Pedro Martinez among 4 elected to Hall of Fame, Mike Piazza falls short

NEW YORK -- Former Dodgers pitcher Pedro Martinez headlines a class of four players voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America, it was announced on Tuesday morning. Martinez will be inducted to Cooperstown on July 26 along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio.

Former Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza fell 28 votes shy of induction, appearing on 69.9 percent of writers ballots, in his third year on the ballot, an increase over the 62.2 percent he received in 2013.

Martinez appeared on 500 of 549 ballots (91.1 percent), joining fellow first-timers Johnson (97.3 percent) and Smoltz (82.9 percent). Biggio, who fell just two votes shy of induction last year, received 82.7 percent of the vote this year, his third on the ballot.

Martinez won three Cy Young Awards in his 18-year career, struck out 300 batters in a season twice, led the league in ERA and ERA+ five times, and his 154 ERA+ is the best in baseball history for a starting pitcher.

Martinez began his career with the Dodgers, pitching 115 innings in 1992-1993 — slightly over four percent of his career total — before getting traded to the Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields before the 1994 campaign.

Coupled with the induction of Greg Maddux in 2014, this is the first time the Hall of Fame will elect players with Dodgers ties in consecutive years since 1984-1985, when Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese and Arky Vaughan were ushered into Cooperstown.

Others with Dodgers ties on the ballot include Jeff Kent (14.0 percent), Gary Sheffield (11.7 percent), Mark McGwire (10 percent), Don Mattingly (9.1 percent), Nomar Garciaparra (5.5 percent) and Jason Schmidt (no votes). For Mattingly, this was his 15th and final year on the ballot.