Story Created:
Jul 18, 2011 at 8:03 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Jul 18, 2011 at 8:06 PM EDT
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (WKTV) - It's the time of year when the eyes of the baseball world focus on Cooperstown, the annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. It's a memorable time for fans and the guys who are lucky enough to join baseball's most elite group.
Take Cal Ripken Jr., for instance. The Baltimore Orioles star who set the new standard for consecutive games played was inducted in 2007.
"Tony Gwynn and I went in that year and I was thinking about sitting out in the rocking chairs with Johnny Bench, he shared an experience with both of us," Ripken remembers. "He said, lean back, rock, look out over the lake and think how cool this place is and how cool this moment is for you."
"This is where all the great players end up, enshrined into Cooperstown," says 1990 inductee Joe Morgan. "All the greatest players who ever lived are here."
"Seeing your plaque in the hall in the same room as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, Seaver and Whitey Ford, all those guys, no bigger thrill in your life," adds 1997 inductee Phil Niekro.
This Sunday the Hall will welcome three new members, who each have great resumes. The first is Second Baseman Roberto Alomar, who was voted by the Writers in his second year on the ballot. Second is pitcher Bert Blyleven, inducted in his fourteenth year. Finally, General Manager Pat Gillick, elected by the first Modern Era Veterans Committee ballot.
But it's more than just the ceremony on Sunday that makes Induction Weekend so exciting. Events begin on Friday, with Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith returning for his annual Play Ball! event, followed by the Hall of Fame Golf Tournament Saturday Morning. Later that night will be the Awards ceremonies for Dave Van Horne, Bill Conlin and Roland Hemond, who will receive the Frick, Spink and Buck O'Neill awards respectively and will also feature a performance of "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman. After the awards, the Hall of Famers will participate in the second annual parade down Main Street.
It's all a part of making the entire weekend a celebration of the national pastime, while giving fans every opportunity to enjoy themselves.
"We look forward to all of our fans, visitors, being around them, being able to hear their induction speeches," said Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark. "I think with this group, they're very compatible, they all knew each other in their days in the field and I think you're going to hear three very different speeches, but very wonderful speeches, they're all going to connect together and it's going to be a great afternoon."
TUNE INTO NEWSCHANNEL 2 ALL WEEK LONG AS JASON POWLES AND MIKE LEVIN WILL GET YOU READY FOR ALL THE FESTIVITIES.
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