Hall Makes The Call

It means so much when you hear those magic words, being called a Hall Of Famer. By definition, a hall of famer is a group of individuals in a particular category (as a sport) who have been selected as particularly illustrious. It means that you were one of the very best to ever play the game. In order to get inducted into the hallowed halls in Cooperstown New York, you need to earn 75% of the votes on the ballot to be elected. This year two men will take their place among the greatest of all time. The Mariners made Ken Griffey Jr. the first overall pick in the 1987 Draft. The following year, the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza with the 1,390th pick, in the 62nd round. Both men will now end up in the same place in July. Griffey is the first No. 1 pick to make it, while Piazza is the lowest pick to do so.

Ken Griffey Jr. was named on 99.3 percent of ballots (437 out of 440 cast by Baseball Writers' Association of America members), breaking the Hall of Fame record of 98.84 percent, set by Tom Seaver in 1992. It was with good reason that Griffey was voted in on as many ballots as he was. During a 22 year career in the Majors, which spanned from Seattle (13 years), Cincinnati (9 years) and Chicago (1 year w/ White Sox), Griffey was a .284 lifetime hitter, with 630 home runs and 1,836 RBI's. He hit 40 or more home runs seven times in his career, including five in a row (1996-99). He played in 13 all star games, was a ten time gold winner (one of only three outfielders to ever win that many), and won seven silver sluggers, among many of his career honors. Griffey will be the first player inducted into the Hall of Fame who'll wear a Mariners cap on his plaque.

There are several things that made him great. As a fielder he could get to anything that was hit in his general direction. The ten gold gloves is evidence of his greatness in the field. His defense in center field was widely considered the standard of elite fielding during the decade, exemplified by his streak of 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1990-1999. His impressive range allowed frequent spectacular diving plays, and he often dazzled fans with over-the-shoulder basket catches and robbed opposing hitters of home runs by leaping up and pulling them back into the field of play. Then there was what he did at the plate. The home runs are what most people talked about, and rightfully so. Lets not forget that he collected 2,781 hits, 524 of which were doubles. He knew how to run the basses, stealing 184 of them in his career. One of the most memorable moments of Griffey's career, at least with the Mariners, came during the 1995 American League Division Series. Seattle was going up against the New York Yankees. After losing the first two games, the Mariners and Griffey were on the verge of elimination, but came back to win the next two games, setting up a decisive fifth game. In the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 5, with Griffey on first base, teammate Edgar Martínez hit a double. Griffey raced around the bases, slid into home with the winning run, and popped up into the waiting arms of the entire team.

What is going to get talked about most with Griffey is his power. His 630 career home runs rank sixth in MLB history, with only two left-handed hitters ahead of him, that being Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth. One of the fondest memories of a Griffey home run that fans have didn't come during a regular season game. It actually came during the Home Run Derby. It came during the Derby in 1993, which was held at Oriole Park in Baltimore. Griffey hit the warehouse beyond the right field wall on the fly and, he is still the only player ever to do so. As with every home run that hits Eutaw Street, each feat is honored with a circular plaque, embedded horizontally onto the concourse's walkway, in the exact spot where the home run landed.

Griffey earned the highest voting percentage in the history of the hall of fame, at 99.3%. He is also one of only ten players in baseball history to get a voting percentage of 97% or higher. This list is pretty impressive:

Ken Griffey, Jr.: 99.32%
Tom Seaver: 98.84%
Nolan Ryan: 98.79%
Cal Ripken, Jr: 98.53%
Ty Cobb: 98.23%
George Brett: 98.19%
Hank Aaron: 97.83%
Tony Gwynn: 97.61%
Randy Johnson: 97.27%
Greg Maddux: 97.20%

Then there's the other guy who got elected into the hall of fame, Mike Piazza. Piazza played 16 season in the Majors, spending time playing for the Dodgers (7 years), New York (Mets 8 years), San Diego (1 year), Oakland (1 year) and Florida (1 week). During that time, he hit .304 lifetime, with 427 home runs, 396 of which were as a catcher, the most in Major League History. He also drove in 1,335 RBI in his career. Piazza won the NL rookie of the year in 1993, was a 12 time all star and a ten time silver slugger winner. Through such abilities, a career that began in obscurity has earned baseball's ultimate measure of fame, as the lowest drafted player to ever earn enshrinement. Selected in the 62nd round of the 1988 Draft as a favor to his father, a friend of Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Piazza became the National League's Rookie of the Year after clubbing 35 home runs in 1993. Piazza proceeded to hit 346 homers over a 10-season span, which would have made him one of the greatest Dodgers ever if not for a pair of high-profile trades in the middle of his prime (MLB).

One of the biggest knocks on Piazza during his career was his defensive abilities. He wasn't the greatest defensive catchers ever, he was middle of the pack at best. What made him so great is what he was able to do with a bat in his hands. Piazza is known as among the best-hitting catchers of all time, hitting 427 career home-runs and having an OPS of .922. Only nine other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season (Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones). That's some pretty elite company to be mentioned with. Among Catchers, he is hands down the greatest power hitting catcher ever. Among the all time greats, there's only two other catchers in the history of the game you could take above Mike, that being Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench. Piazza was the best catcher of his generation.

The two moments that will forever live on in Mets fans memories are two long balls that Piazza hit. One was the first game back in New York after the horrible attacks on New York on 9/11. The date of the game was September 21st, the Atlanta Braves were in town. With the Mets trailing in the bottom of the eighth, Piazza hit a moon-shot home run to center against Braves reliever Steve Karsay to put the Mets ahead. The other date that meant a lot for Piazza as a Met was June 30, 2000. Once again it was against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets staged an epic rally to come back from an 8-1 eighth-inning deficit against the Braves, with Piazza's home run against Terry Mulholland being the perfect capper.

Both men will be offically inducted to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on july 24th!