Sunday was a big day in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the Baseball Hall of Fame held its induction ceremony for former executive John Schuerholz, former commissioner Bud Selig and players Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez.
Here's a quick rundown of the goings on in Cooperstown.
The plaques were revealed
A major part of any Hall induction, here are the five plaques being added to the Hall.
Here are the up-close looks so we can read the text. Here's Raines and I'm loving the plate discipline mention:
Tim Raines, welcome to immortality. #FirstLook #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/1hNCK9t7PS
— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 30, 2017
Here's Rodriguez, sadly without mention of him holding up the ball at the end of the 2003 NLDS, but a great tribute nonetheless:
Pudge Rodríguez, welcome to immortality. #FirstLook #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/e0CQyj1s7Y
— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 30, 2017
Selig:
Bud Selig, welcome to immortality. #FirstLook #HOFWKND https://t.co/CNUftEBVvM pic.twitter.com/KAN92qiNmE
— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 30, 2017
Schuerholz with a rather amazing general manager resume:
John Schuerholz, welcome to immortality. #FirstLook #HOFWKND @Braves @Royals pic.twitter.com/3uJcA2JSUM
— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 30, 2017
We saved the best for last, because check out the mention of "moon shots" in Bagwell's!
Jeff Bagwell, welcome to immortality. #FirstLook #HOFWKND @astros https://t.co/tMjjxR8Pk4 pic.twitter.com/jj5S3vY31Q
— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 30, 2017
Of course, there was the broadcast with the speeches, too. Here's MLB Network's excellent introduction:
There's Pudge holding up the ball. Well done, MLB Network.
The speeches
Here is Bagwell talking about joining long-time teammate Craig Biggio in the Hall.
Funny how he had a Freudian slip there and said "here in Houston" at first.
Selig mentions that he's proud of baseball's role in helping America recover after the 9/11 attacks.
Raines had to go last and he mentioned, jokingly, that he's not used to batting fifth:
Here's Pudge talking about thinking he was too short when he was a kid and wanting to be taller:
Schuerholz discusses working with now-fellow Hall of Famer Bobby Cox, also mentioning John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine:
Looking ahead
Next year's ceremony is likely to be a long one as well. On the player side alone, both Trevor Hoffman (74 percent) and Vladimir Guerrero (71.7 percent) were very close to getting 75 percent of the vote and gain enshrinement. Once a player gets there, he's home free, so they're in next year.
Among first-timers, Chipper Jones is absolutely getting in on his first try and Jim Thome has a shot as well. Edgar Martinez got 58.6 percent of the vote last year and is entering his 10th and final year on the ballot. Will he get enough of a push, as players tend to in their final chance? If so, it could be a five-man class.
Regardless, expect at the very least to see three players getting in again in Hoffman, Guerrero and Jones.