Braves quiet in Hall of Fame count, but not for long

The latest baseball Hall of Fame class is short on Braves flavor, again.

Pitcher Bert Blyleven and second baseman Roberto Alomar joined executive Pat Gillick on Wednesday in the 2011 class to be inducted into Cooperstown in July, while Dale Murphy, Fred McGriff and a few first-timers with Braves connections (Marquis Grissom, Bret Boone, B.J. Surhoff) came up well shy.

The last player to go in as a Brave was knuckleballer Phil Niekro back in 1997. For a special class of former Braves, though, it won’t be long.

Just three years from now, in 2014, the Braves could see three of their own enter the Hall of Fame when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine appear on the ballot for the first time. That’s also the first induction class that could include former manager Bobby Cox, who would be eligible to appear on the “Expansion Era” ballot for managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players in December 2013 and enter the Hall the following July.

In a new format adopted last year, those groups are voted on by a special committee made up of Hall of Famers, executives and historians at the winter meetings every three years according to their era: Pre-integration (1871-46), Golden (1947-72) and Expansion (1973-present). Gillick was elected on an Expansion Era ballot in December.

Cox, 69, doesn’t have to wait the requisite five years after retirement because he’s over 65. He finished his career with 2,504 wins, which ranks fourth all-time on the managerial win list.

“If that could be possible, that would be the greatest thing in my baseball career -- to be allowed to go in with those guys,” Cox said Wednesday. “I was with them for so long. I wouldn’t have been around every year if not for those guys. I’d have been bouncing around other places probably. They were special. Every manager should be in my position, managing three or four pitchers like that in one rotation once in their career.”

Cox, Glavine and Maddux were together with the Braves for 11 years, winning division titles in 10 of them, minus only the 1994 strike year, and one World Series in 1995.

John Smoltz, the last of the “Big Three” Braves starters to retire, though it never was formally announced, will be eligible to appear on the ballot in 2015.

An informal survey of Hall of Fame voters brought ringing endorsements for 300-game winners Maddux and Glavine as first-ballot choices. Smoltz, who finished with 213 wins, wasn’t far behind.

“When it comes to considering Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, I’ll spend oh, about two seconds ... or however long it takes me to find their names and check the box,” said Bob Elliott, a columnist for the Toronto Sun.

While Smoltz doesn’t bring 300-win credentials, he’s the only pitcher in history to win 200 or more games and save 150 or more.

“Maddux and Glavine are no-brainers for me -- 300 wins, multiple Cy Youngs, great stats,” wrote Seattle Times national baseball writer Larry Stone. “I’m leaning toward Smoltz as a kind of Dennis Eckersley hybrid -- dominant as both a starter and closer, and also great postseason pitcher.”

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News agreed.

“There is no more automatic for me than 300 wins for a pitcher, especially since the advent of the five-man rotation,” Grant said. “That puts Glavine and Maddux over the top without a doubt for me. In my mind, Smoltz would have won at least 250 had he not moved to the bullpen to help the team. As it is, how many guys have 150 wins and 150 saves in baseball history? Two. The other guy [Eckersley] was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”

Coming not far down the pike will be Chipper Jones, who at 38 is trying to resurrect his career after season-ending knee surgery. When his time comes for Hall of Fame consideration, without 500 homers or 3,000 hits, he doesn’t have a “shoo-in” stat, so it appears voters will have to think a little harder.

“I’m not sure where Chipper will fall with me,” noted Chicago Tribune national baseball writer Phil Rogers. “He’s a great player, but I’m not sure if he is a Hall of Famer.”

La Velle Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said he was surprised to see Jones hasn’t had a 200-hit season and didn’t lead a major offensive category until late in his career, but that he was “leaning toward” a first-ballot vote.

Grant said third base is one of the hardest positions to make the Hall of Fame, but pointed out Jones is the only third baseman to hit 300 homers (358 as a third baseman) and hit over .300 for his career (.307).

“You can put that on a plaque and be proud to write it,” he said.

Of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Jones, Grant said: “These guys were key ingredients to the best team in the [National League] for more than a decade. They all deserve first-ballot votes. And they will all get mine.”

Those are welcome words for Braves fans after years of watching Murphy, a two-time National League MVP, fall short in the vote. He appeared on only 12.6 percent of the ballots this year and is eligible for two more years. McGriff was on only 17.9 percent of ballots in his second year eligible.