COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) Ken Griffey Jr. has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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As Griffey was thanking those who helped him along his career, he paused and reach behind the podium for a baseball cap.
When Griffey was elected earlier this year, there was some speculation that his plaque would have a backwards cap, though that did not happen.
Referring to the other clubs that employed him, he added, “I want to thank my family, my friends, the fans, the Reds, the White Sox and the Mariners for making this kid’s dream come true”. Looking back into this crowd of blue and orange brings me back to the greatest time of my life. “I pray we never forget their sacrifice and always work to defeat such evil”.
Nor could Griffey Sr. have foreseen what happened on Sunday when he watched Ken Jr.in high school, unable to even get a hit whenever his dad was there to watch him.
Griffey, meanwhile, said he lost track of how many times he cried during his speech.
“I got double-switched one time in my career”. “At first I was pressing to make you cheer, and wasn’t doing the job”.
Piazza even highlighted the differences in his induction speech, saying that “about the only thing [the two] had in common as ballplayers was two arms and two legs”. And I got to wear the same Reds uniform as my Dad. “I’m very proud to be a Seattle Mariner”. “I thought it was more like 24”.
He finished with 427 homers overall during a 16-year career with the Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics.
“My father’s faith in me, often greater than my own, is the single most important factor of me being inducted into this hall of fame”, said Piazza.
“Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run in the first game back on September 21 to push us ahead of the rival Braves”, Piazza said.
Griffey, whose 630 home runs rank sixth on the all-time list, became the first player to go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Seattle Mariners. While he spent about the same amount of time with his first team, the Los Angeles Dodgers as he did the New York Mets, it is with the latter team that he will be enshrined.
“When we showed up at the site (for the ceremonies), he said, ‘You gotta do it, you gotta do it, ‘” Griffey said.
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Any omissions were the effect of his taking the Hall of Fame’s suggestion on speech length – try to keep it in the 14-15 minute range, he was told – more literally than Piazza, whose lovely but long acceptance address included words for his father (spoken in Italian) as well as quotations from Pope Francis and Teddy Roosevelt.
