Although he was ineligible to be inducted into the Baseball HOF, Pete Rose had been a “staple on Main Street in Cooperstown since 1993” during Hall of Fame Weekend with regular appearances at Safe At Home Ballpark Collectibles to sign autographs. Rose died in September at 83. The store’s former owner, Andrew Vilacky, said, “Whether he was banned or not, Pete was a Hall of Famer. He played his career that way. … Whether they put him in that building or not, people that know, he’s a Hall of Famer.” Rose was reinstated in May by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, making him eligible for induction next year (WKTV.com, 7/26).
This year’s inductees are Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia, Billy Wagner and the late Dave Parker and Dick Allen. They will be inducted at the Clarks Sports Center in Cooperstown at 1:30pm ET today (MLB Network).
Here are some headlines around the incoming class and Hall of Fame Weekend:
- Ichiro soaking up induction weekend in his return to Cooperstown.
- It was basketball, not baseball, that helped Hall of Famer CC Sabathia fit in with the Yankees.
- Former Yankees lefty CC Sabathia’s only road block into Cooperstown was car issues.
- Billy Wagner’s Hall of Fame moment awaits. Former Astro ready for his speech, and maybe a few tears.
- In Cooperstown, Dave Parker’s son prepares for the speech his father always wanted to give.
- Dick Allen’s Hall of Fame induction marks the end of Frog Carfagno’s work for his friend.
- Tom Hamilton joins baseball broadcasting’s icons with humor and heart in Cooperstown speech.
- Thomas Boswell’s speech in Cooperstown: ‘Thanks, baseball.’
