“It’s such an honor”.
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In any case, Griffey’s name is now ensconced in Cooperstown, the highest-ranked draftee ever to gain the distinction.
Griffey was always one of the more approachable superstars, perhaps learning to be available to the media from growing up in the Reds clubhouse when his dad played.
When news of the deal flashed on the clubhouse TV the day of the trade, one prominent player stood up and yelled in disgust: “You have to be kidding”. Well during his Hall Of Fame speech he reminded everyone that he is still that kid at heart.
“I wanted to share the moment with them”, Griffey said. “But I made the mistake of looking at my kids”. Then, just 18 seconds in, attempting to thank the writers for voting him in, he broke down, prompting Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson to pass him a handkerchief.
I thought of my dad, Steve Sr., my mom, Laura, and my brother, Luke, as I walked around Cooperstown before Sunday’s Induction Ceremony.
Griffey Jr. also known as “Junior” and “The Kid”, played in the Major League Baseball for 22 years, making 13 All-Star game appearances and holds a record for getting elected to the Hall of Fame with 99.32 percent of the vote.
From there, his blend of talent, charisma, youthful energy and a backward cap that he brought to the field captured the imagination of Mariners and baseball fans, making the team and the game something it hadn’t been.
“To my dad, he taught me how to play this game”. They call it the healing home run.
Piazza was drafted in the 62round of the MLB Draft and excelled for 16 seasons, earning 12 All-Star game appearances. The inevitable rundown of his expressed to the fans, friend, relatives, but he also thanked all of his former teams the Mariners, Reds, and White Sox.
For Piazza, selection to the Hall is validation of an terrible lot of hard work.
The first No. 1 draft pick to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Griffey Jr. choked up several times during the speech, the first of which came just 23 seconds in. “At the time I wasn’t having any fun and made a decision to quit the game”.
Naturally, his recounting of their blacktop matchup caused Henderson to crack a vintage Rickey smile as he was seated on stage at the ceremony.
“The numbers he has put up, three titles, the list goes on of the accomplishments he has done on the field, you can’t take that away from him”, Griffey said. Gaetti turned out to be a vital cog in their playoff push and hit the key home run in the wild-card tiebreaker over the Giants.
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Piazza made his major league debut in 1992 and the following year was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He hit 630 home runs, won 10 Gold Gloves, and grabbed an American League MVP in 1997. He posted a career batting average of.308 and is fourth all-time in runs driven in by catchers. It was the 2000 Subway Series World Series against the well-regarded New York Yankees where I was first introduced to Mike Piazza.
