(PhatzRadio Sports / USA Today Sports) —- Sunday, three more of baseball’s all-time greats are having their names etched into Cooperstown lore.
Outfielder Tim Raines, first baseman Jeff Bagwell and catcher Ivan Rodriguez are being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and former MLB commissioner Bud Selig and front office executive John Schuerholz will also be given the same honor.
Raines — who spent 13 years with the Montreal Expos — was a seven-time All-Star and a four-time stolen base champion, and is making it to the Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, is receiving the honor in his first year of eligibility. While there are plenty of accomplishments on his resume, perhaps none is more remarkable than the fact that no player has caught more games than Rodriguez in the history of the majors.
And finally, Bagwell is one of just 11 players in the history of the big leagues to finish his career with at least 440 home runs and 200 steals.
Schuerholz – who is best known for his role as the general manager of the Atlanta Braves when they made 14 straight postseason appearances in the 1990s – was the first to take the podium.
Schuerholz referenced fate early and often in his acceptance speech, beginning by talking about how simply being born into a family of athletes would eventually earn him his first front office job in Baltimore. As he put it, “Only dreams begin that way.”
He went on to credit his father for instilling the love for baseball in him, and was quick to admit that he once had aspirations of playing professional baseball. He was also quick to admit, however, that he realized that was only a dream rather quickly. Schuerholz was invited to a major league trial in college, but was tasked with clocking other players’ times to home plate by the second day. Schuerholz joked that was the moment he realized he was better off focusing his efforts on the front office.
And most remarkably, Schuerholz recalled when he was five years old and contracted German measles, an affliction that left him deaf in his right ear. As Schuerholz said, the ordeal forced him to learn to be more attentive listener, something that would clearly serve him well in the future.
Bagwell took the stage next, and was full of humor. The former Houston Astros first baseman opened his speech by joking that the people from Houston know that he doesn’t like so much attention.
But in this case, Bagwell couldn’t avoid it.
His speech centered on family, as he thanked his mother, father, wife and countless others for helping him throughout his journey to Cooperstown.
More than anything, Bagwell focused on the fact that he never thought he could make it to the Hall of Fame, but that his father taught him to never quit in any endeavor. He went on to joke that he wished he made an exception to that rule when he was a dish washer at a Friendly’s in Cape Cod, but his message still resonated.
Selig followed Bagwell, a man whose influence as the former commissioner of baseball has ranged from the institution of replay to the development of inter-league play.
He was quick to dub the Hall of Fame the “soul of baseball”, and opened his speech by thanking the countless people he has crossed paths with throughout his tenure. Selig said one of his proudest moments was bringing the Brewers back to Milwaukee, and that his experience there taught him about the “myriad of issues” that existed in baseball at the time.
Selig recounted the history of the game throughout his speech, touching on some of the issues that he worked to resolve, such as the era of performance enhancing drugs.
And perhaps most interestingly, Selig talked about how he always wanted to be a history professor. Now, Selig has fulfilled that dream, as he teaches at Wisconsin, Arizona State and Marquette.
Selig concluded by saying that his time as commissioner was “a little boy’s dream come true.”
Rodriguez, who was being inducted after a 21-year career, took Selig’s place at the podium next.
A Puerto Rico native, Rodriguez chose to give half of his speech in Spanish, something he thanked commissioner Robert Manfred for allowing him to do. He called himself “the little kid from Puerto Rico with a big dream”, referencing how he used to hang from a rope hoping it would stretch him out to be taller than 5-foot-9.
He joked of the times he spent as a rookie on the Texas Rangers with Nolan Ryan, when the legendary pitcher would tell him to just put fingers down and catch the ball.
And ultimately Rodriguez couldn’t help tearing up toward the end of his speech, talking directly to his parents in Spanish and thanking his brother for helping him throughout his career.
Raines was the fifth and final speaker to stand at the podium.
He drew laughs from the crowd by joking that he still can’t speak French-Canadian, and the notorious base stealer spoke of the first time he ever beat his father in a race.
More than anything, Raines thanked his family for serving as a main motivation for him over the course of his career.
Throughout the speech, he was willing to rehash plenty of stories, but the most entertaining came when he was 17. Raines recalled how he went to an Expos spring training game and asked for Andre Dawson’s autograph. Dawson denied the request, yet the pair became teammates two years later.
Raines went on to thank his former teammate for the guidance he provided over the years, crediting Dawson for shaping him into the player he was.
Raines finished by addressing Ricky Henderson, the man who nearly paralleled Raines’ own career, and calling him perhaps the best lead off hitter of all time.
And when he finally left the podium, the 2017 Hall of Fame inductees had officially solidified their place in history.
