Griffey, Piazza took different career routes to Hall of Fame
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Two players who began their careers at opposite ends of the spectrum nearly three decades ago ended up in the same place on Sunday — with their names etched on plaques at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
For Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza, the culmination of their long journeys was tinged with tears all around.
“I stand up here humbled and overwhelmed,” Griffey said, staring out at his family and tens of thousands of fans. “I can’t describe how it feels.”
Griffey, the first pick of the 1987 amateur draft, became the highest pick ever inducted. Piazza, a 62nd-round pick the next year — No. 1,390 — is the lowest pick to enter the Hall of Fame.
Griffey played 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox and was selected on a record 99.32 per cent of ballots cast.
A 13-time all-star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner in centre field, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs. He also was the American League MVP in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards.
Griffey, who fell just three votes shy of being the first unanimous selection, hit 417 of his 630 homers and won all 10 of his Gold Gloves with the Seattle Mariners. He played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Mariners and led them to the playoffs for the first two times in franchise history.
“Thirteen years with the Seattle Mariners, from the day I got drafted, Seattle, Wash., has been a big part of my life,” Griffey said, punctuating the end of his speech by putting a baseball cap on backward as he did throughout his career.
“I’m going to leave you with one thing. In 22 years I learned that one team will treat you the best, and that’s your first team. I’m damn proud to be a Seattle Mariner.”
Selected in the draft by the Dodgers after Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, a close friend of Piazza’s father, Vince, put in a good word, Piazza struggled.
He briefly quit the game while in the minor leagues, returned and persevered despite a heavy workload as he switched from first base to catcher and teammates criticized his erratic play.
Piazza played 16 years with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and Athletics and hit 427 home runs, including a record 396 as a catcher. A 12-time all-star, Piazza won 10 Silver Slugger Awards and finished in the top five of his league’s MVP voting four times.
A .308 career hitter, Piazza posted six seasons with at least 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .300 batting average (all other catchers in baseball history combined have posted nine such seasons).
Though the Dodgers gave him his start, Piazza found a home in New York when he was traded to the Mets in May 1998.
Three years later, he became a hero to the hometown fans with perhaps the most notable home run of his career. His two-run shot at Shea Stadium lifted the Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the first sporting event played in New York after the 9-11 terror attacks.
Piazza paid tribute to that moment. “To witness the darkest evil of the human heart ... will be forever burned in my soul,” he said. “But from tragedy and sorrow came bravery, love, compassion, character and eventual healing. Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run in the first game back on Sept. 21, but the true praise belongs to police, firefighters, first responders that knew that they were going to die, but went forward anyway.”