The 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame class was enshrined during Sunday’s ceremony in Cooperstown, NY, with what was an incredibly large crowd on hand.
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Sentiment this day was not confined to the heaviness of parental bonds.
In a press conference after the ceremony, Griffey was asked about sobbing “20 seconds” into the ceremony. From that point, it was an ongoing struggle to keep his composure, one that he didn’t always win.
Piazza paid tribute to that moment. For once in his life, The Natural appeared unnatural.
“It was the most unbelievable experience any human being could have”.
Every legend has his breaking point, it turns out.
But his legacy is as much about the attractive way he performed as the numbers he produced in achieving 99.3 percent of the Hall of Fame votes cast. Addressing a crowd packed with former teammates as well as Mariners team personnel from his 13 years with the ballclub, he broke down nearly immediately as he began to reflect on what his Seattle days meant to him.
Tens of thousands of baseball fans filled the lawn of the Clark Sports Center Sunday to be part of this year’s induction.
Three of those fans were his children Taryn and Tevin, in addition to Trey. I said, ‘Well, I looked at the coach and said he has a better chance of seeing God before that happens again.’ I wanted to be out there.
“I’m going to leave you with one thing”. And in classic Griffey fashion, his performance came from the heart.
An estimated 50,000 people were in attendance in a town that has a population of less than 2,000. Griffey Sr. went on to become an All-Star and key member of the great Reds teams of the 1970s. “Mr. Peter O’Malley was a wonderful owner, was a tremendous family man who prided himself in the best possible atmosphere to play baseball in an otherwise quiet town of Vero Beach”, Piazza said.
“I got double-switched one time in my career”. But then he confessed: “It wasn’t that hard – I just called for a slider”. No one pushed him more, he said. If you’re nervous on the putting green, it’s a reliable indication you’ll have jitters on your first drive.
Griffey, thank you for reminding all the fans how awesome you were.
Needless to say however, Tommy Lasorda’s vision for Piazza paid off, as he became one of baseball’s most loved, most successful and most memorable players. Rickey Henderson. Rickey, I’m still looking for that rematch. “Nope. Not me. You know what they said when you’re a kid?”
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The Kid, also known as Swingman, wore No. 24 as he roamed center field. “I named by dog Griffey, so definitely my favorite athlete of all-time”. But I’m OK with that now.
Griffey put an emphasis on family anecdotes in his speech. Griffey recalled how his mother used to go to all of his high school games and was his greatest advocate and critic. See, he beat me in a game of horse when I was 14 years old, made a jump shot, drove off in his auto and never gave me that rematch. “We kind of break up a little bit”.
Griffey’s emotion was in contrast to his assurance, made Saturday afternoon, that he’d remain stoic in order to impress son Trey. I’m proud for him.
“Just play the game”, said Piazza. “I thought it was a great speech”.
Griffey, meanwhile, said he lost track of how many times he cried during his speech.
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“It’s an emotional day”, he said.
