Jeff Idelson was right when he referred to Cooperstown as the heartbeat of baseball.
The president of the Baseball Hall of Fame also referred to the annual induction ceremonies as the most festive day on the baseball calendar.
This year's event underscored those descriptions.
In a sun-splashed day more typical of San Diego than Central New York, six new Hall of Famers delivered emotion-choked speeches that were valentines to spouses, managers, teammates, and fans.
But the loudest and longest standing ovation went to the oldest man on the stage, 84-year-old Hank Aaron, the soft-spoken but hard-hitting lifetime leader in total bases, extra-base hits, runs batted in, and home runs – since there’s some question whether the superior total of Barry Bonds should be legitimate.
There were no controversies Sunday, when the players pretended it was Valentine’s Day and the fans rewarded them with cheers, cowbells, clapping, and chanting.
In the vast open field adjacent to the Clark Sports Center, high school girls sold hot dogs, Dominicans waved flags, and the entire mass of humanity resembled baseball’s version of Woodstock.
Some 52,000 spectators, second only to the 82,000 Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr. drew in 2007, celebrated the three-hour event, which was actually considerably longer for spectators who came early. Many baseball notables, including active managers Bruce Bochy (Giants) and Paul Molitor (Twins), watched the feel-good ceremonies, which included player introductions by Hall of Fame CEO Jane Forbes Clark and the first public reading of new plaques, by Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred.
With wife Taylor due to give birth at any minute, Chipper Jones led off for the first time in his career, announcing he would name the new baby Cooper in honor of the day.
He praised his parents, promoted former teammates Andruw Jones and Fred McGriff as future Hall of Famers, and teased John Smoltz, already enshrined, for covering his bald pate with a black wig during his 2015 induction. “That was an embarrassment,” Jones said with a wink.
Trevor Hoffman, whose exploits as a closer convinced writers to elect him, also appeared earlier than he did during his playing days. The sizable San Diego contingent, many dressed in Hoffman jerseys, reacted wildly Sunday to the sound of “Hell’s Bells,” the musical announcement that a game had reached Trevor time.
One of four new inductees who signed as a shortstop, Hoffman said he appreciated the unusually-balmy Central New York weather, noting that it felt like summer in San Diego.
Like Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero parlayed the Southern California climate into a Cooperstown plaque. Moving from Montreal to Anaheim resulted in an instant MVP trophy in 2004 and the first appearance of the Angels logo on a Hall of Fame plaque.
In fact, the club’s Spanish-language broadcaster, Jose Mota, served as the interpreter for Guerrero’s speech. A boisterous support group saluted the fact that Guerrero is the first Dominican position player to reach Cooperstown (pitchers Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez, both on the dais behind him, got there earlier).
Jack Morris provided the day’s best anecdotes. One of two former Tigers, along with Alan Trammell, elected by the Veterans Committee, he said he was also the third St. Paul native (wth Molitor and Dave Winfield) to reach the Hall.
The 1991 World Series MVP recalled his major-league debut in Boston. “I was facing Carl Yastrzemski in the first inning,” he told the crowd. “I threw a perfect pitch and the umpire called it ball one. Then threw another perfect pitch and that was called ball two. Then I threw one on the black and the umpire said ball three. I knew I had to throw a strike so I put one right down the middle. Yaz hit it off the Green Monster.
“Ron Luciano, the umpire, marched out to the mound and said, ‘Son, that was Carl Yastrzemski. Welcome to the big leagues.’”
The humble Morris, who won four World Series rings while playing for three different teams, impressed the audience with a kind comment about the Atlanta Braves, whom he defeated, 1-0, with a 10-inning shutout to complete the ‘91 Fall Classic. “It was great to have such evenly-matched teams,” he said.
Long-time Morris teammate Alan Trammell, unlike the pitcher, spent his entire career with the the Tigers. His list of thank-yous included the late Sparky Anderson, the first manager to win World Series in both leagues. “He took a young club and turned it into a contender,” said Trammell, later a Tiger manager himself.
When Jim Thome took the podium, he revealed that he and his dad visited Cooperstown 10 years ago to deliver his 500th home run ball to the museum. “I think this day is just a little bit better than that,” he said with a smile.
The former Cleveland first baseman, who finished with 612 lifetime home runs, came back to the Hall of Fame earlier this year to see where his plaque would hang. “I found out the dream I had as a little boy did not live in my head; it lived in my heart,” he said.
The Sunday ceremonies began when Thome’s daughter Lila delivered a stirring rendition of The National Anthem.
Witnesses to the 2018 induction included 51 incumbent Hall of Famers and their families.
