“Around the Horn” might aptly describe the quartet of new Inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
A catcher, a first baseman, a third baseman, and a manager rounded out this year’s foursome of “rookies” joining the immortals. Joe Mauer, Todd Helton, Adrian Beltre, and Jim Leyland all graciously marveled at their plaques and their new legacies.
They all appropriately thanked their families, virtually everybody they ever encountered in baseball, and made special acknowledgements of the fans in their speeches.
“If we don’t have the fans, we don’t have the game,” said Mauer.
“Obviously, we got to feed off the fans,” Beltre admitted. “We were fans once, and we’re still fans.”
Longtime third baseman Beltre led this year’s honorees with 95.1% of the vote which was announced this past January, the 80th Hall of Fame election conducted by the BBWAA. First baseman Helton earned his plaque with 79.7% of the vote, and catcher/first baseman Mauer cleared the 75% hurdle with 76.1% of the vote.
Leyland, who managed four clubs for 22 years, and accumulated 1,769 victories, was honored by the Contemporary Baseball Era Veteran’s Committee this past December.
Also feted in a ceremony held on Saturday was Joe Castiglione (longtime broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox), who received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence, and Gerry Fraley, who received the BBWAA Career Excellence Award. The honor was formerly known as the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the original publisher of The Sporting News, but researchers suddenly became “woke” to Spink’s racially discriminating comments in TSN and the BBWAA put the kibosh to the name of the award that honors the “baseball writer of the year”.
The four newcomers to the Hall now bring the total of bronzed reliefs in the Plaque Room to 346 elected members. Breaking it down, there are 273 former players, 40 executives and pioneers, 23 former managers, and 10 umpires.
Fans are always somewhat surprised to learn just 139 members were voted on by the BBWAA, while a much larger contingent of 181 members came aboard via the various Veterans Committees.
Beltre, just the fifth Hall of Famer to hail from the Dominican Republic, is now the tenth third baseman voted in by the BBWAA and 19ththird baseman overall.
Mauer is just the third catcher to be voted in by the BBWAA in their first year on the ballot, joining Johnny Bench (1989), and Ivan Rodriguez (2017).
Mauer and Helton are now the 57th and 58th Hall of Famers to have played their entire careers with just one team. That made their cap selection for their plaques easy to prepare – Mauer with the Twins and Helton with the Rockies, but both Beltre and Leyland enjoyed allegiances to multiple clubs.
In collaboration with the Hall, who make the final decision, Beltre preferred his ties to the Texas Rangers.
“I am grateful for the time I spent with all of my teams during my career,” Beltre said. “Looking back, I played more years in Texas than anywhere else and I believe my time with the Rangers represents the peak of my career. But I could not have made this journey without the Dodgers, Mariners and Red Sox, and their fans. I am proud that each of the teams that I played with will be listed on my plaque.”
Leyland opted for a blank cap. “I will always appreciate the teams that gave me the opportunity to be their major league manager,” Leyland stated. “We had some great moments with every one those ballclubs. I want to make sure I show each of those teams respect. And this does that.”
As always, the Induction Ceremony was free to all, spread out across a great lawn adjacent to the Clark Sports Center on the edge of town, a baseball “picnic” of sorts if you will. Other than the several hundred special guests and media with chairs close to the stage, thousands set up their beach chairs and blankets as near as they can and view the ceremony on giant screens no matter how far back they pitch their mini “camp.”
Nearly 50 of the 75 living Hall of Famers returned in earnest to welcome their new brethren. Several, including Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, and Sandy Koufax, were unable to attend due to all of the problems the airlines have been having in recent days.
Special mentions, video tributes and a moment of silence was held to honor those Hall of Famers who have passed in the past year. We’ve lost way too many of the great legends recently, including specifically the best of the best, Willie Mays in June, as well as his teammate, Orlando Cepeda, and another great manager, Whitey Herzog. And Brooks Robinson, the great third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, died last year. So it’s always a wonderful treat to return to Cooperstown and show appreciation to these superb athletes who provided us with numerous athletic thrills over the years.
Helton led off the speech parade. The one-time starting quarterback at the University of Tennessee reminded everyone why he leaned toward swinging a bat instead of tossing a football.
“Being sandwiched between Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning made it easier to choose baseball as a career.”
He thanked his managers, including Clint Hurdle. “He told me to make it personal between the hitter and the pitcher.”
Now known as Mr. Rockie, as the first Rockie to be inducted into the Hall of Fame who played his entire career as a Rockie – Larry Walker was the first, in 2020, but he played for several clubs – remarked how some of his superstitions – same food, same routines and all sometimes helped, but also sometimes caused some memorable moments.
Driving fast to the ballpark one day, he got a speeding ticket. But he also got three hits that day. “So, the next day, I took the same route, drove the same speed, and the same officer gave me a speeding ticket. I got three hits that day, too. So…”
Beltre took to the podium next. For whatever reason, Beltre hates having someone touch the top of his head. Anyone. So naturally, when he played, ballplayers as they are, took any excuse to touch the top of his head – after a big hit, whatever. There was even a video clip shown from one game when there was a conference on the mound, one of his teammates snuck up behind him, touched the top of his head, then retreated laughing. Beltre responded by throwing his glove at him, grinning ear to ear.
When Beltre was 15, his first organized team sent him to play second base. But after a few weeks, their third baseman wanted to play second base, so he asked Beltre to switch, and the new Hall of Famer took to the hot corner immediately. It’s where he ended up playing for 21 seasons, producing 3,166 hits, 477 home runs, and 1,707 RBIs.
Beltre is now the only third baseman in major league history to amass 3,000-plus hits and 450-plus home runs. And he now ranks second to the great Brooks Robinson to games played at third, with 2,759.
Leyland was in the three hole, introduced via a video tribute from one of his players, Andy Van Slyke.
“Jim knew when he could get on somebody and when he had to put an arm around somebody.”
He even got on Van Slyke from time to time.
“I got you to be an everyday player, so start acting like one,” Leyland once scolded Van Slyke.
In his speech, Leyland praised his passion for the sport.
“My contributions to our beautiful pastime pale in comparison to the joy it has brought me in my life.”
He was especially humbled when it was announced he got in, and shared his amazement to his wife, Katie.
“Katie, can you believe in your wildest dreams that one day I’d be in the Hall of Fame?”
Katie replied, “Jim, you’re not in my wildest dreams.”
Even after winning the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997, Leyland listed as one his best accomplishments managing the USA club to its first title in the WBC in 2017.
“In our first media session, there was a lot of talk about the players that weren’t there. I said let’s talk about the players that are here. And in three weeks, they went from players from different clubs who competed against each other to a real ball club competing for each other.”
Mauer batted cleanup in this lineup, and you could tell a vast majority of the fans in attendance were Twins fans.
Being a born and bred Minnesotan, it was Mauer’s lifelong dream to play for the Twins, and he got that wish when they selected him first overall in the 2000 Amateur Draft.
He had a good family that supported him throughout his journey, and who taught him good values.
“They said it’s good to be a fierce competitor, but it’s better to be a good person.”
In 2006, Mauer became the first catcher in AL history to win a batting crown, and he soon added two more seasons atop the league (2008-09).
He learned early on to forge his approach to the plate. “When you step up to the plate. You’re probably going to hit the ball, so why not wait for the right pitch to hit.”
Once more “around the horn” as we bid farewell to Cooperstown until next year’s Ceremony (July 27th, for those who like to plan in advance). Almost as if they predicted the event, in the words of a classic routine by a certain Bud & Lou.
“Now me being a good catcher, the batter bunts the ball, I pick up the ball and throw it to I Don’t Know. Third base. He throws it to Who’s on first. A triple play.”
“Now that’s the first thing you’ve said right all day,” responds Bud.
For those keeping score at home, even if Costello was really describing a double play, that also could have gone…Mauer, to Beltre, to Helton.
By Andrew Esposito