Mariano Rivera received 100 percent of the votes for his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was a tremendous achievement as he was the first ever inductee to receive all votes.

And he deserves it.

There has been some outrage from fans complaining about how it’s not fait that Rivera was the first one to receive the honor. They mention inductees like Ken Griffey, Jr., Nolan Ryan and even Babe Ruth who never got to 100 percent.

But this outrage is misdirected. This is no fault on Rivera’s accomplishments. In fact, I am glad he was the first one to receive the honor. I do agree that those aforementioned players should have gotten a unanimous vote but don’t let that take away from Rivera’s accomplishment. And of course, if we had to have a first-ever player to receive the honor, Rivera would have been the perfect choice.

The Baseball Writers Association isn’t perfect. It’s reflected in this debate. But let’s celebrate that they got this right. Let’s celebrate that the threshold has finally been broken and now we can pave the way for future inductees to receive all the votes.

The voting hasn’t been great in the past, but let’s celebrate Rivera’s achievement and the bright future we could see in the upcoming Hall of Fame elections.