Welcome to Hall of Fame Induction Weekend

By Dan Schlossberg

I’m up in Cooperstown today, signing copies of Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron (11-1 in front of Willis Monie Books) and covering the events of Induction Weekend.

It’s the best and busiest weekend of the year in this normally-quiet hamlet in Central New York.

Rickey Henderson rides in the jeep parade of Hall of Famers the day before inductions.Photo byDan Schlossberg

Main Street, with its lone traffic light and solitary flagpole, is closed to traffic while vendors — many of them former players selling signed baseballs and posing for pictures — occupy tables that line both sides of the street.

There’s a parade of incumbent Hall of Famers in open jeeps, ending at the red-carpeted entrance to the museum that sits opposite the post office, as everyone gets ready for the official inductions tomorrow.

Elizabeth Muratore, who also edits Here’s The Pitch twice a week, is here too, aiding the competent but overworked staff of the Hall of Fame.

But wait til next year, when Ichiro is a lock to win overwhelming — maybe unanimous — induction and become the first player whose career began in Japan to make the American baseball Hall of Fame.

He could be joined by Billy Wagner, who just missed election last year, and perhaps the fast-gaining Andruw Jones, like Ichiro an outfielder who won 10 straight Gold Gloves. Only Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Ken Griffey, Jr. — all Hall of Famers — did that previously.

This year, the inductees are Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton, and former manager Jim Leyland. The writers and veterans could have added more, though getting 75 per cent of the vote is a tough nut to crack by any stretch of the imagination.

There’s a lot to do in Cooperstown, especially on a bucolic afternoon in July. In addition to acquiring autographs of the great, near-great, and banned (yes, Pete Rose is here too), visitors can take a break with a leisurely boat ride on Otsego Lake, stand in line at the compact Cooperstown diner, or buy street food ranging from hot dogs to ice cream cones. Water is a hot commodity too, or should I say a cool one?

There’s a good pizza place in town, despite limited seating, and plenty of places to buy baseball cards, hats, shirts, and souvenirs — both from teams past and present as well as the Hall of Fame itself.

It’s hard to see the Hall when too many people are inside but there’s always a way. And those who get in will be greeted by a life-sized Hank Aaron statue that’s only been there for a few weeks.

This lifesize Hank Aaron statue just joined the exhibits in the Hall of Fame. Credit: Dan Schlossberg

Aaron got the loudest and longest standing ovation of anyone I have ever seen when he made his final Cooperstown visit in 2019. I’m glad he beat the two Covid years of 2020, when inductions were cancelled, and 2021, when they were moved to September — depriving Derek Jeter of the 100,000 attendance he had been projected to draw.

The crowds aren’t as bad this year as they were last year, when only Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen got in, but everyone is there to enjoy baseball and get a well-deserved respite from politics — even though Jim Bunning found a second career as a U.S. Senator from Kentucky.

Cooperstown is light years from the packed cosmopolitan ballparks of the big cities and it’s a great place in any season. That’s especially true this weekend, even though the All-Star Game and Induction Weekend should never be scheduled back-to-back.

Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 40 baseball books. He covers the game for forbes.com, Memories & Dreams, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, and Here’s The Pitch, among other outlets. Dan’s email is ballauthor@gmail.com.