Class of 2018 set for date with baseball immortality

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected Guerrero, Hoffman, Jones and Thome in January, while the Modern Baseball Era Committee selected Morris and Trammell in December.
The group of six inductees participated in individual conference calls on Friday, July 20.

Contrary to his normal spot in the Braves’ lineup, Jones set the table and started the morning of calls. Though always seemingly calm and collective over his 19 years at the plate, Chipper spoke about his nerves as he prepares and practices his speech.

“Sheer terror right now,” Jones said. “You know, I can’t do anything easy. Trying to get this speech just right. I have a reoccurring nightmare that I’m going to leave somebody very, very important out…but (I am) excited. I think once I get up there and see how the town of Cooperstown transforms, you know in April I went up there when there’s snow on the ground and nobody was walking around the streets, to 40- or-50-thousand people in town to watch us be inducted. It’s going to be a pretty nervous time for me personally.”

Not only does Chipper have the nerves of his speech weighing on him, he also has the nerves of knowing his wife, Taylor, is due to give birth the day after his speech.

“I’ll be looking down at her making sure she’s giving me the thumbs up, and making sure she’s not going into labor while I’m up on stage,” Jones said, “but we’ve made the necessary precautions to make sure that she’s taken care of up there in Cooperstown.”

Slugging first baseman Thome was next in the order. One of the prolific power hitters of all time, Thome crushed 612 home runs, eighth on the all-time list. Though he said he is looking forward to meeting and spending time with all the Hall of Famers, one fellow home run hitter stuck out in his mind.

“All of them and getting to know them, but I would say to me, Hank Aaron, I really look forward (to meeting),” Thome said. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet him, but to have and share this moment and all the others...Hank Aaron sticks out to me because, being a home run hitter, he’s the guy. He’s the figure of all home run hitters in the game and what he did for the game.”

“Well I’ll tell you, I’ve had a long time to think about writing one, I’ll tell you that,” Morris said. “I never actually put any words to it. But I have thought, and I always thought, I wanted this to be an impactful speech. I wanted it to be something that had meaning. And you’re absolutely right, when I started putting it into words, it was not as easy I thought it was going to be.”

Long time Tigers Morris and Trammell will be forever intertwined. Both former players shared their stories and thoughts about each other.

“No question, it didn’t take me long to realize that Tram was a talented defensive player,” Morris said. “He could play, he could pick it. He could throw it. He was accurate. He didn’t have the strongest arm, but the runner never won.”

Trammell recalled Morris taking his game to the next level and honing in on his skills in the Minor Leagues.

“From the time that we won the Double-A championship and we had five days to a week before we were invited to instructional ball, we went to instructional ball and for some reason, just in that short period of time, he found his control,” Trammell said. “It was unbelievable.”

A slick fielding shortstop, Trammell played 20 seasons before retiring after the 1996 season. After just a few years off, he made his way back to the field as a coach and served as the Padres’ first base coach where he formed a bond with another member of the Class of 2018 – Trevor Hoffman.

“I don’t remember exactly what year it was, but you could see that he was headed toward the Hall of Fame,” Trammell said. “And I remember telling him that I’m going to be there at your Induction. Fast forward, (and) we're going in together. That’s very special.”

Hoffman seemed ready to make his way to Cooperstown after seeing one of last year’s inductees go through the process.

“I remember seeing Pudge Rodriquez (at a golf outing in Nevada) last year right before the induction,” Hoffman said. “I talked to him a little bit about it. He was excited at that time and I kind of, sitting in it myself this year, having pretty much everything in order it’s kind of a relaxing time. So I was pretty pleased to be able to look inside of what he was going through last year definitely helped.”

Hoffman said his brother Glenn, who is the Padres third base coach, will be able to make the trek to Cooperstown on “Hall of Fame leave” even though the Padres are playing the Diamondbacks in San Diego during Hall of Fame Weekend.

“I’ll be thrilled that he’s there,” Hoffman said. “He was a big part of why I had the success I did and even got there. I always look up to my big brother, so it’ll be great to have them both there.”

Guerrero finished the day of calls and also spoke about family members that will join him in Cooperstown. Guerrero said his son Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was given permission by the Blue Jays to attend. In addition, he also gave a glimpse into what he plans to cover in his speech.

“My family, the fans, the many years that my mom spent cooking for me, those are always going to be very special and they’re going to be mentioned,” Guerrero said through an English translator. “Beyond that, also (former Expos manager) Felipe Alou’s name I’m sure will come up because of what he meant to me in my career.”

Guerrero said that though he isn’t nervous now, he knows that all can change when he reaches the stage on July 29. Overall, though, he said he is just excited for the speech and all the weekend has to offer.

The six members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will bring the total number of members to 323.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be shown live on MLB Network.

The Hall of Fame Weekend festivities will also feature the Awards Presentation on Saturday, July 28, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Doubleday Field. Featured will be presentation of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for writers to Sheldon Ocker, and the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence to Bob Costas.

Steven Walters is the 2018 public relations intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development