Griffey was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 draft, while the Dodgers selected Piazza with the 1,390th overall pick in 1988.
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There were several other Dodgers mentioned by Piazza during his speech, including former coaches Joe Ferguson and Joey Amalfitano, and scout Mel Diddier. Instead, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas urged him to do it and it was all impromptu. “Now is the time to smell the roses”.
Griffey’s mom, Birdie, and his father, former Cincinnati Reds star Ken Sr., both cancer survivors and integral to his rise to stardom, were front and center in the first row.
“We made it Dad”, said Piazza, choking back tears.
Though the Dodgers gave him his start, Piazza found a home in NY when he was traded to the Mets in May 1998.
Mike Piazza said it best at Sunday’s induction.
But a closer look revealed a couple of charming details: the words “Hall of Fame Class of 2016” were spelled out in the fabric. Then he joked, “Although maybe I hit the ball just a little bit better to right field”. “I pray that we never forget their sacrifice”.
Griffey said he lost track of how many times he cried during his speech.
“I want to thank my family, my friends, the fans, the Reds, the White Sox and the Mariners”, Griffey said before pausing as his voice broke, “for making this kid’s dream come true”.
“He made a decision to play baseball to provide for his family, because that’s what men do, and I love you for it”, Griffey said in his speech, and added of being his father’s teammate on the Mariners: “In baseball, there’s certain things you can call someone: a fossil, graybeard, grandpa, dad, pops”. And the sun that shone the brightest was without a doubt Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey recalled how his mother used to go to all of his high school games and was his greatest advocate and critic.
A 13-time All-Star selection and 10-time Gold Glove Award victor, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs.
“In 1989, I made the team out of spring training, not sure of what kind of player I would be”, Griffey said.
“The only way I thought I would be here with you, is if I bought a ticket”, said Piazza in his speech Sunday.
“Girl, you can’t teach that swing”, he said, laughing. He finished his career as a lifetime.284 hitter with 630 home runs (sixth-most in history), 1,836 RBI and 1,662 runs scored.
Attendance was estimated at around 50,000 by the Hall of Fame, tying 1999 for second-most all time.
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“The New York market was a hard transition for me”, Piazza said.
