Morning Marquee: Hall of Fame welcomes historic four man class

It had been 60 years since the writers elected four to the Hall of Fame from the same ballot, and it’s the first time three pitchers from the same have been voted in. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz were in their first timers on the ballot, Craig Biggio was elected in his third.

The induction ceremony will take place on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., during the second day of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. The four will be the only inductees, as the Golden Era Committee did not elect any of the nine players or the one executive whose careers were prominent from 1947-72.

Former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa saw his support on the HOF ballot diminish, and while he earned enough to remain on next year’s ballot, it’s clear Cooperstown won’t be calling him in the future. Sosa, along with Mark McGwire, helped reignite the love of baseball in 1998 following the strike in 1994-95 with their epic home run battle. Unfortunately, PED’s, corked bats, and a bad attitude chased him from Chicago with no love lost from the Cubs.

The Cubs and WGN have reportedly struck a deal to carry 45 games next season, but only locally on WGN 9, not on WGN America. The deal will clearly appease local Cubs fans, but still leaves a majority of fans without coverage on many games.

The Yankees re-signed Stephen Drew, helping to alleviate Cubs fans stress that they may have been considering signing the veteran. Drew signed a one-year deal after hitting only .150 for the Yankees after being acquired in July for Kelly Johnson.

Former Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny has agreed to a one-year deal with the Tigers. After missing much of last season due to off-season shoulder surgery, he pitched well in his 23 appearances with a 0.86 ERA and 23 strikeouts.

Here’s more from around the league:

‘MLB Hall of Fame welcomes four new members’ – Cubbies Crib

‘WGN, Cubs to announce new TV deal soon’ – Cubbies Crib

‘The rise and fall of the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Yankees re-sign Stephen Drew’ – Yanks Go Yard

‘Tigers sign Gorzelanny to one-year deal’ – Motor City Bengals