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Hall of Fame moves
induction to September,
will allow limited crowds

STAFF REPORT • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, announced in a media release Wednesday, June 9, that this summer’s Induction Ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 8, in front of limited crowds as an outdoor ticketed event on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center.

The Induction Ceremonywill be broadcast live on MLB Network.

Planning continues to be adapted to guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and the New York Department of Health.

“On behalf of our board of directors and our staff, we are thrilled to be able to welcome our Hall of Famers – the living legends – and fans back to Cooperstown to celebrate the Induction of the Class of 2020,” Clark said in the media release.  “Returning the Induction Ceremony to an outdoor event will provide the baseball community with the opportunity to visit Cooperstown and celebrate the Induction of four of the game’s greats.”

The ceremony will honor the members of the Class of 2020: Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker.

No candidates were elected for Induction in 2021.

Lawn seating at the Induction Ceremony will be free, but unlike past years when seating was open, tickets will be required.

Beginning at 11 a.m., Monday, July 12, a limited number of tickets will be made available to fans exclusively at baseballhall.org/hof2021.

The plan is to have seating areas designated for vaccinated and unvaccinated ticket holders.

The Hall of Fame’s annual Awards Presentation will remain an indoor, television-only event, taking place Saturday, July 24, with the award winners or their representatives being invited back to Cooperstown to be recognized at the Induction Ceremony. The Awards Presentation will honor 2021 Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting excellence, Al Michaels, and the 2020 Frick Award winner, Ken Harrelson; the 2021 Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award winner, Dick Kaegel, and the 2020 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner, Nick Cafardo; and the 2020 Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner, David Montgomery.

Since 1992, the Induction Ceremony has been held on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center, with estimated crowds approaching and surpassing 50,000 at five of the last six ceremonies, from 2014 to 2019. The second-largest crowd on record – an estimated 55,000 people – attended the Hall of Fame’s last Induction Ceremony, which took place July 21, 2019.

Last year’s cancelation, because of the coronavirus pandemic, marked the first time the Hall of Fame did not hold an Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown since 1960.

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