To answer this morning's question of "Who's joining Harold Baines in the Hall of Fame?", the voters responded with four more selections.
Mariano Rivera led the way by becoming the first unanimous Hall of Famer, with Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina in tow. Throw in Baines and Lee Smith, and it's another six-pack of inductees, the third one in six years.
The Baseball Writers Association of America approached 100 percent a couple years ago when Ken Griffey Jr. collected 437 of 440 votes cast, or 99.32 percent. This time around, Rivera was selected on all 425 ballots. He's the first, but he won't be the last, and could be joined as soon as next season with Derek Jeter on deck.
Martinez cleared the 75 percent bar with ease in his 10th and final year on the ballot with 85.4 percent of the vote, which tied Halladay on his first year of eligibility. Mussina squeaked by with 76.7 percent, but he counts just as much as Rivera's perfect score.
As for other down-ballot implications:
*Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds only gained 2 percent apiece (59.5 and 59.1). They still have a shot with three years of eligibility remaining, but this just as easily could represent the best they can do.
*Curt Schilling cracked 60 percent (60.9) with three years to go. Considering he received a boost of 9 percent and compares favorably to new inductees Halladay and Mussina, his path seems clearer, and potentially more so if he could keep his odious views to himself. (Change would be good, too, but he seems too far gone.)
*Larry Walker saw his support jump 20 percent. He needs another 20.4 percent to reach 75 percent in his final year of eligibility, but with the backlog just about cleared, he might have the room to get there.
*Omar Vizquel received 42.8 percent of the vote, which is simultaneously a lot for his second year, and a meager jump from 37 percent the year before. Without a whole lot of analytical heft behind him, it's possible his support has a ceiling.
*Andruw Jones and Scott Rolen both deserve better (7.5 percent and 17.2 percent), but Walker, who sank to 10.2 percent in his fourth year of eligibility, provides some inspiration.
*Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia both received zero votes.
