New Hall of Famers Griffey and Piazza talk about dads

I met Piazza in Atlanta.

The catcher had committed himself most of his 30s to a franchise that hadn’t reached the postseason in a decade.

Both men are extremely deserving of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, just as numerous other players who were on the ballot absolutely don’t deserve to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Griffey is the first player elected to the Hall of Fame primarily because of his achievements as a Mariner, and his plaque will be the first showing a Mariners cap.

“Having my number next to him, I don’t think I did half of what he did”, Griffey said.

Plans call for Griffey to return April 8 to Safeco to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Mariners’ home opener against Oakland.

“It changed all of our lives, not on a baseball level but a personal level”, he reflected Thursday. “I spent most of my time in Seattle”. Piazza visited Ground Zero and area hospitals.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Ryan in a Mariners uniform”, Dipoto said. There was nothing he couldn’t do; he was the best center fielder in baseball, and made some of the most exciting plays the game had ever witnessed.

Setting a new record that will likely never be topped with 99.3 percent of the votes, The Kid once again showed that if you do things the right way, even when the world is expected of you, you can win over several generations.

Here’s looking at you, Mike. “He’s awful. We need to get another guy back there, ‘” he said. “As for myself, I couldn’t be happier that Mike got in”.

Sitting in the audience at the New York Athletic Club for Thursday’s news conference, Ken Griffey Sr. had a quick response. Ruth was left off of 11 of the 226 writers’ ballots in that glorious first time Hall of Fame election and induction. Overall, he hit. 308 with a. 922 OPS after getting drafted by the Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft. It’s pretty clear though that the Mariners wanted to wait for this moment for Griffey, who will be the first to go in wearing a Mariners cap.

Piazza played for the Mets from 1998 to 2005 and was known for his thunderous, clutch home runs and easy smile. He struggled in clutch situations in his first few weeks and was booed. Their passion, the blue-collar mentality. “Want to be the first in a lot of things, and to be able to wear a Mariners’ hat and to go into the Hall of Fame as a Mariner, that’s also one of the decisions I needed to make”. “It’s a mixture of love and frustration, ups and downs – and these emotions are very strong”. The younger Griffey became a 13-time All-Star outfielder and finished with 630 homers, which is sixth on the career list. 300 in nine straight seasons and finishing with 427 home runs, including a record 396 when he was in the game behind the plate.