This past year, the annual Hall of Fame announcement had seemingly been reduced to the “did he” or “didn’t he” or “when did he start” of steroids, the perpetual Jack Morris arguments, Deadspin “buying” a vote and, on Tuesday, Los Angeles Dodgers beat writer Ken Gurnick.
Thankfully, Wednesday rolled around when it did.
Sure, the internet broke after Craig Biggio missed by two votes and nearly everyone else lost ground, but three bonafide superstars did get elected. And the best part, they’ll be joining three managers selected in December and comprise one of the most robust Hall of Fame classes in recent memory.
Baseball needed this. The Hall of Fame needed this. And, most importantly…the Village of Cooperstown needed this.
Last July, crowds were estimated at 2,500, but many reports numbered it might have even been in the hundreds. Suffice it to say, 2013 was a far cry from 2007 when the induction of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. brought in close to 80,000 people.
But if Mayor Jeff Katz is right, the Class of 2014 will rival those numbers.
“It’s a stellar class for this summer. Six greats, all first ballot, all deserving. It’s going to be very exciting,” Katz told The Hall of Very Good Wednesday. “If Chicago and Atlanta fans come out in good numbers (which I think they will), and New Yorkers come out for Torre and Glavine, it could be one of our biggest inductions ever!”
That’s not the only thing Katz is excited about. The baseball writer and SABR member has ties with a pair of the newly elected Hall of Famers.
“As the only Mayor in Cooperstown history who was both a White Sox and a Cubs season ticket holder (though not concurrently),” Katz added, “I love the Chicago angle of (Greg) Maddux and (Frank) Thomas.”
Better make your reservations today.
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