The Class of 2017

Congratulations to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017.  Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza become the 311th and 312th members of the National Hall of Fame.

I consider myself fortunate to have seen both Griffey and Piazza play in person.  I saw Piazza when he played for the Dodgers early in his career and then later in his career when he was with the New York Mets when he would play against my beloved St. Louis Cardinals.  Piazza had a .308 lifetime average over his 16 season career.  I initially questioned his election to the Hall.  This was his fourth year on the ballot and he made it with over 80 percent of the vote this time around.  I think his election may help other catchers with similar numbers make it into the Hall.














I saw "The Kid" play in Seattle in the early 90s at the old King dome when vacationing in the Pacific Northwest and then later in his career when he and the Reds would come to visit the Cardinals.  Griffey was elected on the first ballot and there is no doubt he belongs in the Hall.  Griffey's 630 Home Runs were all natural unlike many of the juicers of his era.  Griffey was always fun to watch in the outfield and would make the difficult look routine.  I can remember watching Junior go above the wall in the old Seattle ballpark and rob more than one player of what looked like a sure home run off of the bat.  Griffey is one of the best outfielders I have seen and to me his talent and likeability brought many fans back to the game after the strike of 1993.



In addition to Griffey and Piazza two other men joined the Hall of Fame this afternoon.  Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe was the recipient of the J.G Taylor Spink Award and was enshrined into the writers wing of the Hall in Cooperstown.

Joining him in the broadcaster's wing was the late Graham McNamee who is the recipient of this year's Ford C. Frick  Award.  McNamee was a well known announcer of the 20's and was among the first to broadcast a World Series on the radio for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

Congratulations to all four of these gentlemen on their selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Happy Independence Day USA!

This weekend marks the 240th birthday of the United States of America.  It is one of the longest running democracies in the history of the world.  This has been accomplished through the sacrifices of thousands going back to the Revolution against the British to today with our troops deployed in far outposts battling terrorist organizations.  Our citizen-soldiers have paid the ultimate price for our enduring freedom.  I have no way of expressing my gratitude to those who have served in conflicts such as World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.  Today I say thank you to all of our armed forces past and present.  Because of you I am able to live in what I truly believe is the greatest nation on this planet!

Happy Birthday America!  Long may you stand!  Let freedom Ring!