Hall of Famer Craig Biggio poses with a young Astros fan in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s plaque gallery last weekend. (Photo by Larry Brunt, National Baseball Hall of Fame & Library)
Since moving to upstate New York in the late 1980s, I’ve experienced roughly 25 Hall of Fame weekends. In recent years, I’ve had thoughts run through my head like, “Is this the year that I became tired of this event?” And every year, once the Friday of Hall of Fame Weekend arrives, I find myself re-energized and asking myself, “How could I possibly get tired of this unique spectacle?”
Seeing the crowds gives me a lift. Walking down Cooperstown’s Main Street and seeing Denny McLain, much slimmer than he was a few years ago, sign in front of the old TJ’s Place building gives me an additional lift. On Friday morning, I happened to be walking through the Hall of Fame and Museum when I saw Carlton Fisk making his way through the Gallery while holding one of his grandchildren. And then on Saturday night, I saw nearly 50 Hall of Famers make their way down Main Street during the Parade of Legends. For a baseball fan like me, it’s just not possible to become “sick and tired” of all of these sights and sounds.
As an employee of the Hall of Fame, there is a lot of work associated with the staging of the weekend and the Sunday Induction Ceremony. But there are also so many chances for personal highlights. I had many of them over this past Hall of Fame Weekend, and at least a few are worthy of mention.
Hall of Famer Cepeda has redeemed himself
One of the annual pleasures of the weekend is the opportunity to say hi to old friend Orlando Cepeda. If at all possible, I always try to touch base with Orlando, even if it’s only for a few seconds during a frenetic and frenzied weekend. That chance came on Saturday night during the reception at the Hall of Fame and Museum. Orlando usually remembers me by sight, in large part because of the young adult biography I wrote about him several years ago. A man who struggled with drugs earlier in life, Cepeda has worked hard for redemption. He’s not only a Hall of Famer, but free from the drug problem that likely kept him out of Cooperstown for so long. He looked great on Saturday night; he says his troublesome knees are good, as is his family. It is good to see the Baby Bull doing well.
Author Kenny is passionate about Hall of Fame debate
Another friend, Brian Kenny of the MLB Network, made a stirring appearance on Saturday afternoon in the Grandstand Theater. Ostensibly there to promote his first book, Ahead of the Curve, Brian did so much more, keeping a capacity crowd captivated with a nearly hour-long session about baseball’s statistical revolution, his thoughts on who belongs in Cooperstown, and the changes that he has seen in the way front offices (and the media) discuss what is relevant in the game.
Kenny spoke briefly about the Hall of Fame case of Alan Trammell, the beloved Detroit Tigers’ shortstop who thus far has fallen short of election. As Kenny writes in his book, Trammell’s case has been hurt by playing in the relatively low run-scoring environment of the 1980s. He’s also been affected by playing alongside the likes of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Ozzie Smith, two of the most dominant shortstops in the game’s history. As Kenny writes, “You can be second best at any point anywhere and still be one of the best of all time.”
Kenny also points out that Trammell stacks up favorably with other great shortstops from more recent eras. “According to WAR [Wins Above Replacement],” Kenny writes in Ahead of the Curve, “Alan Trammell is the eighth best shortstop of all time, just behind Derek Jeter, who is dragged down by bad defensive metrics, and ahead of Barry Larkin, who was great but not durable. Maybe you don’t want to buy into that completely, but defense and durability matter. WAR works in both.” Trammell grades well in both categories, making him a strong candidate in the opinion of Kenny.
Someone should hire legendary baseball writer Bill Madden
Speaking of books, I ran into another friend, Bill Madden, who has written multiple volumes on a variety of topics, ranging from George Steinbrenner to the historic 1954 season. Formerly the lead baseball writer for the New York Daily News, Bill told me that he’s working on a new book: a comprehensive and authorized biography of Lou Piniella, which is scheduled for release by Harper Collins in the spring of 2017. The book will touch on both Piniella’s playing and managing careers and will feature a ton of interview segments with Piniella’s contemporaries. Bill says that he insisted he be allowed to interview others about Piniella, rather than simply rely on Piniella’s perspective for the book.
I asked Bill about the possibility that we might see him do some writing on the Internet. He’s explored that possibility, but says that most web sites he’s contacted are interested in young writers who deliver snarky commentary, rather than someone who has good reporting skills, a sense of history, and a boatload of contacts. It’s a sad commentary on the state of baseball writing, not only at places like the Daily News but at some web sites where the number of “hits” an article receives has become an obsession. It is absolutely shameful that Bill Madden isn’t writing regularly for someone, given his terrific reporting and writing talents.
Many non-Hall of Fame ballplayers flock to Cooperstown
One of my favorite pastime of Hall of Fame Weekend is keeping track of the non-Hall of Famers who are also in Cooperstown. This year’s guest list was a particularly good one, and it included former Tigers Denny McLain and Howard Johnson.
Here are some of the other baseball celebrities who came to town over the weekend:
Jay Buhner, Alvin Davis, Edgar Martinez, Dave Valle, Dan Wilson, and Jamie Moyer (all former Seattle Mariners and friends of Ken Griffey, Jr.); former Los Angeles Dodgers Steve Garvey, Eric Karros, and Reggie Smith (who talked Mike Piazza out of retiring when he was struggling in the minor leagues); ex-New York Mets Ed Kranepool, Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky, Ron Swoboda, Lenny Dykstra, Dwight Gooden, Bobby Valentine, and Frank Thomas (the original, circa the era of the 1960s); and ex-Cincinnati Reds Ken Griffey, Sr. and Bobby Tolan.
Even for fans who aren’t diehard followers of the game, the presence of big names on Main Street is alluring. Take for an example my wife, Sue, and my daughter, Madeline. They did some shopping on Main Street and picked up autographed baseballs from two members of the 1969 Mets, Jones and Kranepool. Sue told me that Cleon and “Krane” were perfect gentlemen and both very appreciative that someone would take the time to purchase their autographs. Maddie then gave the two signed balls to our neighbor Bill, who is a huge Mets fan.
Piazza’s Hollywood friend comes to Hall of Fame Weekend
Every once in a while, a Hollywood celebrity will make his way to the induction. In past years, we’ve seen the likes of Richard Gere, Bill Murray, and Charlie Sheen during the weekend. At the Sunday ceremony, I was rather shocked to see actor Jim Caviezel, star of the recently cancelled Person of Interest, being interviewed by one of the Hall of Fame’s video crews. Eavesdropping on their conversation, I was impressed by Caviezel’s cordial nature and his knowledge of the game. He also happened to be wearing an amazing suit that featured pink pinstripes!
Why was Caviezel in town? He was a guest of Piazza, who happens to be a close friend.
Record crowd sees Junior and Piazza inducted
One final note: Sunday’s Induction Ceremony for Griffey and Piazza drew a crowd of roughly 50,000, tied with the 1999 ceremony (the induction of George Brett, Nolan Ryan, and Robin Yount) for the second-largest induction crowd ever. The gathering surprised most observers, including yours truly, who were expecting something in the range of 40,000 fans. The crowd seemed to be fairly evenly divided between Mariners and Mets fans, despite Seattle being located some 3,000 miles away.
We hear a lot of talk from the media about how baseball is not as important as it once was, that it pales in comparison to the following currently enjoyed by the NFL. Perhaps those skeptics should have been in Cooperstown on Sunday. To see that spectacle would make it quite clear that baseball, and baseball history, remain very much relevant.