Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday as the “King of Swing”. And their dads were humbled beyond description. The two were part of the Seattle Mariners, who drafted Ortiz, briefly, but it was enough time for Griffey to get a good look at the future Red Sox star. “If it was 50,000 people that I didn’t have anything in common with, I’d have been all right”.
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“My father’s faith in me, often greater than my own, is the single most important factor of me being inducted into this hall of fame”, said Piazza. With several players coming very close to getting the 75 percent required to be elected and some legendary players hitting the ballot for the first time, 2017 should see more than just two players elected. I was joking with Ken a little bit before we went up on stage. Griffey praised the Mariners and the Seattle fans.
“He just enjoyed himself every day”.
“When you’re a kid, they always say, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that.’ And you do it anyway, ” he said.
Selected by the Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft with the 1,390th pick, ahead of only five other players, Piazza is the lowest-drafted player to reach the Hall of Fame.
“We made it Dad”, said Piazza, choking back tears.
Griffey’s emotion was in contrast to his assurance, made Saturday afternoon, that he’d remain stoic in order to impress son Trey.
“It was actually the last teame that I ever imagined wanted me”, Piazza said of the Mets, whose catcher at the time was injured former All-Star Todd Hundley. “Nope. Not me. You know what they said when you’re a kid?”
Schmidt was “an inspiration, special to me”, Piazza said…Joe Torre and Whitey Ford were introduced together when the Hall of Famers were brought out, with Torre helping the aging Ford get to his seat.
Mike Piazza wasn’t even supposed to be drafted.
Griffey put an emphasis on family anecdotes in his speech.
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He was especially emotional while thanking his dad and former Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Sr. “Now it’s time to smell the roses”. Most of the baseball-related references dealt with high school and youth-league coaches. “That’s how I played”, Griffey said.
