My Favorite Part of the Hall of Fame Induction
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.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Jim,
I was ten years old in 1978. I was a 10 year old Red Sox fanatic. I remember Carl Yastremski’s pop fly out, to end the 1978 one game play off against the Yankees. I was devastated. I can still name 78 and 75 teams by position. The Redsox were a huge part of my childhood. But what I remember most was my affinity for you. As a young black kid growing up in Boston during the 70’s, it meant a lot to have a black hero to look up to. I loved the fact that I had your name and fought to wear number 14 when I played. Now 41, I still remember how excited I would get as a 10 year old boy to watch you come up to the plate. I would pray you would hit a HR. I remember my grandfather took me to a game one year and you went 0-3 in your first 3 at bats. I was crushed. Then on your last at bat you hit a triple and slid into third. We were in the gradstand seats along the 3rd baseline. I can still see you sliding feet first. I can’t tell you if the Sox won, but I do know you got a big hit and that was all I cared about. I went home happy.
I played sports, football, basketball, baseball (quit after 7th grade couldn’t hit a curve ball) and ran track. I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I love sports, but I’ve never been much into the individual players. I’ve always appreciated the team aspect. My only sports hero was you.
I don’t ask for autographs. I don’t follow athletes in social media. I am not a “fan” of any particular player(s). But somewhere between 7 and 10, I became a huge fan of Jim Rice and it meant a lot.
Thanks for being my childhood hero and more importantly for doing it with grace, strength, humility and professionalism. I’ve always been proud to be a Jim Rice fan.
I was thrilled to watch you to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I wish you all the wonderful things that come with it. You made a 10 year old boy in the 70’s proud, happy and special. Now it’s your time for the world of baseball to make you happy and proud. You’ve earned.
Thanks Jim
I’ll never forget those days!
December 4th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I was a big fan of yours during the 80s. Hope that you are enjoying your retirement. Congratulations on the Hall of Fame Induction.