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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (Reuters) - Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday as the Class of 1999 proved to be every bit as impressive as the star-studded ballot.
Ryan, the all-time strikeout king, and Brett and Yount, members of the exclusive 3,000-hit club, became the first trio of first-year candidates to be elected to baseball's highest honor since the five-member inaugural class of 1936, which featured Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
It marked the first time as many as three players were elected since 1991, when Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry were enshrined.
Ryan and Brett each were named on more than 98 percent of the record 497 votes cast by the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Ryan's 491 votes represented a 98.79 percentage, second only to the 98.84 percent for Tom Seaver in 1992. Brett's 488 votes constituted a 98.19 percentage, fourth all-time behind Cobb's 98.23. Ryan and Brett each surpassed the previous record vote total of 444 (of 460) by Mike Schmidt in 1995.
Yount's vote was far closer, earning 385 votes, just 12 more than necessary. To gain election, voters needed to be named on 75 percent of the ballots cast.
Induction ceremonies are scheduled for July 25.
Tuesday's results were the most anticipated in decades since the ballot included several other individuals with a realistic chance at making it to the Hall of Fame at some point.
One of those players was Carlton Fisk, baseball's all-time leader in games caught, but the former member of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox failed in his first try this year, finishing fourth with 330 votes, 43 shy of induction.
Tony Perez, the first baseman for the powerhouse Cincinnati teams of the mid-1970s, was fifth with 302 votes, 19 less than he garnered a year ago. Perez was on the ballot for an eighth time.
Tuesday's election raises the number of first-year electees to 29. Before Tuesday, the last first-year player selected was Mike Schmidt in 1995.
The election of three players is even more noteworthy since baseball writers have been quite picky of late. Just three players have been elected in the previous four years, with Don Sutton the lone choice last January.
One of the hardest throwers in baseball history, Ryan is the all-time leader in strikeouts (5,714), no-hitters (7) and walks (2,795). He pitched his last two no-hitters after turning 40, when his fastball -- dubbed ``Ryan's Express'' -- still hummed at about 98 miles per hour.
Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson once said that hitting against Ryan was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.
Ryan had back-to-back 20-win seasons with the California Angels in 1973-74 and led the National League in ERA in 1981 and 1987 with the Houston Astros. He broke in as an erratic right-hander with the New York Mets in 1966 and won his lone World Series championship in 1969, when he served as a long reliever and spot starter.
Ryan recorded at least 300 strikeouts six times, including a major-league record 383 in 1973. He led the American League in strikeouts nine times and the NL twice, retiring after the 1993 season with a 324-292 record, 61 shutouts and a 3.19 ERA.
In 1973, Ryan recorded his first two no-hitters against Kansas City and Detroit. He added no-hitters against Minnesota in 1974, Los Angeles in 1981, Oakland in 1990 and Toronto in 1991 at the age of 44.
Critics note that Ryan, who pitched his final five seasons with Texas, had a losing record nine times and never won a Cy Young Award in his 27 seasons. But Sutton also failed to win the coveted pitching award, as did Juan Marichal.
While Ryan wore a multitude of uniforms, Brett and Yount are part of a vanishing breed that spent their entire careers with the same team.
Brett played 21 seasons with the Kansas City Royals, capturing batting crowns in 1976, 1980 and 1990. In 1980, he mounted a captivating season-long pursuit of the magical .400 mark before finishing at .390 and winning AL Most Valuable Player honors.
He debuted in 1973 as a third baseman with an inconsistent arm but worked hard on his fielding and won a Gold Glove in 1985.
A 13-time All-Star, Brett made six trips to the AL Championship Series, leading the Royals to World Series appearances in 1980 and 1985, when they won the only title in franchise history.
A tremendous clutch hitter, Brett's home run off New York Yankees closer Rich Gossage in Game Three of the 1980 ALCS sent the Royals to the World Series.
But Brett is remembered more for a homer off Gossage on July 24th, 1983 that first was disallowed because Brett had too much pine tar on his bat. Brett went ballistic and the ruling later was overturned by AL president Lee MacPhail.
Brett finished with a .305 average and 3,154 hits, including 317 home runs. He batted .337 in the postseason.
Yount also played for a small-market team in the Milwaukee Brewers and collected 3,142 hits, also reaching a plateau that is considered worthy of automatic induction. Although all-time hits leader Pete Rose is ineligible, all 15 previously eligible players with 3,000 hits have been voted into the Hall.
Brett and Yount become the 11th and 12th members of the 3,000-hit fraternity to be elected on the first try.
Yount won the AL MVP at two positions, capturing the 1992 award as a shortstop and winning again in 1989 as an outfielder. He played 20 seasons with the Brewers, debuting as a skinny 18-year-old in 1974.
In 1980, Yount emerged as a dominant offensive player, hitting .293 with a league-leading 49 doubles, 23 homers and 87 RBI.
Two years later, he helped the Brewers reach the World Series for the only time in their history by batting a career-high .331 with 29 homers and 114 RBI.
Milwaukee lost the World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals, but Yount batted .414 with 12 hits and six RBI. A three-time All-Star, he went on to hit .300 five more times, including every year from 1986-89.
The early start allowed Yount to collect his 3,000th hit at 36 years, 11 months, 24 days, the third-youngest player to reach the plateau behind Cobb and Hank Aaron.
Yount finished his career with a .285 average, 251 homers and 1,406 RBI. Only five players had more lifetime at-bats than Yount's 11,008.
Gary Carter, the NL counterpart to Fisk for most of his career, received less support this year than in 1998, when the competition was lighter. Carter had 200 votes in 1998 and fell to 168 this time around, good for sixth in the voting.
Steve Garvey (150) was seventh and was followed by Jim Rice (146), Bruce Sutter (121) and Jim Kaat (100).
Dale Murphy, who won back-to-back NL MVP awards with Atlanta in 1982 and 1983 and hit 398 homers, had just 96 votes in his first year of eligibility.
In their last year of eligibility, Minnie Minoso received 73 votes (14.69 percent) and Mickey Lolich 26 (5.23 percent).
Tommy John received 93 votes and was followed by Dave Parker (80), Minoso, Bert Blyleven (70), Dave Concepion (59), Luis Tiant (53), Keith Hernandez (34), Ron Guidy (31), Bob Boone (27) and Lolich.
Dwight Evans (18), George Bell (6), John Candelaria (1), Mike Boddicker (0), Charlie Leibrandt (0), Frank Tanana (0) and Mike Witt (0) all failed to garner the necessary five percent to remain on the ballot.
Additional enshrinees can be named by the Veterans Committee, which meets March 2nd in Tampa, Florida. Bill Mazeroski and Gil Hodges are expected to be among the candidates.
Tuesday's election gives the Hall of Fame 240 members, including 181 major-league players, 23 pioneer executives, 15 Negro Leaguers, 14 managers and seven umpires.
[Career Statistics]
[The New York Mets Years]
[The California Angels Years]
[The Houston Astros Years]
[The Texas Rangers Years]
[7 Career No-Hitters]
[5,714 Career Strikeouts]
[Records]
[Achievements]
[Cooperstown Class Of 1999]
[Nolan Ryan Baseball Cards]
[Quotes]
[The Nolan Ryan Story]
[Miscellaneous Features]
[Books, Videos, & Collectibles]
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