Sunday’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Will Cap Baseball’s Best Weekend

(COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.) – CC Sabathia knew he was in Cooperstown on Saturday. But he had to keep reminding himself that the dream was reality.

“It’s been surreal. I’m just trying to take in everything,” said Sabathia on the eve of the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. “This will be the only time I come up here as an inductee, and I’ve been enjoying the whole thing.

“It’s incredible to be a part of this.”

Sabathia will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with 2025 classmates Dick Allen, Dave Parker, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner at 1:30 p.m. Sunday on the grounds of Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center. To start the day on Saturday, Sabathia and Wagner were two of 20 Hall of Famers who took place in the annual National Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Golf Tournament at the historic Leatherstocking Golf Course.

Following golf, Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner participated in their final media availability prior to the Induction Ceremony and were joined on the dais at the Clark Sports Center by Willa Allen, widow of Dick Allen, and David Parker II, son of Dave Parker.

Allen passed away on Dec. 7, 2020, and Parker passed less than a month ago after a long illness.

“I feel it’s right on time,” said David Parker II, when asked about his father’s Hall of Fame induction. “As long as he’s there, that would put a smile on his face.”

More than 50 Hall of Famers, including the Class of 2025, are expected to be on stage for Sunday’s Induction Ceremony. The Ceremony, which is expected to last about three hours, will be broadcast exclusively on MLB Network and livestreamed at MLB.com and the Hall of Fame's YouTube channel.

Following the golf tournament and the media session, Hall of Famers attended the Awards Presentation at Cooperstown’s Alice Busch Opera Theater. Thomas Boswell was honored with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award and Tom Hamilton was presented with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters.

“I’ve run out of words to describe this experience,” said Hamilton, the longtime voice of the Cleveland Guardians. “You have it in your mind what something will be like, but this has exceeded all expectations.”

Highlights of the speeches from the Awards Presentation will be included in MLB Network’s pre-Induction Ceremony coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday.

Some of Saturday’s additional highlights included:

• The annual National Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Golf Tournament was won by the team led by Hall of Famer George Brett, a foursome that also included Jackson Brett, Quinn Hoffman and Matt Jones. Adrian Beltré had the low gross score with a 77, followed by Joe Mauer with an 83.
• Fans jammed Main Street to get a glimpse of their Hall of Fame heroes at the 14th Parade of Legends, some lining up for spots along the parade route as early as Wednesday morning.
• Nearly 6,000 fans visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday, the largest attendance day of the year to date.

The Museum is open Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with participants in the Hall of Fame’s Membership Program able to enter the Museum at 8 a.m. For more information on Membership, please visit baseballhall.org/join.

Follow all the action during Hall of Fame Weekend with the #HOFWKND hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.