2015 Class Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame
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Photo by Elsa/Getty Images(COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.) — Three of the best pitchers of a generation were among the honorees on Sunday as the Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed four new members.
At the annual induction ceremony, the Hall of Fame welcomed Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio to its ranks. Thousands attended the ceremony.
Martinez joined former San Francisco Giants great Juan Marichal as the only Dominican players in the Hall of Fame. That fact was not lost on Martinez who said that “we waited 32 years for another Dominican,” but that he expects more to join the pair in the near future.
He thanked the fans, the writers who voted him in to the Hall of Fame, and even his opponents, joking that he always respected his opponents, even if “by the pitches, sometimes you wouldn’t tell that.”
Johnson, at 6-feet-10 inches tall, is the tallest player in the Hall of Fame. He called it “humbling” to become a part of “baseball’s greatest fraternity.”
Perhaps most notable was Smoltz’ speech, in which he called for parents to rein in their children when it comes to playing baseball. Regarding the number of teens having surgery for arm injuries caused by baseball, Smoltz said that kids playing baseball aren’t “having fun” and that every pitch they throw is “maxed out.” He urged parents to take care of those young arms.
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