Hall of Fame Weekend–Part Three

As I walked into the Otesaga Hotel on Friday afternoon, the first person I noticed was Willie Mays. Sitting in a chair in the front of the lobby, Mays was surrounded by a phalanx of friends and family. I guess when you’re Willie Mays, it’s hard to move five feet in any direction in Cooperstown without drawing some sort of a crowd. Later in the day, I spotted several other Hall of Famers making their way through the Otesaga lobby, including Jim Bunning, Bob Feller, and Bob Gibson. At 89 years of age, Feller is the third oldest Hall of Famer, just behind Bobby Doerr and Lee MacPhail. He’s also sporting a different look these days, with a new crew cut that reminded me of his days in the military during World War II. Gibson’s appearance also surprised me a bit; he appeared to be smiling, an expression not often seen on the master of intimidation…

Making my way around the basement of the Otesaga, I caught a glimpse of Dick Williams, who is now less than 48 hours away from his induction, in the “Abner Doubleday Room.” A fitting name. As I eavesdropped on Williams’ conversation with a member of the media, I heard him talk about today’s ballplayers. He praised them for being bigger, stronger, and better trained than athletes of the past, but complained “that they have no idea how to play the game.”  When it comes to the art of baserunning and the ability of outfielders to throw to the right base, I’m in complete agreement with Williams…

Later in the day, I ran into Cincinnati Reds broadcaster George Grande, who peaked in on us as we sat in the “Natty Bumppo Room.” Grande is currently preparing for Sunday’s induction ceremony, where he will continue his longstanding role as emcee. One of the truly nice guys in the game, Grande reminisced with me about the early days at ESPN, when the channel didn’t broadcast 24 hours a day and when SportsCenter anchors had to wear blazers with ESPN logos. We also talked about his former broadcast partner with the Yankees, Bobby Murcer. Just like everyone else in the game, Grande has nothing but kind words for Murcer, who died earlier this month from cancer. Just like Murcer, Grande is one of the good guys who help make our game something special.