Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez can sit back on Tuesday and wait for the congratulatory calls, texts and emails to flood in.

They are locks for the next group of inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Voting for the group ended Dec. 27 and results will be announced Tuesday.

Will anyone else join Johnson and Martinez? Two names often brought up are John Smoltz, another first-time candidate like Johnson and Martinez, and Craig Biggio, who missed induction by two votes last year.

Up to 10 players can be voted for, but we know 10 won’t make it. The voting is subjective and not without controversy.

Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America are entrusted with the voting. Voters must have been active members of the group for 10 years but no longer need to be active. That means former sports writers who no longer cover a team have a vote. That leaves the impression that some voters may not be as well-informed as they should be.

To be inducted, a player must receive 75 percent of the vote. Last year 571 ballots were turned in, meaning 429 were needed for induction.

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Other issues play into the voting – personal grudges, prejudice against players from smaller markets, as well as varying opinions on what constitutes a Hall of Famer.

According to the election rules, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

With today’s sabermetrics and the manipulation of statistics, what’s the best way to judge playing ability?

And how do you measure character?

Players used to be considered for the Hall of Fame for 15 years. A new rule reduced that to 10.

Everyone has an opinion on who gets in. Here’s mine. And if you think I’m nuts, no worries. I don’t have an actual vote.

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• Randy Johnson. Pitched 22 seasons (three 20-win seasons); 303-166 record. Five Cy Young Awards. Led league in strikeouts nine times (4,875 total). Ten All-Star games. Co-MVP of the 2001 World Series. No argument.

 Pedro Martinez. Pitched 18 seasons (two 20-win seasons); 219-100. Three Cy Young Awards. Led league in ERA five times (2.93 career). Eight All-Star games (MVP in 1999). Also 3,154 strikeouts. Won World Series with 2004 Red Sox. He can start preparing his speech.

 Mike Piazza. Played 16 seasons. Twelve All-Star games (MVP in 1996). Most Silver Slugger Awards (10) by a catcher. Most home runs (396) by a catcher. Career .308 hitter. On the ballot for the third time (reached 62 percent last year). Questions about his defense and unfounded hints of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) may have slowed his candidacy. But he should be in.

 Jeff Bagwell. Played 15 seasons. Four All-Star games. Unanimous National League MVP in 1994. Career .297 hitter with a .948 OPS (ranking 21st overall). Plus 449 home runs. Another victim of unproven PED accusations. Fifth time on the ballot (54 percent last year).

 Curt Schilling. Pitched 20 seasons (three 20-win seasons). Six All-Star games. Three seasons with at least 300 strikeouts (ranking third in history), with 3,116 career strikeouts. In 19 postseason starts: 11-2, 2.23 ERA. Overall 216-146. Three World Series championships (including co-MVP in 2001). Third year on the ballot (29 percent last year). Consistent, dominant and a winner.

 John Smoltz. Pitched 21 seasons (one 20-win season). Eight All-Star games and one Cy Young Award. Recorded 213-155 record, along with 154 saves in three-plus years as a reliever. Also had 3,084 strikeouts. In 41 postseason appearances: 15-4, 2.67 ERA. Member of one World Series winner. Only reason why he won’t get in is if voters don’t want him going on the first ballot.

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 Craig Biggio. Played 20 seasons with 3,060 hits. Seven All-Star games and four Gold Glove Awards. Played second base, catcher and in the outfield. His value was more consistency than dominance, but you can’t argue with 3,000-plus hits.

 Tim Raines. Played 23 seasons. Seven All-Star games (1997 MVP). Career .294 hitter with a .385 on-base percentage. Ranks 51st with 1,571 career runs. Fifth in stolen bases (808), with a higher success rate (85 percent) than the four ahead of him. Member of two World Series champions. Eighth year on the ballot (46 percent last year). He got on base and made things happen for a long time.

 Edgar Martinez. Played 18 seasons. Seven All-Star games. Two batting titles. Career .312 hitter with a .933 OPS (ranking 33rd all-time). Sixth year on the ballot (25 percent last year). One of the best hitters of our day, but many voters discriminate against a full-time designated hitter.

 Alan Trammell. Played 20 seasons. Six All-Star games. Four Gold Glove Awards. Career .285 hitter (.352 on-base percentage). World Series MVP in 1984. His 14th year on the ballot (grandfathered in the old 15-year consideration rule), garnering only 21 percent last year. Time is running out on a very consistent player who batted well and played superb defense.

The two obvious omissions are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both on the ballot for the third time. They would have been first-ballot no-brainers if not for federal legal cases linking them to PEDs. They may get in this time because voters believe they are too good to ignore. I think they should get in at some time but for me, the stench of the scandals is too fresh to want them in now.

Other omissions include reliever Lee Smith (his record is more of longevity than dominance), pitcher Mike Mussina (too many other arms in front of him this year), and slugger Gary Sheffield (impressive, but not on the first ballot).


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