Experience the sights and sounds of Hall of Fame Induction 2016
Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza took their rightful places in the Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon. And while surely every baseball fan in the world wished he or she could be in attendance to watch the ceremony in person, some were watching from home. But for those who couldn't be there, we've got you covered. Check out all the amazingness below:
No surprise, fans started showing up very early:
The stage is set and fans are filling the Induction site. It's almost time to celebrate the Class of 2016! #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/7eMguPTsBJ
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 24, 2016
Main Street in Cooperstown already starting to bustle. Induction ceremony at 1:30 pm ET/10:30 a.m. PT. pic.twitter.com/j1wwvgvPZP
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) July 24, 2016
A LOT of fans.
It's a full house in Cooperstown! #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/coliADFMDC
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 24, 2016
#Views from the lawn. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/hvUpJvlCpU
— MLB (@MLB) July 24, 2016
Just hope they didn't forget to grab the sunscreen -- SPF 24, of course:
It's almost 100 degrees in #Cooperstown and the @Mariners are thinking of everything. #GriffeySunscreen #GriffeyFans pic.twitter.com/mj1CbLLFWl
— Alex Rozier (@RozierReports) July 24, 2016
The Hall of Famers and their families were definitely ready to get the show started:
The look your daughter gives you because she's proud of her Hall of Fame dad. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/aTneZvPGQc
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 24, 2016
Hall of Famer Johnny Bench was there to document it all:
Johnny Bench doesn't miss a single moment on stage. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/wsjHaWowtw
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 24, 2016
Especially when his fellow HOF catcher got to hold this plaque for the first time:
Which the crowd seemed to enjoy:
Commissioner Rob Manfred read all of Griffey's nicknames:
And, as you can see, there were quite a few:
Ken Griffey Jr., welcome to immortality. #FIRSTLOOK #HOFWKND @Mariners https://t.co/ifqgcf6tV0 pic.twitter.com/ilRvp5hKCb
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 24, 2016
Their speeches, as you might expect, were humble and moving. Piazza thanked his family:
Griffey called out his son for smashing the TV with a smooth swing:
And included some interesting tidbits. Piazza talked about what it was like to face Griffey on the field:
And Griffey's speech included a story about the time he lost H-O-R-S-E to Rickey Henderson, as a 14-year-old:
Of course, when things were coming to a close, Griffey could only end his speech one way:
Yep, it was a good day to be a baseball fan.
