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Hall of Fame Class 25 – Maddux Perfect; Foxx for the Cycle Four Other All-Time Greats Honored in Hall of
Fame Parade |
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Unanimous - Greg Maddux
Unanimous – Jimmie Foxx
Lou Gehrig
Charlie Gehringer & Joe Cronin
Roger Clemens |
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With 87% of the eligible ballots cast,
voting for the TCBA
Players’ Hall of Fame Class 25 concluded this week with members
overwhelming the ballot box with unanimous votes for Greg Maddux
and Jimmie Foxx. While two other
batters have also received unanimous consent (Ruth and Ott), Maddux becomes
the only pitcher to receive that honor. Tom
Seaver is the next closest Hall of Fame pitcher, having garnered 99.8% in
2009. Maddux began his TCBA career in 1988,
joining Don Mahley’s
Annandale club. Although his record of 4-11 was unimpressive, three of those
wins were complete games, giving a hint of what was to come. From that acorn
a mighty oak grew. For the next 17 seasons Maddux delivered 10+ wins each
year, including a remarkable stretch of eight consecutive 20+ win seasons from
1992-1999. By the time he announced his retirement, Maddux had accumulated
239 complete games, #5 all-time. In 1997, Maddux was traded to Newark, where he produced another impressive streak –
five consecutive Metro Division pennants and two league championships
(1998-99). Moving on to Philadelphia, Greg delivered again, with three
consecutive post-season appearances, including another World Series win in
2005. Maddux retired at the conclusion of the 2009 season, but not before
helping Bradenton to a Central Division pennant
in 2008. Greg Maddux was a
unanimous choice. Another well-deserved unanimous honor went
to Jimmie Foxx. After playing
sparingly for Sacramento for three seasons,
Double XX exploded with the bat in 1929, beginning a streak of thirteen
consecutive seasons of 20+ home runs, including a monstrous 62 in 1933, to go
along with his league-leading .458 average. Foxx led Gerry Hobbs’ Solons to
the post-season six times, with a pair of World Series wins in 1942 and 1946.
Joining Foxx into the Hall of Fame will be
another slugger, Lou Gehrig, who spent his
entire career with the Norfolk/Newton
franchise. Gehrig’s lone trip to the post-season was a 6-game playoff loss in
1927 in which he reached base in thirteen of his twenty-five plate
appearances. Gehrig attracted 92.5% of the vote. The trajectories of Charlie Gehringer and Joe Cronin are remarkably similar.
They each began their careers in the mid-1920’s, playing into the early
1940’s. While Cronin stayed with Al Keefer’s Mexicali
team for an entire career, Gehringer was a mainstay for Franchise #15, first
with Craig Shifflett’s Cleveland Spiders, and
then with Walt MacEachern’s Baltimore Orioles. In
1938, Gehringer led the league in batting with a .411 average; in 1939,
Cronin’s .408 led the league. Cronin and Gehringer each made five post-season
appearances, with Cronin winning the only ring, a pinch-hitting role for the
1945 champion Mallards. Roger
Clemens began his TCBA career as a member of Bob Collins’ Berkshire
Badgers in 1985. Collins, under massive pressure to trade Clemens after
finishing in last place in 1985-86 and 1988, chose to end his relationship
with TCBA instead. Stepping up to take over the team was Frank Tedeschi,
marking his third attempt at establishing a TCBA franchise. With 21-game
winner Roger Clemens in the lead, the Bethesda
Bambinos became a powerhouse, winning their first league crown in 1992.
Bethesda switched to rebuilding after that season, and Clemens was traded to Scranton. For the next ten seasons, Roger and the
Spanish Flies did nothing but win; eight 100+ win seasons, six Wildcards,
four Metro pennants, three World Series crowns. In those ten seasons, Clemens won 182
games! Having worn out his welcome (if not his
arm) with Scranton, Clemens was shipped north of the border in 2003 to
Franchise #14 for Ed Hebscher’s wildcard run with his Newmarket Eh’s.
Following a team move to Pennsylvania, Clemens led Bill Gettins’ Keystones to
three consecutive playoff appearances, including a league title in 2005. When
the resin dust settled after two final seasons with Brooklyn,
Clemens had amassed 358 wins and 4654 strikeouts, with fifteen post-season
appearances. By all accounts, a true Hall of Fame career. Six
other players received votes in this recent election, with only Tom Glavine
and Dolph Camilli assured of appearing on a future ballot. Voting
for Class 25A will be held in December. The vote totals for Class 25 are
listed below: Class 25 Voting Totals:
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Appeared on the list for the final time. Source: TCBA Encyclopedia |
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