COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Not that it was crazy here Sunday, but a yard sign at a house just down the road from the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies read, "Parking $370,000, with free house!"
Not that it was nuts here, but as the bus carrying the Hall of Famers rolled up to the Clark Sports Center, the gasps and comments were striking to at least one guy who was on deck to make the speech of his life.
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| Fans from all over the country catch classy Tony Gwynn's induction. (Getty Images) |
One sentence to describe perhaps the most glorious day this season, the afternoon on which Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were ushered into the Hall of Fame?
How about: Excuse me, mmmpffft ... excuse me ... hey! ... that's my foot you're ... mmmpftt ... standing on!
They came from near, and they came from far. They came from Baltimore and from San Diego and points between. They began arriving last week, started staking out spots on the induction grounds some 48 hours in advance and, Lord knows, probably began constructing their signs last January ("Gracias Tony," "T. Gwynn Rocks," "Cal + Tony = Class.")
They came an estimated 75,000 strong to the induction in this tiny, picturesque village of 2,000 or so, completely shattering the old attendance record of roughly 50,000 set in 1999, when Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan and George Brett were inducted.
Nearly 15,000 people rolled through the turnstiles at the museum Saturday, obliterating the Hall of Fame's previous one-day record of just under 9,000.
Cooperstown city officials blocked off Main Street for the weekend, turning it into a pedestrian mall. Sal's Pizza and the Cooperstown Café were bulging at the doors. Autograph lines at the memorabilia shops snaked out the doors, around the corner and several blocks down the street.
There were smiles and Orioles jerseys and Padres caps. There were Red Sox T-shirts and Brewers garb and ice cream cones. Strangers introduced themselves to strangers, and children sold lemonade in front yards to passers-by.
What there was very little of throughout the Village this weekend, or at a reception in the museum with the Hall of Famers on Saturday night, or at the induction ceremony on Sunday, were questions regarding whether anybody had hit another home run in San Francisco.
You couldn't help but be struck by what sure appeared a clear mandate from folks that this was how people wanted the game to be played, and these two were how people want their players to go about playing it.
"I think so," said Gwynn, who was named on 97.6 percent of the Hall of Fame ballots cast in this election. "Honestly, I do. ... I think the fans felt comfortable with us because they could trust us.
