Hearing from the newest members of baseball's Hall of Fame

For the first time since 1955, the Baseball Writers' Association of America has elected four players to the Hall of Fame. Pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, as well as Craig Biggio, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y. The BBWAA has not voted in four players in one vote since electing Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance six decades ago. The three pitchers were elected on their first try, Biggio on his third. The players connected to steroids - Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire - didn't come close to the 75 percent needed for enshrinement. Mike Mussina, who pitched 10 years for the Orioles, received 24.6 percent of the vote, up from 20.3 percent last year. Catcher Mike Piazza finished 28 votes short of the 75 percent needed. Don Mattingly was on the ballot for the 15th and final time. Outfielder Tim Raines, who had 808 steals, had 55 percent of the vote. Next year is his last year of eligibility. Next year's ballot will include Ken Griffey Jr. Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner. Griffey should be a slam-dunk on the first ballot. The new Hall of Famers talked with reporters via conference calls Tuesday. Johnson had the best local angles from Washington and Baltimore. Here are the highlights: Johnson, who got 97.3 percent of the vote, had 303 wins and 4,875 strikeouts, most for a lefty and second to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan's 5,714. Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, one in the American League with Seattle and four consecutive in the National League with Arizona from 1999 through 2002. Johnson won his 300th game as a San Francisco Giant in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2009, beating the Nationals 5-1 in the first game of a rain-soaked doubleheader. Johnson pitched six innings and had to leave after hurting his shoulder. Jordan Zimmermann started the game for Washington. Johnson became the first pitcher since Tom Seaver in 1985 to get his 300th win on his first try. The game was played on cloudy afternoon and Johnson remembers the near-empty ballpark. He said it was easy to pick out his family and friends who had come to see his big game. "There were about 500 people in the stands," he recalled. "It was wet.'' Johnson laughed that he played for nearly a quarter of a century, but is remembered for two plays: The pitch that he threw in Toronto that killed a pigeon and striking out Philadelphia's John Kruk in the 1993 All-Star Game at Camden Yards. Johnson, then a Seattle Mariner, threw his first pitch over the head of the left-handed-batting Kruk, who appeared nervous and pounded his chest outside the batter's box. Kruk struck out easily, stepping into the bucket and swinging helplessly at two more pitches. Players in both dugouts laughed. It was a classic All-Star moment. Johnson said the humidity caused him to lose his grip on the first pitch. He said Kruk, with his sense of humor, was the right guy to have up in that situation. Johnson was laughing as he walked off the mound. Kruk was happy to be alive. "It's one of my fondest memories,'' Johnson said. Johnson also said it was difficult to be tall and learn to pitch. "I don't think people quite understand how difficult it is to be 6-foot-10 and be throwing a ball 60 feet, six inches away,'' Johnson says. "In order to do that, you have to be consistent with your release point and where you are landing, your arm slot and all of that. For someone 6-1, 6-2, there's less body to keep under control, so it's a lot easier.'' Smoltz, with 82.9 percent of the vote, helped the Atlanta Braves win 14 consecutive division championships. He was a starter with 215 wins and a closer with 154 saves. The Braves, though, won the World Series only once when they beat Cleveland in 1995. Smoltz said there was satisfaction in the streak, but regrets that the Braves didn't win more World Series. "We had all the ingredients,'' Smoltz said. "It was the greatest run in sports. At least we've got one (title), but there's no doubt we should have had more.'' He pointed out that the Braves lost their first eight World Series games by one run each time. He also said he enjoyed the run of titles even more when he considers that he started his career on teams that lost at least 100 games three consecutive years. Smoltz's unique career had him leading the National League with 24 wins in 1996. He also led the NL in innings pitched in two consecutive years, hitting 253 2/3 one year and 256 the next. Then, in 2002, he led the NL in saves with 55. He also had seasons of 45 and 44 saves. The idea to go to the bullpen was his idea after coming back from Tommy John surgery, he said. Braves manager Bobby Cox wasn't big on the idea, but Smoltz said, "We had no choice.'' And switching from starter to closer was the hardest thing he had to do in his career. "There was a fast track to learn on the job,'' he said. But when Smoltz came back as a starter, he was a league-leader in wins with 16. The three years as a starter following his stint in the bullpen might have been the most gratifying of his career, he said. Biggio missed by two votes a year ago, but made it this time with 82.7 percent. He played his 20-year career with the Houston Astros and finished with 3,060 hits. He was a catcher, second baseman and outfielder and he helped the Astros to the franchise's only World Series berth in 2005. He's the only player in history with 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 steals and 250 home runs. And he's the all-time leader with 285 hit-by-pitches. Biggio is the first Astro to make the Hall of Fame. He said that's special because of all the players the Astros have had, including Nolan Ryan, Buddy Bell and Bill Doran. Biggio said that even though he missed by two votes last year, he wasn't going to take anything for granted. He was anxious all day waiting for the Hall call. "Last year, I was totally fine,'' Biggio said. "It was trending in the right direction. This morning I was up at 4:30 (a.m.), then at 7 and had to keep busy all morning.'' Biggio hopes that his Astros teammate, first baseman Jeff Bagwell, will make the Hall next year. As a first baseman, Bagwell had two seasons of 30 home runs and 30 steals. "No first baseman in history has done it once,'' Biggio says. Bagwell received 55.7 percent of the vote. Martinez had 91.1 percent of the vote. He was a three-time Cy Young winner, including 1999 with Boston when he won the American League's Triple Crown with 23 wins, a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts. Martinez grew up poor in the Dominican Republic. He said it would have been impossible to predict the future back then, but "I had faith that I could do something special for my family. I took full advantage when I had the opportunity. It doesn't get any higher than this.'' Martinez was a small guy, but he considered himself a power pitcher. "I was a power pitcher with finesse,'' he says. "I was precise with my mechanics. My legs were the ultimate dictator to my success and power. I didn't have the height and strength.''