Early in the 2002 season, on a May trip into Montreal, a writer tried to get Atlanta Braves’ Bobby Cox to answer a question.

Who was better: Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine?

Maddux had four Cy Young Awards and 257 career wins. Glavine had two Cy Youngs and 224 wins. Both seemed headed for 300 victories and Cooperstown.

It might have been easier trying to hang the Olympic Stadium roof with a used nail, than to get Cox to pick one over the other.

It was always Maddux AND Glavine. Glavine AND Maddux.

“They’re both going to win 300, they’re both Hall of Famers,” Cox said back then.

Rather than separating one from the other as questions continued, Cox eventually brought the rest of his rotation — Kevin Millwood, Damian Moss and Jason Marquis — into the conversation, answering who his best starter was.

Cox still won’t have to decide one way or the other on July 27. He can still mention the right-hander Maddux and the lefty Glavine in the same breath.

This time, it will be from the podium during Hall of Fame ceremonies as both Maddux and Glavine will be inducted along with Cox.

Former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, Maddux and Glavine were elected to Cooperstown, N.Y., by senior voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday. Cox was elected in December along with managers Joe Torre and Tony La Russa by a 16-member expansion era committee making for a six-man induction, in this the 75th anniversary of the Hall of Fame.

After zero players were elected last January, the three first-timers were the most elected in a year since 1999 (Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Robin Yount). Maddux was named on 97.2% of the 571 ballots, followed by Glavine (91.9) and Thomas (83.7).

Craig Biggio missed by two votes (74.8% shy of the required 75%) but should be a lock next January. But the likes of Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Carlos Delgado make their debut on the ballot. The back-log is why the BBWAA formed a committee last month to decide if it should ask the Hall of Fame to expand the ballot to more than 10 names.

Former Braves president Stan Kasten used to refer to Maddux as Clark Kent. Felipe Alou used to call him The Professor. And not because he looked like he had recently graduated from teacher’s college with peach-fuzz cheeks.

“Look at him in their dugout, wearing glasses,” Alou said. “He never wears them on the mound. He wears them when he comes out to watch us take batting practice and on days he doesn’t pitch. He’s always studying.”

If Maddux’s fastball were on the 401, it would get honked at.

He changed speeds, hit spots, studied hitters.

The Braves tell of their hitters meeting before facing the New York Yankees in the 1996 World Series. The scouting report described how to pitch Bernie Williams. Maddux disagreed. He’d once seen Williams hit the same pitch in the same location in a TV game. Maddux held him hitless.

In the visiting clubhouse in Montreal, there used to be a glass bowl of jelly beans. After watching Gerald Williams come in every day and pick out the red ones, Maddux arrived early, dumped the bowl and took out all the red ones. Then he sat in a far corner and watched the outfielder arrive and search in vain for the red ones.

Last year at a Hall of Fame reception in Cooperstown following Shirley Cheek’s Ford C. Frick Award acceptance speech on behalf of her late husband, Tom, we spotted Atlanta vice-president Brad Hainje.

Hmmm.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I thought maybe I’d better check this place out,” Hainje said. “Just in case.”

Hainje proved to be a Hall of Fame scout as Cooperstown this summer will be jammed with Braves — Cox, Glavine and Maddux on the stage — and thousands in the audience.

Who was better?

Who cares? They’re both first-time Hall of Famers, although knowing Maddux’s sense of humour, he will just have to mention how he had more votes than Glavine.

bob.elliott@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @Elliottbaseball