With no one new on the ballot capturing the fancy of the voters, Tom Glavine emerged as a strong winner among the holdovers. Glavine becomes the 15th inductee into the Circle of Greats. Get more on Tom and the voting merely by clicking on that magic “Read the rest…” button.
Tom Glavine was a bit of a throwback pitcher, averaging only 5.32 strikeouts per nine innings over his career. Here’s a table showing the highest career pitching WAR totals among all pitchers whose careers began in the expansion era (1961 or after) and who averaged less than 5.5 Ks per 9 innings pitched:
[table id=104 /]
Perhaps that comparatively low-strikeout style helped Glavine achieve his durability:
Most Regular Season Pitching Starts in National League History:
1. Greg Maddux 740
2. Tom Glavine 682
3. Steve Carlton 677
4. Warren Spahn 665
5. Pete Alexander 600
Most Pitching Starts (Regular Season and Post-Season Combined) By a Left-Handed Pitcher in MLB History:
1. Steve Carlton 723
2. Tom Glavine 717
3. Tommy John 713
4. Warren Spahn 671
5. Jamie Moyer 646
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Glavine was elected in his 13th appearance on the ballot. Tom has received more individual votes, in the aggregate, over the first 15 rounds of COG voting, than anyone else.
Tim Raines was on the “bubble” this round, that is, he would have dropped off the eligibility list if he’d appeared on fewer than 10% of the ballots cast. But Tim received significant support, over the 25% level that assures him eligibility for at least the next two rounds of voting. None of the holdover group will be on the bubble next round.
Raines was closely bunched with Paul Molitor and Tony Gwynn in a group behind Glavine. After coming as close as possible to induction last round without actually getting there, and falling back a bit toward the pack this round, it will be interesting to see how voters treat Molitor going forward.
For the third round in a row, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker were tied with each other. Exactly like last round, they each appeared on 18 ballots.
As always, you can review the complete voting record for this past round at Google Docs. The link is here: 1955- Part 1 COG Vote Tally
If you would like to review the history of the COG voting, a spreadsheet summary of the voting is here: COG Vote Summary , with a summary of the raw vote totals on Sheet 1 and a summary of the percentage totals on Sheet 2.
The Circle of Greats membership thus far:
Jeff Bagwell
Wade Boggs
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Tom Glavine
Rickey Henderson
Randy Johnson
Barry Larkin
Greg Maddux
Mike Mussina
Mike Piazza
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Curt Schilling
Frank Thomas
Larry Walker
