Making it great in the Hall of Fame

Prestige and pomp at the Cooperstown Hall of Fame

As baseball welcomes four new members to its Hall of Fame, BBC Sport Online's Alex Trickett underlines the importance of this annual induction.

America loves a Hall of Fame.

Every sport from boxing to bowling has its own Hall, set up to honour the achievements of its greatest performers.

Tending to be located away from the bustling cities, they have become special places of pilgrimage for fans.

American football legends are 'enshrined' at Canton, Ohio, basketball's best are immortalised in Springfield, Massachusetts, while golf's elite are remembered in St Augustine, Florida.

Winfield: Swinging hard with the Yankees

But the Hall that is deeper engrained in the American sports psyche than any other is found in Cooperstown, New York.

Every year, thousands travel to picturesque Cooperstown, which is set alongside an idyllic lake 230 miles from New York City, to visit baseball's Hall of Fame.

They go to see memorabilia, to learn about the history of the game and to pay respects to the best players ever to grace the diamond.

Enshrined there, on plaques bearing their name and a likeness of their face, are Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb and 250 other legends associated with baseball.

For those currently playing the game, there is no higher accolade than to be honoured on Cooperstown's walls.

But Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens - all future Hall certainties - will have to wait for the privilege.

They will only become eligible five years after retirement and must first navigate a complicated voting process, by polling 75% in the election ballot.

About average in size, the class of 2001 comprises Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, Bill Mazeroski and Hilton Smith.

Kirby: Popular inductee

Winfield, who signed a then-record-setting US$23m contract with the New York Yankees in 1980, was selected in 12 consecutive All-Star teams.

He is one of seven players in baseball history to reach both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs, and ranks in the top 20 all-time in hits, RBI, games, at-bats, doubles, and total bases.

Puckett won two World Series with the Minnesota Twins, firing a game-winning home run in game six of the 1991 championship.

He also won the 1989 American League batting title, finishing that season with an average of .339.

Mazeroski was a member of two World Series-winning teams at Pittsburgh and became the first player to end the Fall Classic with a home run in 1960.

He was a 10-time All-Star, an eight-time Gold Glove winner and finished his career with an impressive .983 fielding percentage at second base.

Smith pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1931-1947.

Unable to compete in MLB action - Jackie Robinson did not become the first black player to do so until 1947 - Smith won 20 games or more in each of 12 seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs.

Rose: May never enter the Hall of Fame

Cooperstown will be the richer for these four inductees, but it has its list of controversial omissions.

In particular, Pete Rose - who has more hits than any player in history - has found its doors repeatedly closed in his face.

Locked in a bitter feud with baseball commissioner Bud Selig over improper betting allegations, the Cincinnati Red may never reap the immortal reward his baseball talents deserve.

But the Hall of Fame will survive without him.

The names of Ruth, DiMaggio, Cobb and now Winfield and Puckett will see to that.