Ken Griffey Jr., center, gestures as he describes how similar his youngest son Tevin, left, is to his father, Ken Griffey Sr., right, after a press conference announcing that Griffey Jr. was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in NY.
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Piazza hit.331/.394/.572 in 5½ seasons with the Dodgers, and has better rate stats in Los Angeles than in NY, but he also played in his only World Series with the Mets, and played 7½ years in NY.
Ken Griffey Jr.is one of the few major league players that made the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2016, and with good reason.
Those in attendance laughed on Thursday when Griffey put on his Hall of Fame cap backwards – albeit briefly – before he noted that Piazza, a catcher, “wore it backwards more than I did”.
All he had to do was say, ‘Yes, ‘ and Ken Griffey Jr. would’ve been a Mets teammate of Mike Piazza. He flew to NY for the first news conference. 308 batting average to go along with 427 home runs and 1,335 RBI in his storied career.
Griffey is the first player elected to the Hall of Fame primarily because of his achievements as a Mariner, and his plaque will be the first showing a Mariners cap. Piazza belted 40 home runs in two different seasons for two different clubs and topped the 30-home run plateau another seven times in his career.
With Griffey, there was never a question of when he would make the Hall, it was a matter of how many votes the former first overall pick would garner with the picky writers.
The player they simply called “Junior” was beloved in Seattle for his exuberance as much as his playing style.
“Having my number next to him, I don’t think I did half of what he did”, Griffey said.
Griffey believes drug-testing, which began in baseball in 2003, should eliminate the possibility of stigma for the current generation of players.
He racked up 220 home runs, 1,208 hits and three playoff wins in Flushing, and in 2000 led the team to the first Subway Series in 44 years. But neither Paulie nor Piazza was the biggest Italian-American celebrity on the block that blustery afternoon, for no sooner did we turn onto Elizabeth Street than we saw Martin Scorcese leading a small tour of his old neighborhood. Piazza enters in what was his fourth year on the ballot, surviving suspicions of using performance enhancers. Piazza played for the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and Athletics.
Piazza said he was directed not to speak about the hat on his plaque, which ultimately is decided by the Hall. And I feel like the fans here truly brought me into their family.
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“He actually fined me for missing curfew”, Griffey said.
