Griffey sets Hall vote mark; Piazza also elected

[StarShapedGummy]

Junior named on 99.3 percent of ballots, breaking Seaver's record in '92

 

By Andrew Simon / MLB.com; Original Article: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/161180408/hall-of-fame-elects-griffey-piazza

The Mariners made Ken Griffey Jr. the first overall pick in the 1987 Draft. The following year, the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza with the 1,390th pick, in the 62nd round.

From those vastly different starting points, the two have arrived at the same place: Cooperstown.

 

Griffey and Piazza were revealed as the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2016 during a live show on MLB Network and MLB.com on Wednesday. Griffey is the first No. 1 pick to make it, while Piazza is the lowest pick to do so. And while Griffey fell short of being the first player elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, he was named on 99.3 percent of ballots (437 of 440), breaking the record of 98.84 percent set by Tom Seaver in 1992. Piazza received 83 percent (365 of 440) in his fourth year on the ballot.

"Nervous," Griffey said about his reaction to getting the call. "It's just one of those things where I can't control -- I can control how I play, how I do things -- but I can't control what other people do for you. It's just a waiting game. It was quite a ride, but to get that call, it's just unbelievable."

 

With Griffey and Piazza going in, the BBWAA has elected nine players since 2014, tying the record for a three-year span (also 1936-38, '54-56). Griffey is the seventh player during that time to get in during his first year of eligibility.

 

The closest candidates who came up short of the 75-percent threshold for induction were first baseman Jeff Bagwell (71.6 percent in his sixth year on the ballot), outfielder Tim Raines (69.8 percent, ninth year) and closer Trevor Hoffman (67.3 percent, first year), all of whom set themselves up well for 2017. Raines, who jumped up from 55 percent, has one year of eligibility remaining. Bagwell, who rose from 55.7 percent, has four years left.

 

Every player who has received at least as high a percentage as Raines has eventually gotten into the Hall of Fame, via either the BBWAA or the Veterans Committee.

Top 10 vote-getters by percentage

• Year Player Ballots cast Votes %
• 2016 Ken Griffey Jr. 440 437 99.30
• 1992 Tom Seaver 430 425 98.84
• 1999 Nolan Ryan 497 491 98.79
• 2007 Cal Ripken Jr. 545 537 98.53
• 1936 Ty Cobb 226 222 98.23
• 1999 George Brett 497 488 98.19
• 1982 Hank Aaron 415 406 97.83
• 2007 Tony Gwynn 545 532 97.60
• 2015 Randy Johnson 549 534 97.27
• 2014 Greg Maddux 571 555 97.20

As for Griffey, there was little doubt his candidacy would flourish. The sweet-swinging center fielder is the first player at his position to be voted in by the BBWAA since Kirby Puckett in 2001, breaking the longest drought at any spot on the field. Griffey also should become the first player to wear a Mariners cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

 

"Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing, smile and immense talent in all facets of the game made him one of the most popular and respected players of all-time, a stature clearly evident in the results released today," Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "His election to Cooperstown surely marks a great occasion not only in the Pacific Northwest and his hometown of Cincinnati, but also for an entire generation of fans. Major League Baseball is proud to congratulate Ken and his family on this well-deserved honor."

 

Less than two years after Seattle drafted him out of Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School, Griffey was the team's Opening Day center fielder in 1989, at age 19. The following season, Griffey made the first of 11 straight All-Star teams and won the first of 10 straight Gold Glove Awards. He and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., also made history by hitting back-to-back home runs against the Angels that Sept. 14. In 1997, Griffey rode his smooth left-handed stroke to AL Most Valuable Player honors, leading the league with 56 homers, 147 RBIs and a .646 slugging percentage.

 

Ken Griffey Jr. receives the phone call from Jack O'Connell of the BBWAA giving him the nod to the Hall of Fame

 

"It's truly an honor to be elected and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock," Griffey said. "I don't think that way. The big thing is to get into the Hall of Fame. As long as you get in, that's what it is. I was really surprised it was so high."

Griffey was traded to his hometown Reds before the 2000 season, then to the White Sox at the '08 Trade Deadline. He closed out his 22-year career back with Seattle from '09-'10, finishing with a .284/.370/.538 line and 630 homers, which ranks sixth all-time.

"I am really superstitious," Griffey said in an interview on MLB Network. "I have played in the Hall of Fame Game three times and I've never set foot in the building, I've never even seen the front of it. I've gone directly from the field to the hotel and the hotel to the bus and never looked at the front of it because the one time I wanted to go in there, I wanted to be a member of it."

 

Piazza saw his support climb slowly but steadily during his time on the ballot, jumping up from 69.9 percent in 2015. Perhaps the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history, he is the first player elected at the position by the BBWAA since Gary Carter in 2003.

"It's a tremendous honor," Piazza said. "I just want to say thank you very much to all the writers for their support. It's just overwhelming. Very honored and I'm a huge student of the game as far as the history of the game, so this is just something for me that, really, words can't describe. And going in with a great player such as Ken Griffey Jr. makes it obviously special as well."

 

Mike Piazza joins MLB Tonight to discuss his reactions after being named to the Hall of Fame and to discuss his career

 

Four years after he was an afterthought in the Draft, Piazza debuted with the Dodgers late in the 1992 season. The next year, he was the team's starting catcher, batting .318 with 35 homers and 112 RBIs, taking National League Rookie of the Year honors. Piazza received the first of his 12 All-Star selections and 10 NL Silver Slugger Awards.

 

"I think it all adds up and just crystallizes how special this game is in a sense that it's unlike ... any other sport that you can have two guys go into the Hall, such as Ken Griffey Jr. and myself, from completely opposite ends of the spectrum," Piazza said. "There's so many opportunities in this game that you can sort of find a role and be an underdog."

 

In May 1998, the Dodgers traded Piazza to the Marlins, who quickly flipped him to the Mets. Piazza also spent time at the end of his career with the Padres and A's, finishing his 16-year run with a .308/.377/.545 line and 427 home runs. He holds the all-time record for homers as a catcher (396), and his .922 career OPS and 142 OPS+ are the best by anyone who spent a majority of his time at the position.

 

Piazza has stated in the past that he would prefer to go into the Hall as a member of the Mets, which would make him the second player to do so, after Seaver.

 

"We are really thrilled that Mike Piazza has taken his rightful place among the other greats in Cooperstown," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. "Mike's offensive prowess, ability to deliver in the clutch, and tireless work ethic helped him become one of the great catchers of all-time. On behalf of Mets Ownership, front office staff and our fans, we congratulate Mike, his wife Alicia, his parents, Vince and Veronica, and the entire Piazza family."

 

To accompany Griffey and Piazza to Cooperstown, Bagwell and Raines would have needed to join a group of only eight players to be inducted after gaining at least 20 percentage points from one election to the next, without the benefit of a runoff election. The last to pull off that feat was Joe Cronin in 1956

Others to gain support in 2016 included starting pitchers Curt Schilling (52.3 percent, fourth year), Roger Clemens (45.2 percent, fourth) and Mike Mussina (43 percent, third), outfielder Barry Bonds (44.3 percent, fourth), designated hitter Edgar Martinez (43.4 percent, seventh) and shortstop Alan Trammell (40.9 percent, 15th). This was the final year of BBWAA-ballot eligibility for Trammell, along with first baseman Mark McGwire (12.3 percent), both of whom still could get in eventually, via the Veterans Committee.
Others who received enough support to remain on the ballot for 2017 were first baseman Fred McGriff (20.9 percent, seventh year), second baseman Jeff Kent (16.6 percent, third), outfielders Larry Walker (15.5 percent, sixth), Gary Sheffield (11.6 percent, second) and Sammy Sosa (7 percent, fourth), and closers Lee Smith (34.1 percent, 14th) and Billy Wagner (10.5 percent, first).

 

Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra (second year) and center fielder Jim Edmonds (first) were the biggest names to fall off the ballot by getting less than 5 percent of the vote. The others to fall off, all in their first year, were Garret Anderson, Brad Ausmus, Luis Castillo, David Eckstein, Troy Glaus, Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Hampton, Jason Kendall, Mike Lowell, Mike Sweeney and Randy Winn.

[Remus]

Legends.