The Baseball HOF yesterday saw an estimated crowd of 28,000 -- "that mostly were Twins fans" -- standing on the lawn at the National Baseball HOF and Museum in Cooperstown to witness the inductions of 3B Adrian Beltre, 1B Todd Helton, manager Jim Leyland and C/1B Joe Mauer (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/21). It "seemed like half of the Twin Cities was there," with Twins fans "dominating the crowd" (USA TODAY, 7/21). The estimated crowd was "more than twice last year’s total" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/21).
On Saturday night, Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch "threw a massive party for Leyland" at a restaurant about 10 miles from Cooperstown. About 200 people showed up, "representing all four teams he managed." It "became a who’s who of the game," from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to former managers (including Tony La Russa and Ron Gardenhire) to players -- "even some he coached in the minors" -- and friends (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/22).
