Griffey Jr., Piazza join sport’s elite

Hall enshrinement awaits greats who charted own paths

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — When they were drafted nearly three decades ago, one was on everybody’s baseball radar, the other a blip at best, picked almost as an afterthought in the final round thanks to a recommendation by an important family friend.

That their baseball paths started so differently — the Seattle Mariners made Ken Griffey Jr. the first pick of the 1987 amateur draft and a year later the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza in the 62nd round with the 1,390th pick, ahead of only five other players — in the end didn’t matter one bit. Two players who wore their hats backward a lot — one for fun, the other because he had to — and left indelible imprints on the game will be rewarded Sunday with induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dubbed “The Natural for his effortless excellence at the plate and in center field,” Griffey played 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox and was named on a record 99.32 percent of ballots cast, an affirmation of sorts for his squeaky-clean performance during baseball’s Steroids Era. A 13time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs.

Griffey also was named American League Most Valuable Player in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards. In the 1995 American League Division Series, he became just the second player in major league history to hit five home runs in a single postseason series (Reggie Jackson of the Yankees in the 1977 World Series is the other).

Like Yankees great Mickey Mantle before him, fans are left to wonder what more Griffey might have accomplished had his health not become a hindrance. From 2001-04 he averaged fewer than 80 games played per year while suffering through hamstring tears, knee problems, a dislocated shoulder and ankle tendon ruptures.

Healthy again in 2005, Junior slugged 35 home runs and captured the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. Two years later, he had his last standout season — 144 games, 30 homers, 93 RBIs — and earned his final All-Star Game selection. He finished his career with the White Sox and Mariners before retiring early in the 2010 season.

For Piazza, selection to the Hall is validation of an awful lot of hard work.

Taken in the draft after Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, a close friend of Piazza’s father, 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.

And then it all clicked almost suddenly for Piazza, hitting 52 home runs in the minors before getting called up by the Dodgers in September 1992. He was there to stay after going 3 for 3 in his debut and was named National League Rookie of the Year the following season after hitting .318 with 35 homers and 112 RBIs.

Piazza played 16 years with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and Athletics and hit 427 career home runs, including a major league record 396 as a catcher. A 12-time AllStar, Piazza won 10 Silver Slugger Awards and finished in the top five in MVP voting four times. Perhaps even more impressive, Piazza, a .308 career hitter, 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.