Massachusetts native and former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tom Glavine was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday.
"I know there's a huge crowd here from Billerica, I want to thank you guys for being here today," said Glavine. "I want to thank you for supporting me through my career."
Glavine added that he was grateful to his friends from the Bay State for putting their Red Sox fandom on hold and rooting for him as a Brave.
Fellow Braves ace Greg Maddux, who was Glavine's teammate from 1993 through 2002, was also among the 2014 inductees, as was former Braves manager Bobby Cox.
"I'd like to take an extra moment to thank Greg [Maddux] and Bobby [Cox]," said Glavine. "Bobby, thank you so much for all your guidance. I appreciate everything you did for me. Greg, as a teammate and as a friend, you made me better through our conversations."
In parts of 22 seasons with the Braves and New York Mets, Glavine won 305 games, lost 203 and amassed a 3.54 ERA, pitching 4,413.1 innings.
He won the National League Cy Young Award in 1991 and 1998.
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Maddux played in parts of 23 years with he Chicago Cubs, Braves, Dodgers and Padres. He enjoyed a career record of 355-227, posting a 3.16 ERA in 5,008.1 innings.
Maddux won four consecutive NL Cy Young Awards - one with the Cubs and three with the Braves - from 1992-1995.
Along with John Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux formed a formidable pitching rotation for the Braves through most of the 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the trio helped the Braves win their division every season from 1991 through 2005, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 season.
Old-school and new-school stats alike are kind to the trio - Baseball Reference rates Maddux eighth, Glavine 28th and Smoltz 39th in all-time Wins Above Replacement for pitchers (bWAR), a statistic that attempts to compare players' values to those of the average replacement-level player coming out of the minor leagues.
Also inducted Sunday were managers Tony La Russa and Joe Torre, as well as longtime Chicago White Sox first baseman and DH Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas.
Smoltz becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame next year.
