In the closest pursuit yet toward a unanimous choice in National Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. missed by only three votes of a flawless score in the 2016 balloting by the BBWAA verified by Ernst & Young. Griffey’s 630 home runs rank fifth all-time, and his defensive skills earned him 10 Gold Glove Awards in centerfield. Ken Griffey Sr. said the family was hoping to get the call on his son’s first year of eligibility for the Hall.
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“Without a doubt Mike Piazza was one of the top hitting catchers in the history of the game”, Seaver said in a statement released by the team. 300 in nine straight seasons and finishing with 427 home runs, including a record 396 when he was in the game behind the plate. Other players with Cardinals ties who were on the ballot for one year and gone for the next were David Eckstein, who received two votes, and Mark Grudzielanek, Troy Glaus and Randy Winn, who each did not receive a vote. Griffey and Piazza got in – with Griffey selected on a record 99.3% of the 440 ballots – yet the players who were elected had their celebrations tainted by having to answer questions about players who were not elected.
“Tremendous honor – overwhelming”, Piazza, on the ballot for the fourth time since his retirement, said on a conference call on Wednesday night.
As I argued earlier today, it doesn’t really matter if Ken Griffey Jr. – or anyone else for that matter – got 100% of the Hall of Fame vote. “I sat here with my mouth on the floor”.
Mike Piazza, a Philadelphia-area native who was only drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a favor to Tommy Lasorda, is headed to Cooperstown. He could have toured the Hall of Fame, but he had promised himself he would not so much as look inside the building before he was elected as a member.
Ken Griffey Jr. was a star with both Seattle and Cincinnati. Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell received 71.6 percent to finish just 15 votes short of election. “All the emotions came into it every year, but again, knowing the history of the game and how many great players throughout this game had to wait a year, sometimes many years, it keeps it in perspective”. “Mike’s offensive prowess, ability to deliver in the clutch, and tireless work ethic helped him become one of the great catchers of all-time”. Since the draft started in 1965, the lowest draft pick elected to the Hall was John Smoltz, taken with selection 574 on the 22nd round in 1985.
When asked on Wednesday what endeared him to sometimes hard-to-please fans in NY, where he excelled in the second half of his career, playing in his first World Series in 2000, Piazza credited those fans he grew up alongside at The Vet.
In 3 prior appearances on the ballot, neither had received more than 37.6 percent.
Griffey, appearing on the ballot for the first time, was a no-brainer to gain election.
If we don’t change our minds over the next three or four years, it may not make any difference. But (when you) spend 23 years as a major-league player, that’s the ultimate goal.
“It crystalizes how special this game is”, Piazza said.
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Also making big strides toward possible enshrinement were Edgar Martinez (27 percent last year to 43.4 this year), Mike Mussina (24.6 percent to 43) and Curt Schilling (39.2 to 52.3). However, 2016 will be his 10th year on the ballot, and the Hall of Fame not so long ago lowered the maximum time on the ballot from 15 years to 10 years.
