It was an emotional afternoon at Cooperstown, New York on Sunday as seven legendary Major League Baseball players were inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. It was the largest class of living inductees since 1971 and a crowd of almost 50,000 avid baseball fans came out to witness the ceremonies.
The three managers enshrined in Cooperstown of Sunday were already living legends. Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa are household names anywhere there are baseball fans. These guys have been around since most of us were kids. Their accomplishments would require more space to list than we have time for here.
There were also two 300 game winning pitchers inducted into the Hall of Sunday. Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, along with manager Bobby Cox were a big part of the remarkable run of success enjoyed by the Atlanta Braves back when they won 14 straight divisional titles and make the playoffs 15 times.
Slugger Frank Thomas, who is still only 46 years old, started off the parade of chills and tears when he took the opportunity to thank his Father and Mother. “I’m speechless. Thanks for having me in your club. Frank Sr., I know you’re watching. Without you, I know 100% I wouldn’t be here in Cooperstown today. You always preached to me, ‘You can be someone special if you really work at it.’
I took that to heart, Pop.”
In many fans’ opinions, Joe Torre could have made it into the Hall of Fall just for putting up with George Steinbrenner for 12 years. But, added to that, Torre led the New York Yankees to 10 division, 6 AL Pennants and 4 World Series victories and helped put the Yankees franchise back on the map. He was also the only guy in the history of MLB to amass over 2,000 hits as a player and over 2,000 games as a manager.
Fittingly, Mr. Torre was the last of the new inductees to speak, “If all of us who love baseball and are doing our jobs, then those who get the game from us will be as proud to be a part of is as we were. And we are. This game is a gift, and I am humbled, very humbled to accept its greatest honor.”
Joe Torre closed with, “Baseball is a game of life. It’s not perfect, but it feels like it is. That’s the magic of it. We are responsible for giving it the respect it deserves. Our sport is part of the American soul, and it’s ours to borrow, just for a while.”
