Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza select Hall of Fame plaque hats
Griffey to enter Hall as a Seattle Mariner, while Piazza as a New York Met
In today’s game, a player is more likely than not to change their home address a couple of times throughout their career. This is true even for a pair of all-time greats such as Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza, who were both selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday evening.
However, neither inductee left much to debate in regards to their decisions on what logo will adorn their plaque in Cooperstown. Griffey will be immortalized as a Seattle Mariner in the Hall of Fame, while Piazza will enter as a member of the New York Mets.
For Griffey, it was a much simpler conclusion to come to, as he is still synonymous with baseball in Seattle. In 13 years as a Mariner, he hit 417 of his 630 career home runs, won the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player Award and was a 10-time All-Star.
Griffey initially spent his first 11 seasons in Seattle, until 2000, when he left for the Cincinnati Reds, and later the Chicago White Sox. He would return to the Mariners for the final two years of his career, retiring a Mariner in 2010.
Perhaps for “The Kid”, the bigger question should not have been which hat he would wear, but rather, what direction it will be facing?
For Piazza however, the decision could have been seen as a tougher one to make. He was drafted by and began his career as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and went win the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year award as well as make five consecutive All-Star apperances for them as well.
However, after being traded briefly to the Florida Marlins in May 1998, Piazza moved on to the New York Mets, where made another seven All-Star appearances. Piazza was also instrumental in the Mets run to the 2000 World Series. Piazza is top five in career home runs, RBI, hits and batting average as a Met.
Griffey will be the first player to ever wear the Mariners logo on a Hall of Fame plaque, while Piazza will be the second player to feature the Mets insignia, joining Tom Seaver.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held on Sunday, July 24th in Cooperstown, New York.