The latter half of his career – following his demand to be traded and landing with the Cincinnati Reds, his father’s former team – included hamstring tears, knee and ankle tendon ruptures and a dislocated shoulder that limited him to an average of less than 80 games per year from 2001-2004.
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Ken Griffey Jr. has officially been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“As somebody that changed the game for the better, always smiling, always laughing, hat backward”, Harper told the media about Griffey Jr.
Griffey, thank you for reminding all the fans how awesome you were. I love him. That’s my dad.
Just when exactly did Mike Piazza, Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Mets and six year veteran of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a 12-time All-Star, play for the Miami Marlins?
Griffey and Piazza did just that. “You don’t become a Hall of Famer by not working, but working day in and day out”, Griffey added.
“If you work hard and you do the things that you’re supposed to do, you get rewarded”, Griffey said.
Tommy Lasorda, a longtime friend of Piazza’s father Vince, both from Norristown, Pennsylvania, convinced the Dodgers to draft Piazza in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft. “The race is over”. “Now is the time to smell the roses”.
“Now, see, they’ll twist that around, the fans will, that he doesn’t like it”, Griffey said. Absolutely. Just look at the numbers he’s put up: Three (World Series) titles, and the list of his accomplishments on the field goes on.
“I came up through an intensely competitive little league, youth league, and high school program. Don’t do that?’ And you do it anyway?”
Sunday will be a day that Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. will never forget, but it will also be another memory for their fans to take with them.
Piazza’s two-run homer in the eighth inning at Shea Stadium lifted the Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Braves in the first sporting event played in NY after the terrorist attacks. “But it was the most incredible experience any human being could have”. He won 10 gold gloves in his career, hit 630 home runs, and was known for his sweet swing and his flair – regularly wearing his baseball cap backwards.
“The only way I ever thought I would ever be here with you is if I bought a ticket”. “I’m very proud to be a Seattle Mariner”.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held for Yogi Berra and Monte Irvin, the Hall of Famers who died in September and January, respectively….
The 2017 Hall of Fame ballot will bring back Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Lee Smith, Fred McGriff, Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, and Sammy Sosa.
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It was a joyous day for baseball, and an estimated crowd of 50,000 made the trek, the second-largest crowd for an induction.
