In the center of a sun-filled atrium, at the far end of the plaque gallery at the Baseball Hall of Fame, you will meet the first class of inductees from 1936. Only five players made it then: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner. Even Cy Young, with his 511 career victories, had to wait.
In the eight decades since, only 46 more players have been elected by the writers on the first try. Those inductees are mixed with all the rest, along the side walls. They are immortals in equal standing, because not every Hall of Famer is obvious at first.