Yet, they all paled in comparison to Ken Griffey Jr. “He is what made me fall in love with baseball”.
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Two of the most prolific players of the 1990s and early 2000s – Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. – made their way into the Hall on a sweltering afternoon in upstate NY, but it was Griffey who showcased some style choices that turned plenty of heads. “As a player, you have to find a way to focus and get into your game mode”.
“You know what they say when you’re a kid: ‘Don’t do that?”
Harper wasn’t even born when the Griffey Jr. went back-to-back with his dad, Ken Griffey Sr., but the magnitude of the moment is not lost on Harper, who saw the play years later.
Griffey also was the American League MVP in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards – certainly a worthy first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Piazza, a 12-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, owns the Major League Baseball record for most home runs by a catcher with 396.
“I learned one team will treat you the best and that’s your first team”.
“Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run in the first game back on September 21st, but the true praise belongs to police, firefighters, first responders that knew that they were going to die, but went forward anyway”. Piazza, on the other hand, will likely be waiting forever for the next 1,390th pick to join him.
“Growing up, especially when I was playing baseball, I really idolized Mike Piazza”, said Port Jefferson Station, New York native Thomas Rieth. “The race is over”.
Smith cared so much about Piazza, the star recalled, “that he came to my house and told me I was coming back and to do exactly what the Dodgers said”.
Finally, to his wife, Melissa, with whom Griffey (who wore uniform No. 24) will celebrate their 24th anniversary on, appropriately, Oct.24, he said, “You’re the glue that holds this family together, and the light when it’s dark”.
“The only way I thought I would be here with you, is if I bought a ticket”, said Piazza in his speech Sunday. This is the man who didn’t start this trend in baseball (take a look at pictures of catchers behind home plate at the turn of the 20th century if you want proof).
Both Griffey and Piazza offered heartfelt thanks to their fathers in their speeches. “I wanted to make sure he got it”. “But it was the most unbelievable experience any human being could have”.
In a 22-year career with the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Red and Chicago White Sox, Griffey was nicknamed “The Natural”.
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The sentimental side Griffey showed in front of family, friends and a generation of Mariners employees presaged the challenge of talking to an audience of 50,000 baseball fans Sunday.
