Braves Pitching Duo Joins 2014 Hall of Fame Class

ATLANTA - The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) announced today that former Braves pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine have been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Frank Thomas. All three players were in their first year of eligibility and Maddux and Glavine will join former Braves manager Bobby Cox at the induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York, on July 27. The total number of former Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves players, managers and executives elected to the Hall of Fame now stands at 50.

This marks the first time since the 1946 Hall of Fame class that two starting pitchers who pitched at least one whole season in the same rotation were elected to the Hall of Fame. Jack Chesbro and Rube Waddell took regular turns in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation in 1900. Another member of the Class of 1946, Eddie Plank, was in the Philadelphia Athletics rotation with Waddell from 1902-07.

Maddux, who pitched for the Braves from 1993 to 2003, became the most dominant pitcher in baseball during his 11 seasons in Atlanta. On the heels of winning his first Cy Young Award in 1992 with the Chicago Cubs, he signed with the Braves as a free agent and proceeded to win three more Cy Young awards in a row (1993-95).

With Atlanta, Maddux led the National League in ERA four times (1993, '94, '95 and '98) and in wins twice (1994 and '95). His franchise-record 1.56 ERA during the 1994 season was the second-lowest in the major leagues since Bob Gibson's 1.12 mark in 1968 (the last year of the elevated pitcher's mound). Maddux had arguably his finest season in 1995, posting a 19-2 record with a 1.63 ERA while leading the league with 209.2 innings pitched and 10 complete games and helping the Braves win the World Series. He finished fifth, second and fourth in Cy Young Award voting in 1996, '97 and '98.

On the Braves' career lists, Maddux ranks second in ERA (2.63), fifth in strikeouts (1,828), sixth in wins (194) and 10th in shutouts (21). The right-hander won 15 or more games for 17 consecutive seasons (1988 to 2004) - the only pitcher in Major League history to do so. Maddux ranks eighth all-time with 355 wins and 10th with 3,371 strikeouts. He won a record 18 Gold Gloves, including 10 with the Braves. He was an eight-time All-Star and the NL starting pitcher in 1994, '97 and '98. Maddux was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in July 2009.

Glavine won 305 regular-season games in his 22-year Major League career and ranks fourth all-time in wins among left-handed pitchers. But it was his eight innings of one-hit, shutout baseball in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series that accounted for his most-significant victory. The Braves won 1-0 to capture the first championship in Atlanta history, and Glavine was named the series Most Valuable Player.

The left-hander arrived in Atlanta in 1987 and became a consistent winner. Glavine won 20 or more games in a season five times, including three straight years from 1991 to 1993, and earned the first of his two Cy Young awards in 1991, going 20-11 with a 2.55 ERA. His second Cy Young came in 1998 on the strength of a 20-6 record and a 2.47 ERA. He finished second for the award in 1992 and 2000 and third in 1993 and 1995.

Glavine won his 300th game on August 5, 2007 (as a member of the New York Mets), with an 8-3 verdict over the Chicago Cubs. He became the 23rd pitcher and just the sixth left-hander to reach that plateau. On the Braves' career lists, Glavine ranks fourth in strikeouts (2,091), fourth in wins (244) and tied for eighth in shutouts (22). His lifetime ledger was 305-203 with a 3.54 ERA, and his 682 games started rank 11th on baseball's all-time list. A 10-time All-Star, Glavine won four Silver Slugger Awards. 

From 1993 to 1999, the Braves featured arguably the game's top starting pitching rotation. Over that seven-year stretch, Atlanta won six division titles and the National League Championship Series in 1995, 1996 and 1999 in addition to the 1995 World Series.