Piazza is arguably the best hitting catcher of all time. The legendary catcher gave an emotional speech, thanking a number of special people who helped to get him from his childhood and adolescence, and through his tenure in professional baseball.
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Piazza also honored his former teammate and longtime friend, Eric Karas, who was in attendance at the ceremony. And their dads were humbled beyond description. “But I got a chance to say it and mean it”.
There were about 50,000 people at the ceremony, but at times, each dad felt that his son was speaking directly and privately to him.
Griffey made a pitch for the baseball writers to get busy voting Edgar Martinez to join him: “Yes, he deserves to be in the Hall”. Instead, as Senior, sitting in the audience of families, hung his head and wept, Junior spoke of a more important feat. “I pray that we never forget their sacrifice”.
But that misses a crucial point: Reds fans see Griffey through a prism of frustration they can’t avoid. If he would have been allowed to, he would have caught every day. No matter if I went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, to hear those words when I came home “Daddy” made my best days better and my bad days not so bad.
At 17, Griffey Jr. was the No.1 pick in the 1987 MLB draft and at 19, he was already in the big leagues, starting and starring in center field.
“Dad always dreamed of playing in the major leagues”, Piazza said. Griffey Sr. was tempted to try other sports, but chose baseball because he could turn pro right away.
“The only way I ever thought I would ever be here with you is if I bought a ticket”.
Don’t get the wrong idea. “But I’m just a little prouder today”.
“Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run in the first game back on September 21st, but the true praise belongs to police, firefighters, first responders that knew that they were going to die, but went forward anyway”. Griffey called his wife and asked her to find a hat for him and a friend dropped it off before Junior’s speech.
From there, his blend of talent, charisma, youthful energy and a backward cap that he brought to the field captured the imagination of Mariners and baseball fans, transforming the team and the game into something it hadn’t been – cool. “Now is the time to smell the roses”.
Fassio felt fortunate to get to know numerous players including Jay Buhner, Tino Martinez, and Randy Johnson, but his favorite player by far is Ken Griffey Jr.
He said just spending time at the Hall is something special.
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“Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run in the first game back on September 21 to push ahead of the rival Braves”.
