The last month has been great! I’m tired and worn out and I’m still running around.  Without a doubt, my favorite part of the Hall of Fame induction weekend was the dinner after the induction.  At the end of the induction ceremony there is a dinner strictly for the Hall of Famers (the wives have a separate dinner).  It’s pretty informal and guys mingle and move around while having some wine and good food.  There isn’t a formal seating arrangement which allowed me to sit with some of the guys I knew well from my playing days: Goose Gossage, Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt, and Reggie Jackson.

This is the time when guys will ask other Hall of Famers for their autographs.  I saw some of the greatest baseball players in history walking around with autographed balls, books, and bats.  I have never been much of an autograph guy, but it didn’t matter because for the first time in years Rickey Henderson and I were rookies again and couldn’t get any signatures even if we wanted to.  The veteran hall of famers told us not to worry about autographs and sit down and talk.  It actually felt good to be a rookie again.

It was a great time to get together and share stories with guys who played throughout the history of the game and be surrounded by other grown men who are having fun and behaving like kids.  I’m really looking forward to going to next year’s induction ceremony.  It will be a lot less stressful and I won’t be a rookie anymore.

A lot of people have asked me about autograph signings during the Cooperstown induction weekend.  As far as I know, Rickey and I will both be signing autographs in Cooperstown, NY at events on Monday.

Julio Lugo just looks to me like he’s playing timid because of his knee.  Opposing players are bearing down on him in double play and he hasn’t dirtied his uniform for a ball in the hole since returning from knee surgery last month.  The first time someone knocks him over with a hard slide to break up a double play, it will bring him back.  He might land awkwardly, but he’ll be ok and he’ll finally know that he doesn’t need to play so conservatively.

Carl Crawford is 22 for 22 in stolen base attempts so far this season including 6 steals in as many attempts against the Red Sox last Sunday.  The way he runs and the amount of pitcher attention he draws from the while on base reminds me of Mickey Rivers, but the only ball player from my playing era who could have both had the opportunity to steal 6 bases in a game is Rickey Henderson.  Guys just don’t on base often enough to accomplish
that type of feat.

Let’s hope that Dustin Pedroia can bounce back quickly from the groin injury that forced him to leave last night’s game.  He’s a lead by example type in the field and a vocal leader in the clubhouse.  A lot has been made about the humorous side of Dustin’s personality, but in the clubhouse he is frequently the one to stand up, tell the other players to turn off the music, and give a talk about the upcoming game.  He just brings so much to the ballpark each day.

Here is the appearance me and Rickey Henderson made on the Letterman show after they announced us as the 2009 Hall of Fame inductees in January.