Troy Percival debuts on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot

Troy Percival entered pro baseball as a catcher. He left it as one of the most successful relief pitchers ever to take the mound.

Today, Percival stands on the edge of Cooperstown.

Percival debuts on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot this fall, one of 34 players on the 2015 BBWAA ballot for the Class of 2015.

BBWAA members who have at least 10 years of tenure with the organization can vote in the election, and the results will be announced Jan. 6. Any candidate who receives at least 75 percent of all BBWAA votes cast will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015. The Induction Ceremony will be held July 26 in Cooperstown.

Born Aug. 9, 1969 in Fontana, Calif., Percival was taken in the sixth round of the 1990 MLB Draft by the Angels after a four-year career at the University of California-Riverside. He hit .203 in 29 games as a catcher with Class A Boise in 1990 before the Angels moved him to the mound after noticing his powerful throws from behind the plate.

“You want to know how lucky I am?” Percival told the Los Angeles Times in 2002. “I’d have given my left arm to play this game. That’s how lucky I am.”

In 1991 with the same Boise team, Percival appeared in 28 games – all as a relief pitcher – and struck out 63 batters in 38.1 innings, saving 12 games. He underwent Tommy John Surgery to replace his ulnar collateral ligament in the minors in 1993, but by 1995, Percival had earned a job in the majors. That season, he appeared in 62 games as a set-up man for the Angels, going 3-2 with a 1.95 earned-run average and striking out 94 batters in 74 innings.

The next season, Percival became the Angels’ closer – a job he would hold for nine seasons. From 1996-2004, Percival averaged almost 35 saves a season and was named to four All-Star Games. In 2002, Percival was 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 40 saves in the regular season, then saved seven more games in the playoffs to lead the Angels to their first World Series title.