COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Three dominated on the mound, the other excelled at three positions up the middle. Together, pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and multi-talented Craig Biggio left a remarkable imprint on baseball. The trio of pitchers combined for 735 wins, 11,113 strikeouts and nine Cy Young Awards. And Biggio became the only player in major league history with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases and 250 home runs while being asked to play three positions in his 20-year career.

All four, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January, will be inducted Sunday in Cooperstown. Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz were elected by big margins their first time on the ballot and represent the first trio of pitchers voted in together. Biggio made it on his third try.

RANDY JOHNSON

It took time for Randy Johnson to figure it out, but once he did, he was untouchable. Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, including four in a row.

It took time for Randy Johnson to figure it out, but once he did, he was untouchable. Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, including four in a row.

At 6-foot-10, Johnson was an intimidating figure standing atop a pitching mound. During a 22-year career, spent mostly with the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, the dominant left-hander with the imposing fastball won 303 games and five Cy Young Awards, including four in a row from 1999 to 2002 with the Diamondbacks.

A 10-time All-Star, Johnson led his league in strikeouts nine times and had a career total of 4,875, second all-time only to Nolan Ryan.

In 2001, Johnson was 3-0 in the World Series to help Arizona, in only its fourth year of existence, to the title. Small wonder he received 97.3 percent of the BBWAA vote, eighth-best all-time.

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Still, it took time before everything clicked for the man who was known as the Big Unit.

“I didn’t know I was going to be half as good as I turned out to be,” said Johnson, who had three back surgeries, four knee surgeries and pitched his final season in 2009 with a torn rotator cuff.

JOHN SMOLTZ

John Smoltz is the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves. He is also the first player elected to the Hall of Fame to undergo Tommy John surgery.

John Smoltz is the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves. He is also the first player elected to the Hall of Fame to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Smoltz is the first player elected to the Hall of Fame with Tommy John arm surgery on his resume. He won 213 games and saved 154, the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves and the last of only 16 to reach 3,000 strikeouts, registering 3,084.

He also was 15-4 in the postseason during a 21-year career spent almost entirely with the Atlanta Braves after being drafted and then traded by his hometown Detroit Tigers.

Smoltz made eight starts with the Red Sox in 2009.

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Through five surgeries, the hard-throwing right-hander persevered – from starter to reliever to starter again – as the Braves and their amazing pitching staff, which also included Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, won an unprecedented 14 straight division titles.

“I had to just really reinvent myself many, many times, and find ways to overcome,” said Smoltz.

He did not play in 2000 after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction on his right arm.

CRAIG BIGGIO

Craig Biggio was an All-Star as a catcher for the Houston Astros before moving to second base in 1992 to lengthen his career.

Craig Biggio was an All-Star as a catcher for the Houston Astros before moving to second base in 1992 to lengthen his career.

A native of Kings Park on New York’s Long Island, Biggio was a football star in high school poised to make his mark as a running back in college when he decided to accept a partial baseball scholarship at Seton Hall.

In three collegiate seasons, he batted .342, hit 27 homers, drove in 148 runs, stole 90 bases and led the Pirates to their first Big East title.

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A first-round pick by the Astros in 1987, Biggio played just 141 minor league games over parts of two seasons before getting called up.

He took over as Houston’s regular catcher in 1989.

Two years later, he made his first All-Star team, then was asked to make the improbable transition to play second base in 1992 in an effort to lengthen his career. He appeared in all 162 games and made his second All-Star team.

Biggio, the first career Astro elected to the Hall of Fame, said making the switch was by far the hardest thing he ever had to do in his career.

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