Sunday marked the annual occasion on which thousands of fans trek to Cooperstown, N.Y., to join hundreds of baseball’s greatest for the sport’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Advertisement
Griffey’s heartfelt words to his family were the highlight of his Hall of Fame speech, and sure to be the enduring memory – along with his drop-the-mic finish when he donned a cap, backward.
Just as the two players had taken vastly different routes to the same peak – Griffey Jr. was a No. 1 overall draft pick, Piazza was a 62nd-rounder – the two dads took their honored seats Sunday through different paths.
Piazza spent eight seasons of his 16-year career with the New York Mets, leading them to the 2000 World Series and hitting a memorable home run in the first game in New York following the 9/11 terror attacks.
Said Griffey: “I didn’t see the text until I finished”.
“He taught me how to play this game”, said Griffey Jr.
Griffey, who becomes the first player enshrined as a Seattle Mariner, is a father of three who stepped back into his playing days role as “The Kid” one more time, thanking the Mariners as well as the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds “for making this kid’s dream come true” as his voice broke.
The rest of that list of accomplishments includes 10 All-Star nods, six Silver Slugger awards, an American League Championship Series and World Series MVP and over 500 career home runs, to name a few. “At first I was pressing to make you cheer, and wasn’t doing the job”. 1,390 – is the lowest pick to enter the Hall of Fame.
“When I first signed with the Dodgers, I knew it was going to be a very hard path”, Piazza said.
If you’re nervous on the putting green, it’s a reliable indication you’ll have jitters on your first drive.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t always the ups and downs of the baseball season that we experienced”, Piazza said, per The Score.
“Greatest teammate I ever had”, Griffey said, per Baseball Hall.
Trey, a wide receiver at the University of Arizona who was drafted in the 24th round by the Mariners last month, texted his father mid speech, “I love you, man”. Piazza seemed proud that Leiter “did not shake me off one time” during the game.
Griffey is a 10-time Gold Glove victor and was generally recognized as one of baseball’s best defenders throughout his time in Seattle. 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.
Advertisement
Speaking before a Cooperstown crowd estimated by the Hall of Fame at about 50,000, the 12-time All Star catcher got emotional when he thanked his parents. Griffey later met the Marino children when the Reds played the Mets in NY in July 2002.
