by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
photo credit: thesource.com Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza elected to the Hall of Fame class 2016
Ken Griffey Jr established a new record as he received 99.30% of the votes (440 ballots/437 votes). Three writers did not voted for Ken Griffey Jr, so he will not be the first ever elected with 100% of the votes on the most famous of sports Hall of Fame, National Baseball Hall of Fame, at Cooperstown, New York. How can three writers not voted for Griffey Jr? I do not know, maybe those three guys never got to interview him while he was playing or simply they did not like the man. Mike Piazza was the other player elected today to Cooperstown, the catcher with the most career home runs 427, was the Rookie of the Year in the National League in 1993 with the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting .318 with 35 home runs and 112 runs batted in. Piazza got in with 83% of the vote. While Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines, the other two nominees fell short.
Ken Griffey Jr aka “The Kid”and “The Natural”played for 22 years in the major leagues. With the Seattle Mariners from 1988 to1999, then with the Cincinnati Reds from 2000 to 2008 and in 2009 with the Chicago White Sox. A lifetime .284 hitter with 630 home runs and 1,836 runs batted in. His contagious smile, his enjoyment of the game and the God-given talent took over center-field as a rookie for the Mariners and never stopped until over two decades later. He was the first overall pick in the 1987 draft, while in 1988 Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 1,390 pick and in the 62nd round. Played from 1992 to 2007(16 seasons)finished with a .308 lifetime batting average, 427 home runs and 1,335 runs batted in. Not a defensive specialist but a power hitter, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and in 2007 briefly with the Oakland Athletics.
Interestingly enough Griffey is the first No. 1 pick to make it, while Piazza is the lowest pick to do so. Nervous,” Griffey said about his reaction to getting the call. “It’s just one of those things where I can’t control — I can control how I play, how I do things — but I can’t control what other people do for you. It’s just a waiting game. It was quite a ride, but to get that call, it’s just unbelievable.” The closest candidates who came up short of the 75-percent threshold for induction were first baseman Jeff Bagwell (71.6 percent in his sixth year on the ballot), outfielder Tim Raines (69.8 percent, ninth year) and closer Trevor Hoffman (67.3 percent, first year), all of whom set themselves up well for 2017. Raines, who jumped up from 55 percent, has one year of eligibility remaining. Bagwell, who rose from 55.7 percent, has four years left.Every player who has received at least as high a percentage as Raines has eventually gotten into the Hall of Fame, via either the BBWAA or the Veterans Committee.
Words can’t describe this honor,” Piazza said on MLB Network. “Truly, truly humbled, truly blessed. I truly want to thank the writers for recognizing my career. It’s something that, man, you just really can’t say. What a tribute to what this country is all about as far the opportunity. You can work hard and really focus and try to do the right thing.”
Local angle: Mark McGwire was not voted in last year of ballot, while Barry Bonds got a total of 36.8% which was an increase of 2.1& from 2014. Other that fell short were Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, all these names somehow “touched”by the steroids era.
Next Year a Hispanic flavor Unanimous: For next year, here are the nominees: Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, Ivan Rodriguez,,Magglio Ordonez, and Jorge Posada.
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