Time to Shine

Written by: Bill Francis

2018-07-28

Now less than a day away from reaching the pinnacle of their sport, the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 outwardly acted relaxed … except for the one with a child due any day now.

For sensational switch-hitting third baseman Chipper Jones, slugging star Jim Thome, multi-talented outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, closer extraordinaire Trevor Hoffman, competitive and durable starting pitcher Jack Morris, and legendary Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell, the hours are counting off until their Induction Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 29, in Cooperstown.

Before they know it, six of baseball’s greatest starts from the last four decades will find themselves standing in front of more than 50 returning Hall of Famers, tens of thousands of adoring fans and a national television audience on the MLB Network receiving the game’s greatest honor.

During a Saturday press availability on the gym floor of Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center, the six members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 – which raises the total number of Hall of Famers members to 323 – shared their thoughts on the day the National Pastime’s greats are honored.

“This weekend. It has been so great,” said a smiling Thome. “Sitting out on the porch and running into all the guys that have been a part of this great fraternity, and to now be in that group, is so special. You don’t ever really want to leave the porch to be honest.

“I’ve just been trying to embrace the moment. When I get on the stage, truly understand what this means and how special it is and all those emotions of how many people have helped you and what they’ve meant to you. Just take it all in. This is just such a cool, humbling, honoring moment. Honestly, it’s going by very quick, but I want it to slow down a touch because I truly want to embrace it.”

When Trammell was asked what was going on in his mind, he said it was hard to describe.

“I’m doing a lot of smiling, a lot of shaking my head, but it really hasn’t set in yet and I don’t think it really will until Sunday, until really the actual induction. I’ve met a lot of the other Hall of Famers over the years, but it will be fun to re-establish these relationships for the rest of your lives. I’m part of that fraternity now and it’s very special.

“As for the speech, we’re all going to be nervous. That’s human nature, that’s just what’s going to happen, but we’ll figure out a way to get it done. I practiced my speech. I’d like to present it well and not stumble on it. Hopefully it won’t happen but if I do so be it,” he added. “I can tell you one person that I’ll mention and that’s Sparky (Anderson), my number one mentor.”

When asked his thoughts with the time approaching when he will have a bronze plaque among those of baseball’s best, Hoffman laughed.

“Crazy, isn’t it? It sneaks up on you. I remember my Hall of Fame orientation in April, it felt like it was yesterday, and now here we are on the cusp of an amazing ceremony,” Hoffman said with a smile. “I feel pretty calm. I’m actually blown away at the beauty. Not that it wasn’t beautiful in April when I was in attendance but really to see the lake in full bloom and the trees around it, it’s kind of awe-inspiring.”

Reminded that he’d soon enough be standing on stage, thousands of people in front of him, more than 50 returning Hall of Famers behind him, and with a live television audience watching, Hoffman laughed and said, “Are you trying to freak me out right now or what?”

“I’ve tried to put myself in that situation and you can’t do it. A lot of what we did as players was you visualize at times what you’re going to try to accomplish as a player,” he said. “Really, there’s nothing that you can pull from that you can ever prepare you for potentially what that moment is going to be like when you stand behind the podium and so you try and stay calm and deliver your message.”

Besides the inherent craziness a Hall of Famer experiences during his Induction Weekend, Jones is also dealing with a pregnant wife, Taylor, who is due any day now and expecting a boy. Much of his press conference dealt with an update on his wife’s condition.

“I’m more nervous about the baby than my speech. I’m more nervous about Taylor, trust me, and I’m pretty nervous walking out there just now on that stage and imagining 40,000 or 50,000 people out in front of you. You get chill bumps,” Jones said. “But nothing is more important than family. She’s doing great. I’m a nervous wreck that she’s here. I tried to keep her at home just because I was worried about the travel. I’m happy to say she’s still with child and hopefully she can hold out another couple days.

“I think we’re OK if he comes today. I just checked on her and she’s like, ‘No baby yet.’ I just hope she makes it through tomorrow. It would be kind of cool. His name is going to be Cooper regardless of where he’s born. She came up with that name to honor this occasion. She’s been late the last two times so hopefully she’s a couple days late again.”

Jones did add that the Hall of Fame asked him if he wanted to record his speech just in case he wasn’t available on Sunday to deliver it. “I said, ‘You know what? She’s going to be in labor for a little while. If she’s in the hospital, I can shoot right over, I can get it done, and then I can get back.”

But Jones admits he’s trying to take everything all in stride, though it can be a challenge.

“I’ve gotten so much advice from the other Hall of Famers,” he said. “They said, ‘Take a deep breath and slow everything down because you’re going to get to Monday and you’re going to wonder where it all went.’ It’s going by in a blur. We got here on Wednesday and it seems like it was last night that we got here.”

Another new wrinkle in Jones’ life is a new autograph.

The Hall of Fame Awards Presentation took place in the late afternoon at historical Doubleday Field. Sheldon Ocker was on hand to accept the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing, while Bob Costas was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence.

“My first trip to the Hall of Fame came on a summer day in 1974 when Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford entered the Hall,” said Costas, of MLB Network, during his acceptance speech. “Since then I’ve happily returned many times, but this one feels a bit different. I stand here as thrilled and excited as a kid attending his first big league game, but now I bring with me a lifetime of baseball memories. Those memories, those moments and the people connected to them are very much in my thoughts today.”

Earlier in the day, at a press conference held at the Clark Sports Center, Costas explained the lure of baseball broadcasting.

“There are important and tense and crucial baseball games, especially towards the end of the year. Or you can have a circumstance or a guy working on a no-hitter or whatever that may be in the middle of the season. But for the most part, even though each game matters, there’s something a little more relaxed and whimsical and anecdotal about baseball, more conversational about baseball,” Costas said. “And history and generational comparisons matter more in baseball. So it’s the perfect canvas for a certain kind of announcer.

“There are some announcers who are very good at baseball and also very good at other sports. There are other guys who are just primarily baseball announcers. And then there are a handful of guys – and I won’t name any of them – who are terrific at three or four other sports and you can probably think of their names and say, ‘I would never want to hear so-and-so do a baseball game.’ Because as good as they are at these other things that style that is so effective at this sport or that sport just would not have played well on baseball. It just has a different rhythm and pace and flow.”

Ocker, in his speech, recalled his first trip to Cooperstown.

“The first time I visited the Hall of Fame was during the strike of 1981. I did it to keep baseball in the sports pages while the owners and the players’ union waited to see who would blink first,” Ocker, a longtime Indians beat writer with the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, said. “I had my children with me. They enjoyed the Museum but not as much as me. I was a kid in a candy store. I never dreamed that a tiny corner of that candy store would someday be reserved for me.”

During a press conference a few hours earlier, Ocker didn’t know how he’d react to being up on stage.

Immediately following the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation, a busy Saturday concluded with the Parade of Legends, in its ninth year, which concluded in the early evening with thousands lining Main Street. With baseball’s greatest stars seated on the back of trucks, fans cheered, waved and clapped with each glimpse, the procession coming to a halt in front of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Saturday morning began with the Hall of Fame Golf Tournament at the Leatherstocking Golf Course. This year’s tourney was won by Wade Boggs’ team, while John Smoltz carded the low gross score with a 69.

Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum