Danielle Solzman
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum officially inducted Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen this afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y.
This is one of my favorite days of the year. Thank G-d for the livestream on the MLB app because YouTube TV has yet to come back to the table. Not being able to watch the MLB Network on a daily basis has been very frustrating since January. One can only hope that the two parties get back to the table soon but it’s very unlikely as YouTube is putting their money into football while throwing baseball fans under the bus. If MLB can livestream the HOF ceremony, you’d think they’d livestream the rest of their MLB Network coverage.
Carl Erskine, John Lowe and Pat Hughes were honored with the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, the BBWAA Career Excellence Award and the Ford C. Frick Award, respectively, during the Awards Presentation on Sunday.
While Rolen is entering the HOF with a St. Louis Cardinals cap, Fred McGriff elected not to wear a logo on his cap.
The Crime Dog’s induction is long overdue. He fell seven home runs short of the standard 500 home runs that generally lead the BBWAA to elect a player into the HOF. If not for the strike in 1994, he would have reached the 500 home run plateau and likely been inducted years ago. His induction also speaks to how dominant the Atlanta Braves were in the 1990s with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Chipper Jones, too.
It took six ballots for Scott Rolen to be elected but it’s better late than never. A seven-time All-Star, Rolen was one of the best defensive third basemen in the game during his prime. His 8 Gold Gloves rank 4th among third basemen If not for his injuries, he would have probably retired with the Cardinals rather than be traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was a member of the MV3 with Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds and a strong contributor to the Cardinals teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2006. It’s possible that Edmonds might get elected by the veterans on the strength of his defense (8 Gold Gloves) but former teammates Pujols and Yadier Molina will join Rolen in due time.
There were 48 returning Baseball Hall of Fame members on hand for the induction ceremony on Sunday:
- Jeff Bagwell
- Harold Baines
- Johnny Bench
- Craig Biggio
- Burt Blyleven
- Wade Boggs
- George Brett
- Andre Dawson
- Rollie Fingers
- Pat Gillick
- Goose Gossage
- Ken Griffey Jr.
- Rickey Henderson
- Whitey Herzog
- Trevor Hoffman
- Fergie Jenkins
- Derek Jeter
- Randy Johnson
- Chipper Jones
- Jim Kaat
- Tony La Russa
- Barry Larkin
- Greg Maddux
- Juan Marichal
- Paul Molitor
- Jack Morris
- Eddie Murray
- Mike Mussina
- Tony Oliva
- David Ortiz
- Tony Pérez
- Tim Raines
- Jim Rice
- Cal Ripken
- Ryne Sandberg
- John Schuerholz
- Bud Selig
- Ted Simmons
- Lee Smith
- Ozzie Smith
- Frank Thomas
- Jim Thome
- Joe Torre
- Alan Trammell
- Larry Walker
- Billy Williams
- Dave Winfield
- Robin Yount
Following the 2022 HOF induction, the following Hall of Famers passed away:
- Gaylord Perry
- Vin Scully (Ford Frick Award)
- Bruce Sutter
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