By WFAN.com
Cue the Metallica in Cooperstown. Mariano Rivera is coming.
The Yankees legend on Tuesday became the first player ever to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote.
"Amazing," Rivera told MLB Network about receiving 100 percent support from the 425 baseball writers who cast ballots. "All I have to say is thank God for that.
"It was a beautiful, long career with, to me, the best organization that there is in baseball, the New York Yankees, and to end up with this like that is amazing."
Rivera was one of four former players to be elected Tuesday. The others are his former Yankees teammate Mike Mussina, former Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay and former Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez. Two other players, Harold Baines and Lee Smith, were elected last month by the 16-person Today's Game Committee.
Rivera is considered by most to be the greatest reliever in major league history.
MORE: 5 Greatest Mo-ments In Mariano Rivera's Career
In parts of 19 major league seasons, all of which he spent in the Bronx, Rivera racked up an MLB-record 652 saves to go with his career 2.21 ERA in 1,283 2/3 innings.
The 13-time All-Star won five World Series championships with the Yankees and was named the World Series MVP in 1999.
"I had the best seat in the house to watch the greatest closer of all time," Derek Jeter, Rivera's longtime teammate, told The Athletic. "Hall of Fame teammate, Hall of Fame person. And now, officially, a Hall of Fame player."
Rivera's numbers were even more unbelievable once the Yankees got to the postseason.
In 141 innings thrown during the playoffs, he surrendered a mere 11 earned runs, 86 hits and 21 walks, earning career-playoff marks of a 0.70 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. As if all of that wasn't enough, the Panama native also went multiple innings in 31 of his 42 postseason saves.
LISTEN: Joe & Evan's 2017 Interview With Mariano Rivera
Seventy-five percent of the vote is the theshold for election.
Mussina, who received 76.7 percent, went 270-153 over his 18-year career, posting a 3.68 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 3,562 2/3 innings.
He spent 10 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and then eight years with the Yankees. Mussina was a five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, but failed to win a Cy Young Award or a World Series championship.
It was Mussina's sixth year on the ballot. Last year, he received 63.5 percent support.
"It's surprising somewhat, I think," Mussian said to MLB Network about his election. "I was steadily improving (in the voting), but it was a pretty big jump from last year to this year. ... I knew it was going to be close, but it's pretty cool."
When asked which hat he'd be wearing on his plaque in Cooperstown, Mussina said he couldn't choose.
"To play 10 seasons in one place and eight seasons in the other and have pretty comparable numbers in both places, I wouldn't be on this phone call if it wasn't for both places," he said. "You can't say one did it over the other. ... I'm proud to have played for both organizations, but there's no way I could pick one over the other."
With the Yankees, Mussina enjoyed five 15-win seasons -- including the lone 20-win season of his career in his final year in 2008. He was a member of two World Series teams, in 2001 and 2003 -- both lost in the Fall Classic.
"Moose was the most intelligent player I ever caught," former Yankees catcher Jorge Posada told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. "He made catching fun because he was so well prepared. When we took the field together, he was always two steps ahead of everyone else wearing a uniform. This special recogniction is well deserved. Congrats Moose."
MORE: Sports Writer Who Said He Wouldn't Vote For Rivera For Hall Of Fame Changes Mind
Halladay got 85.4 percent of the vote and will be the first posthumous inductee since Deacon White in 2013 and Ron Santo in 2012. Halladay died in November 2017 at 40 years old when an airplane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
Martinez was a .312 hitter over 18 seasons with Seattle. He got 85.4 percent in his 10th and final try on the writers' ballot. He and Baines will join 2014 inductee Frank Thomas as the only Hall of Famers to play the majority of their games at designated hitter. David Ortiz will be eligible in 2022.
Curt Schilling received the highest total of those who were not elected with 60.9 percent.
Two former players connected to the steroids era only saw only a slight uptick in their support. Roger Clemens received 59.5 percent of the vote, up from 57.3 percent last year. Barry Bonds received 59.1 percent, up from 56.4 percent.
In his first year on the ballot, former Yankee Andy Pettitte only received 9.9 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
