Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza elected to Hall of Fame

NEW YORK — Ken Griffey Jr. will go into the Hall of Fame with a Seattle Mariners cap and Mike Piazza will have a New York Mets hat.

Griffey was drafted by the Mariners and spent his first 11 major league seasons with Seattle, then was traded to Cincinnati, the team his father played for during much of his career.

In his fourth year of eligibility, over 83% of those eligible to vote on the Hall of Fame in the BBWAA finally decreed that Mike Piazza is worthy of being enshrined in Cooperstown.

“He wore it backwards more than I did”, Griffey said with a smile. Junior became thoughtful and reflective about the idea of his No. 24 hanging next to Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 as the only numbers retired at Safeco Field. “That’s just how I feel”.

Griffey’s percentage of 99.32 is a new record and this was picked up on by the BBC World Service, who invited me to comment on this historic event on their Sport Today programme on Thursday (the programme will be available on the BBC iPlayer for British residents for 30 days from transmission, with the Griffey section being on in the last five minutes or so of the show). “I’m smarter than most people think I am, although what I did was not smart”. When Ojeda left the following season, McDowell honored his friend by taking his number.

When Griffey Jr.’s agent told the family he might be the first pick overall in the 1987 draft, even his father was surprised.

The press also asked how he felt about the Mariners retiring his number. On Sept. 14, 1990, the Griffeys hit back-to-back home runs in a game against the California Angels, the only time in Major League Baseball history this has occurred. Unfortunately we do have to choose one. “Weekend” at Safeco Field as the Mariners welcome Junior back to Seattle in their first series following the induction ceremony in Cooperstown.

The Giants signed Denard Span to a three-year deal, ensuring that the center fielder will not play for the Mets in 2016.

Griffey was arguably the best player in baseball during his time in Seattle, including his only MVP award in 1997 when he hit 56 home runs, and 10 Gold Glove awards. I was rooting for Mike to go deep.

Piazza had good things to say about his time with the Dodgers, and said he called Tommy Lasorda, his godfather, on Wednesday night to let him know of the decision.

Admittedly, rumors of steroid use during a time where baseball didn’t police it players (namely the 1990s and well into the new millennium) complicates the voting since, according to the BBWAA website, votes are based not only on a player’s record and playing ability, but also on integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. Griffey announced on Thursday that he would enter the Hall as a Mariner.

Seattle is going all out to honor its player wearing a Mariners cap insignia on a Hall of Fame plaque.

However, Griffey see’s it differently, as he told the media: “Twenty-four other guys that helped me”.