The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced its four new members.
Vladimir Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Trevor Hoffman, and Him Thome were all elected to the prestigious Hall on Wednesday.
According to ESPN, both Thome and Jones were elected in their first year of eligibility. This is also only the fourth time in the history of the Hall that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected four players (1947, 1955, and 2015).
“This is the day that’s going to change my life forever,” said Jones, who played his entire 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves. “We have a handful of those during our lifetime, transcendent moments that just change your life forever. Today was certainly one of them.”
Jones, the eight-time All-Star and 1999 National League MVP, was also the second number one overall draft pick to make it to the Hall of Fame (Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016).
Guerrero, who nearly missed gaining admission into the Hall last year on his first year of eligibility, garnered 92.9% of the vote to become the first Dominican-born position player in the Hall.
During a swing’s peak, a baseball bat can travel around 80 mph, and Vlad nearly perfected the art of the swing as he hit 449 home runs and slugged .553% during his career (with a .318 batting average) and won the 2004 American Leave MVP award.
Thome’s highlights over his illustrious 22-year career include hitting 612 home runs (eighth all-time), 1,747 walks (seven all-time), and drove in at least 100 runs nine times.
And Hoffman, the only pitcher on this year’s docket, ranks second in all-time career saves with 601 and was the first pitcher ever to reach both the 500- and 600-save mark. Hoffman spent 18 years in the MLB and 15 and a half of those seasons with the San Diego Padres — he garnered entry on his third try with 79.8% of the vote.
These four players, alongside veterans committee inductees Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, will be officially honored in Cooperstown, New York, on July 29, 2018.
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