Griffey to enter Hall of Fame with a Mariners cap

Former Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell’s final try on the Hall of Fame ballot fell well short Wednesday, as baseball welcomed only catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.as the newest members of the class. While there was some doubt that Piazza may not be elected into the Hall of Fame as his name was often times connected to steroid use, despite no proof ever surfacing, there was never such doubt for Griffey.

Griffey Jr. finished his career with outstanding numbers, including 630 home runs; 1,836 runs batted in; 2,781 hits and 13 All-Star selections. Playing alongside his father, Ken Griffey, Sr., in 1990, he and his dad hit back-to-back home runs for the Mariners – the first time a father-son duo had accomplished the feat in baseball history.

Mooney, a Pittsfield resident who now is a pro scout for the Milwaukee Brewers, was an area scout for the Seattle Mariners when the Mariners selected Griffey first overall in the 1987 First-Year Player Draft.

Receiving 437 out of 440 votes for 99.3 percent, which broke the 98.84 percent Tom Seaver received in 1992, Griffey had a long and successful 22 year Major League Baseball career. And if this year’s ~8% increase is any indication, they will hit 75% sooner than that, possibly in 2020. Three times he led the American League in home runs, and he also led Seattle to its first playoff-series victory in history during the 1995 season.

Mike Piazza said on Thursday that he will have a Mets logo on the cap of his Hall of Fame plaque.

The senior members of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America) are the ones who do the Hall of Fame voting. This was Piazza’s fourth year on the ballot; the catcher received 83% of the vote.

It wasn’t all smiles and waving for Piazza on Monday. “I’ve always said that I’ve got to look my kids in the eyes and you want to play fair”.

Griffey played nine seasons with the Reds, often slowed by injuries.

From ages 20-29 he won the Gold Glove in center field for 10 consecutive seasons. It was widely speculated that he would pick NY as the team to represent over Los Angeles. Clemens got 45.2 percent this year and Bonds 44.3 percent.

According to Yahoo News, in terms of percent of vote, Griffey and Piazza were followed by Jeff Bagwell (71.6 percent), Tim Raines (69.8) and Trevor Hoffman (67.3). McGwire’s biggest competition for home run titles, Sammy Sosa, allegedly failed a test for PEDs in 2003, and received 16.7% of the votes accordingly.