. The Baseball Writers' Association of America has voted in second baseman Craig Biggio and pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz. Biggio fell short by two votes last year. Candidates must be named on 75 percent of ballots cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of Major League Baseball coverage to gain election. Johnson received 97.3 percent of the votes, Martinez 91.1 percent and Smoltz 82.9 percent in their first year on the ballot. Biggio received 82.7 percent in his third year. Mike Piazza missed out after receiving 69.9 percent of the votes. Former Oriole Mike Mussina received 24.6 percent of the votes, a slight increase from last year. Roger Clemens (37.5 percent) and Barry Bonds (36.8) were denied again in their third year on the ballot and don't seem to be gaining much traction. The last time four players were elected in the same year was 1955 with Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Dazzy Vance and Ted Lyons. The only other year four players were chosen by the writers was in 1947 with Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Mickey Cochrane and Frankie Frisch. Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz became the first trio of pitchers honored by the BBWAA in the same election. Johnson's percentage is the eighth-highest in the history of balloting, exceeded only by Tom Seaver (98.9), Nolan Ryan (98.7), Cal Ripken Jr. (98.5), Ty Cobb (98.2), George Brett (98.2), Hank Aaron (97.8) and Tony Gwynn (97.6). Carlos Delgado (3.8 percent), Troy Percival (0.7), Aaron Boone (0.4), Tom Gordon (0.4), Darin Erstad (0.2), Rich Aurilia (0), Tony Clark (0), Jermaine Dye (0), Cliff Floyd (0), Brian Giles (0), Eddie Guardado (0) and Jason Schmidt (0) drop off the ballot after receiving fewer than 5 percent of the votes. In his final year on the ballot, first baseman Don Mattingly received 50 votes (9.1) and will be eligible for consideration by the Expansion Era Committee in two years. Here are the vote and percentage totals: Randy Johnson 534 (97.3) Pedro Martinez 500 (91.1) John Smoltz 455 (82.9) Craig Biggio 454 (82.7) Mike Piazza 384 (69.9) Jeff Bagwell 306 (55.7) Tim Raines 302 (55) Curt Schilling 215 (39.2) Roger Clemens 206 (37.5) Barry Bonds 202 (36.8) Lee Smith 166 (30.2) Edgar Martinez 148 (27) Alan Trammell 138 (25.1) Mike Mussina 135 (24.6) Jeff Kent 77 (14) Fred McGriff 71 (12.9) Larry Walker 65 (11.8) Gary Sheffield 64 (11.7) Mark McGwire 55 (10) Don Mattingly 50 (9.1) Sammy Sosa 36 (6.6) Nomar Garciaparra 30 (5.5) Carlos Delgado 21 (3.8) Troy Percival 4 (0.7) Aaron Boone 2 (0.4) Tom Gordon 2 (0.4) Darin Erstad 1 (0.2) Rich Aurilia 0 (0) Tony Clark 0 (0) Jermaine Dye 0 (0) Cliff Floyd 0 (0) Brian Giles 0 (0) Eddie Guardado 0 (0) Jason Schmidt 0 (0) Ken Griffey Jr. and Trevor Hoffmann will be on next year's ballot.