CLEVELAND — The National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be headlined by three pitchers and one of the greatest designated hitters the game has ever seen.
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (100 percent), Toronto Blue Jays/Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay (85.4 percent), Seattle Mariners slugger Edgar Martinez (85.4 percent) and Baltimore Orioles/Yankees starter Mike Mussina (76.7 percent) all earned more than 319 votes required for enshrinement.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced on MLB Network on Tuesday night.
Rivera, Halladay, Martinez and Mussina join veterans committee selections Lee Smith and Harold Baines comprising the Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
Photos: Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay headline Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019
The first unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame, Rivera needed just one pitch to become the most dominant late-inning pitcher of his generation, as well as game’s all-time leader in saves. With a devastating cut fastball that had late sinking action, Rivera posted 652 saves to go along with an 82-60 record with a 2.21 earned run average over 1,283.2 innings pitched over 1,115 appearances.
Known as “The Sandman” because of his penchant for putting games to bed, Rivera registered 1,173 strikeouts and had an ERA of less than 2.50 in 13 of his 19 seasons with the Yankees, 17 of which were spent as the closer.
Rivera was a 13-time American League All-Star, as well as the 2003 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player, the 2013 All-Star Game MVP, a five-time AL Rolaids Relief Man Award winner, a five-time World Series Champion and the 1999 World Series MVP.
Rivera owns 17 Major League Baseball regular-season records, including the most saves, most career games finished (952), most career games pitched with a single team, in AL history and by a right-handed pitcher, as well as the most seasons with at least 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 saves, the most interleague saves and the most saves in a single ballpark (230 at Old Yankee Stadium).
Also, Rivera owns 13 postseason records.
Affectionately known as “Doc,” Halladay helped set the standard for starting pitchers in his 16 seasons with the Blue Jays (12) and Phillies (four). Halladay posted a 203-105 record with a 3.38 earned run average over 416 appearances, including 390 starts.
An eight-time All-Star, Halladay struck out 2,117 batters over 2,749.1 innings of work and became the first player to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history on May 29, 2010, and later that season, tossed only the second-ever postseason no-hitter.
Over 18 seasons, all with the Mariners, Martinez converted from a third baseman to designated hitter and recorded 2,247 hits, including 309 home runs and 514 doubles, drove in 1,261 runs, scored 1,219 runs and was a lifetime .312 hitter.
Martinez was a seven-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, two-time American League batting champion and led the AL in RBI during the 2000 season.
Mussina spent 18 years in the majors, including eight with the Yankees (2001-2008) and 10 with the Orioles (1991-2000), who selected him in the first round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft.
Mussina posted a 270-153 record with a 3.68 ERA over 537 games, including 536 starts. Over 3,562.2 innings of work, “The Moose” registered 2,813 strikeouts. Mussina was a five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner. He led the majors in wins in 1995, won at least 13 games 14 times, including a career-best 20 victories during his final season with the Yankees in 2008.
Multi-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens (59.5 percent), former National League Most Valuable Player Barry Bonds (59.1 percent) and three-time World Series Champion hurler Curt Schilling (60.9 percent) came up short of the required votes for enshrinement.