Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza earn induction into Baseball Hall of Fame

But he’ll probably be willing to walk past a black cat and under a ladder to go through the front door this summer.

In an interview on MLB Network, Griffey said he was “happy and shocked” by the news. “Happy to get into such an elite club”, the Mariners and Reds superstar said.

“I think that was a moment that just transcends the game”, Piazza said.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will have two new members this July. That is what exactly 437 ballots revealed on Wednesday. The BBWAA’s website has a page where voters can record their ballot almost 130 had done so as of 9 p.m. Wednesday and all of them said they had voted for Griffey.

And, of course, wearing his dad’s hat backward in order to see. “I was very blessed the fans took me into their family and really embraced me”.

Ken Griffey Jr. became a huge star in Seattle, then beelined back home to play in Cincinnati.

Throw in the fact that Griffey’s name was never even remotely tied to scandal and the only question about his Hall worthiness is how three voters could actually believe he doesn’t belong in the Cooperstown. So Lee Smith has one year to go, but I have no illusions that he will get enshrined even though he and Hoffman are the only relievers to save 200 or more games in two different decades.

Ken Griffey Jr has had an illustrious career in major league baseball.

Also joining Griffey in Cooperstown is catcher Mike Piazza. Also leaving the ballot are those who failed to earn the minimum five percent: Jim Edmonds (2.5 percent), Nomar Garciaparra (1.8 percent), Mike Sweeney (0.7 percent), David Eckstein (0.5 percent), Jason Kendall (0.5 percent), Garret Anderson (0.1 percent), Brad Ausmus (0 votes), Luis Castillo (0 votes), Troy Glaus (0 votes), Mark Grudzielanek (0 votes), Mike Hampton (0 votes), Mike Lowell (0 votes), and Randy Winn (0 votes).

The son of a major-leaguer and a big-leaguer himself at age 19, Griffey was elected in his first year of Hall eligibility.

In June 1988, at the urging of Lasorda, who is the godfather to one of Piazza’s brothers, L.A. used its 62d-round choice on the Phoenixville High graduate. FILE – In this September 27, 1998 file photo, St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire hits his 69th home run in the third inning off Montreal Expos pitcher Mike Thurman, at Busch Stadium, in St. Louis, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Rain… A friend of Vince Piazza’s convinced him to go watch the 16-year-old hit in a backyard cage. He grew into one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball history, ranking first among catchers with 427 home runs, fourth in RBI and sixth in hits during a career that included 12 All-Star selections and 10 Silver Slugger Awards. “All the emotions came into it every year, but again, knowing the history of the game and how many great players throughout this game had to wait a year, sometimes many years, it keeps it in perspective”. He never won the MVP award, but he finished among the top three finalists on three separate occasions. Perhaps no home run was bigger than the go-ahead home run in the 8th inning against the Braves on September 21, 2001, the first professional sports game in New York City after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a towering 2-run shot to center field that became affectionately known as “the home run that healed New York”. He was traded to the White Sox during the 2008 season, returned to the Mariners for 2009 and retired early in 2010.