Congratulations to the Newest HOF Members!

Derek Jeter and Larry Walker are the two newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  I count myself fortunate to have not just watched both of them play but to have watched them in person.  I saw Walker on a number of occasions at Busch Stadium II in downtown St. Louis and that's where I also watched Jeter play with the New York Yankees against the Cardinals on June 11th, 2005.

#2 Derek Jeter - "The Captain"

Jeter's selection was a given.  The only question I have is who didn't vote for him?  Jeter was one vote away from unanimous selection.  As I write this the identity of the Hall of Fame elector is unknown and what that voter was thinking is even more difficult to comprehend.  Jeter had a career with almost 35 hundred hits in over 11 thousand at bats and a lifetime .310 batting average.  The image of Jeter to the left is from a trip I made to the Bronx two years ago.  The image of him is on the exterior right field wall of Yankee Stadium.  I was standing on River Avenue when I took the photo.

The day I saw Jeter play against the Cardinals in St. Louis he was 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.  In the field he handled five chances flawlessly.  Normally I wouldn't remember one players day from 15 years ago, but I remembered he had a good day and went back to look it up.  "The Captain" was not a favorite of mine at the time, but as the years passed he earned my respect and now I am proud to be able to say I saw him in person and believe him to be one of the best to ever play shortstop in the history of the game.

The Yankees beat the Cardinals 5-0 the day I saw Jeter play.  But, he wasn't the only future Hall of Famer on the Field.  Larry Walker also played that day coming into the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 8th for Cardinal outfield So Taguchi.  And who you ask was on the hill for the Yankees when Walker came into the game?  Why none other than HOF reliever Mariano Rivera who was elected unanimously to the Hall last  year.

The match up ended up in Rivera's favor with Walker being called out on strikes that afternoon. As it turns out Rivera got a four out save and another Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson, got the win.

Larry Walker playing for the St. Louis Cardinals

Walker was near the end of his career that afternoon, but he had an illustrious one.  Walker had a lifetime average of .313 in 17 seasons with 383 home runs and 230 stolen bases.  He started his career with the Montreal Expos then moved to Colorado to play for the Rockies and ended it with his last two years in St. Louis.  In 2004 Walker was a trade deadline pickup and he helped the Cardinals to the World Series that year against the Boston Red Sox.  Walker hit .293 in the 2004 post season including six home runs with two of them coming against the Red Sox in the World Series.

Walker retired after the 2005 season and in those two years he became a huge fan favorite in St. Louis.  Walker says he will enter the Hall with a Colorado Rockie hat on his plaque.  Walker will become just the second Canadian to enter the Hall.  He will join former Chicago Cub pitcher Ferguson Jenkins who was inducted in 1991.

Walker and Jeter will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26th along with former Cardinal Ted Simmons and labor leader Marvin Miller who were selected by the Modern Era baseball committe a little over a month ago.

Congratulations to the Hall of Fame class of 2020!

Congratulations Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Baseball inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY this afternoon.  The class is comprised of Mike Mussina, the late Roy Halladay, Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, Lee Smith and Mariano Rivera.

I have written previously of my experiences watching Baines and Smith.  While they did not make it initially on their retirement, they were selected by the Today's Game Era committee in December. Both posted numbers worthy of Hall of Fame induction.  Smith's arrival was delayed for several years because of his role as a closer.  Baines' admission was delayed by the long overdue consideration of designated heroes.

Lee Smith's HOF plaque pictures him in a Chicago Cubs cap.  But, he also spoke fondly of his years with the Cardinals.  He thanked his former manager with the Redbirds, Joe Torre, for the guidance and direction he received while playing in St.Louis.  He also spoke highly of Cardinal fans saying they were always supportive of him during his three and a half years with the Cardinals.

I don't ever recall seeing Mike Mussina pitch in person but I saw him throw on TV many times. I can recall him battling in the World Series against the Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Marlins in 2003. In all Mussina pitched in 16 post season series and won seven games.  That may not be a lot but each of those were big wins for the Yankees. During his long career with the Orioles and Yankees he started 536 games and won 270 of them while striking out over 2800 batters along the way.

Roy Halladay joined the Hall posthumously following his retirement after the 2013 season from the Philadelphia Phillies.  He died an untimely death when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico in November 2017.  Halladay's widow Brandy Halladay accepted her late husband's plaque at the induction ceremony.  In an emotional speech she thanked the Hall for voting her husband into baseball immortality.  I had the good fortune to see Halladay pitch in person at Busch Stadium III when he was a Phillie. He gave my beloved Cardinals fits.  But, there were a number of pitching gems when he battled against his former buddy Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals.  The Cardinals managed to win afew times including a classic in the 2011 NLDS.  Halladay posted 203 wins in 16 seasons with the Bluejays and Phils.  He also posted over 21 hundred strikeouts.

From the sounds of the induction ceremony there were a large number of fans from the Pacific Northwest who traveled across the country to Cooperstown to see Edgar Martinez go into the Hall.  I was fortunate to see Martinez play in person for the Mariners in the old King Dome in Seattle when visiting friends who lived there in the early 90's.  Martinez had one of the sweetest swings I ever saw and he drove the ball with authority.  Combined with his speed he led the American League in doubles twice.  Once in 1992 and again in 1995.  But, his best year may have been 2000 when he drove in an amazing 145 runs. I also remember seeing two of the most exciting players in the same lineup when he and Ken Griffey, Jr. played together for over ten years.  Junior is already a member of the Hall having been inducted in 2016.

And last but not least the Hall inducted Mariano Rivera this afternoon.  I got to see Rivera play one time in person against the Cardinals but oh what a performance it was. In June 2005 the Yankees were at Busch Stadium II.  At the time I was not a fan of inter-league play.  To be honest I am still not a fan of it.  But, I was fortunate because I saw two future Hall of Famers pitch for the Yankees that afternoon.  Randy Johnson, who was inducted in 2015, pitched the first 7 innings before giving way to Tom "Flash" Gordon in the eighth.  Gordon allowed two runners and with two out Rivera came in for a four out save opportunity.  He struck out Larry Walker to end the inning.  In the 9th he got future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols to foul out to first and then struck out Reggie Sanders and Mark Grudzielanek to record his 14th save of the season.  In his speech this afternoon Rivera also gave thanks to his former manager Joe Torre.  One final note Rivera is the only player to be elected to the Hall unanimously on the first ballot.

Congratulations to all six 2019 Hall of Famers and their families!

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