MLB Network Quotage From Baseball Hall of Fame Announcements

We have some nice quotage from MLB Network’s live coverage of the Baseball Hall of Fame Election Announcements in which only Andre Dawson gained induction on Wednesday. This also marked the debut of Peter Gammons on MLB Network. The network brought out the heavy hitters including Gammons, Bob Costas, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal. And there were interviews with Bert Blyleven who missed induction by a mere five votes and Dawson himself.

QUOTES AVAILABLE FROM 2010 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE ANDRE DAWSON & BERT BLYLEVEN

Notes & quotes available from MLB Network’s Peter Gammons, Bob Costas, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman & Ken Rosenthal on the 2010 Hall of Fame Election Results

Secaucus, NJ, January 6, 2010 – MLB Network telecast the 2010 Hall of Fame Election announcement live at 2:00 p.m. ET Wednesday at its studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. MLB Network had the first interview with 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson after the ballot results were announced. During its coverage, MLB Network also spoke with the second-highest vote getter Bert Blyleven on a phone interview live with MLB Network’s Peter Gammons, Bob Costas, Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal.

Highlights of each interview, as well as initial reaction to the ballot results from MLB Network’s Gammons, Costas, Reynolds, Verducci, Heyman and Rosenthal, are below.

DAWSON INTERVIEW

Where he was when he received the call: 

I was at home, you know, for a lot reasons. I was a little more optimistic that I might get the call this year, and you know it does not announce until about 2:00, and by 1:40 I hadn’t got the call yet, so I knew as in previous years, what the anticipation was. I sat there and it didn’t happen. And right now, you know, I really can’t explain the elation. It’s been a process that of course has taken a while. It’s the greatest feeling I think an individual can have. 

On Tim Raines’ possibly being inducted:

My phone has been off the hook crazy. Yes he [Raines] did call, he left a message. And yes, I’m looking forward to that day. Timmy definitely deserves and belongs in the Hall of Fame. It’s going to happen and when it does happen, I plan to be on that stage, and I won’t sit next to him but I’ll enjoy and share that moment with him.

On whether he thought he was a Hall of Famer:

I didn’t play the game to envision being in the hall of Fame, but  … when you put in the longevity, and as the numbers start to pile up over the years, you start getting yourself mentioned in the same breath as individuals who are in the Hall of Fame and of course you think about it. Toward the end of my career, which was probably the toughest time for me, I kind of looked at it in the sense of had I played long enough. I played the game to walk away from it on my own terms and at the end I looked myself in the mirror and said, “I gave it my all,” and whether that’s going to be enough or not, I really don’t know. But, I look back on my career and I’m just thankful that I got the opportunity with four different organizations, to put their uniform on, and to play the game as long as I did.

On which team he’ll be associated with as a Hall of Famer: 

I’m just thrilled at excitement of being inducted. I’m a Hall of Fame member, and, you know, that will be determined at a later date. I have my reservations about what cap I would want to wear. I’m going to sit down and talk with the Hall of Fame Committee and hopefully we’ll make the right decision.

BLYLEVEN INTERVIEW

Thoughts on the 2010 election results:
First of all, and congratulations to Andre Dawson. You know, he waited a long time, and I’m very, very happy for him. I’m a little disappointed, but, you know, I just got a phone call from Harmon Killebrew and he just said, “Hey, you know, hang in there, you’re going to be in there.” I think that’s right. Brooks
Robinson sent me a note the other day, you know, “Hey, your time is coming,” so it’s just wait. Five votes short is kind of, you know, a little bit on the sad side, but my percentages jumped up a lot from last year and I really appreciate that.

On newer players understanding what Blyleven did as a pitcher:

A guy, Rich Lederer, out of California, Long Beach, California, with BaseballAnalysts.com, I think is really put up now. You saw what happened this year with [Zack]Greinke and Tim Lincecum winning the Cy Young Awards, not leading their leagues in wins, I think, you know, just shows that there’s more behind just wins, and that’s what Rich has really kind of brought out. In the 70’s and 80’s when I pitched, that, you know, you can’t always go off of wins. You have to go off of performance and if you kept your club in the game. So yeah, I’m very, very proud to say that Rich has been in my corner, as a lot of people have.

On Andre Dawson:

Well, he was a powerful hitter, you know, one of those guys that’s in the middle of a lineup, that’s always a threat, and, you know, he’s a guy that if you make a mistake to, you know he’s going to take advantage of it. Again, I’m very, very happy for Andre Dawson, his family, everybody involved in that. It’s a beautiful day for Andre Dawson. I am surprised that Roberto Alomar did not make it, as you guys are, but his time is coming too.

On possibly being inducted in 2011:

Through all this, you realize there’s a lot of family and friends out there that are behind you. The Minnesota Twins organization, all the ball clubs I played for. There’s so much positive that comes out of this. Only being five votes short, I almost laugh at it, but that’s the way it is. But it’s the camaraderie that I miss the most. I got a chance to play a kids’ game for a long time, and put up some pretty good numbers doing it, and hopefully next year will be my time to enjoy as Andre Dawson is enjoying today.

GAMMONS ON ROBERTO ALOMAR

I’m absolutely stunned. It really didn’t dawn on me that he [Alomar] wouldn’t get in. I think everyone here agrees. We were talking off-camera about who would get in and the question of whether it would be two guys or three guys, but everyone had Alomar as number-one. We also had the question of how close would Barry Larkin be? I thought Barry Larkin would be up around 70 percent.

GAMMONS ON BLANK BALLOTS

It’s a disappointment. This has happened in the past when people would send in blank ballots as “I’m making a statement that there’s nobody worthy of being in the Hall of Fame.”

COSTAS ON THE BALLOT RESULTS

He [Dawson] got 420 votes, that’s 77.9 percent. You need 75 percent. Bert Blyleven got an even 400 votes, that’s 74.2 [percent]. That’s very, very close. Robbie Alomar – who was the best player on the ballot, I’m sorry. He’s the best player on the ballot – he fell just short. You have to believe that Blyleven and Alomar will soon get there. Jack Morris has moved up; I’m surprised that Barry Larkin didn’t have stronger support than that.

COSTAS ON BERT BLYLEVEN

If you put yourself in Bert Blyleven’s position, not only year after year, but now this year where you have to feel you had a really good shot at it. He missed by five votes, which works out to be less than one percent of what he needed … This would has to hurt, I would guess, worst of all, although the consolation is, almost certainly he gets in next year. He’s got two more years [of eligibility]. He’s going to get in and Alomar’s going to get in also.  

REYNOLDS ON DAWSON

Let’s not get away from who did get in and the fact that Andre Dawson got into this Hall of Fame. I think he was the long shot. Of all the guys – we talked about Blyleven, we featured Larkin, we featured Alomar – I really thought Dawson was the long shot because of his on-base percentage.

VERDUCCI ON THE BALLOT RESULTS

Certainly the Alomar vote total is a crime. I think the good news is, for both Robbie Alomar and Bert Blyleven, they’re going in. It wasn’t this year, but I think they have to be extremely confident that they’re day is coming, probably next year. The next two classes are not great classes. There are a lot of candidates crowding the ballot. The door is really open for them at this point,
but I’m sure there’s disappointment.

Maybe this goes back to those few blank ballots we got. A lot of people still believe that first-ballot Hall of Fame is the Hall within the Hall.

HEYMAN ON THE BALLOT RESULTS

I was shocked. I am thrilled for Andre Dawson, I think he’s definitely a Hall of Famer, I think people who saw his whole career do know that. I understand that the stat people look at the on-base percentage. This guy was a terrific power hitter with a great arm, a great defensive player, he was a complete player and he had a lot of courage to play with all those knee injuries, and a lot of character, and I’m very, very happy for him. I am shocked – as I said here before, 85 percent was my prediction for Roberto Alomar – I am absolutely shocked … I think he was a terrific player, I can’t understand how he missed. Maybe it was the spitting incident, maybe it’s the first-time thing; I don’t get it … I’m glad this is not a betting game because I would’ve lost my house.

ROSENTHAL ON THE BALLOT RESULTS

If you’re a Hall of Famer, you’re a Hall of Famer. Andre Dawson went from 67 percent to 77.9 percent – that’s a huge jump and that’s why he got in. 

There you have it.