Griffey ready to accept place in baseball history

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — For Ken Griffey Jr., reality sank in as he walked into the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time on Friday night for a personal tour.

Until that moment, Griffey had never visited the historic museum, wanting to wait until he was a member of baseball’s most exclusive club. But on the cusp of Sunday’s induction, Junior and his family checked out the Hall after it closed to the public, and the impression was profound.

“Quite interesting, knowing from here on out that I’m going to be in there,” Griffey said Saturday after a press conference alongside fellow electee Mike Piazza. “I got the tour before I got to all the plaques, then I went down the rows and looked at the guys I played against and my dad played against. It was pretty interesting to look at that and look where I’m going to be for the rest of my life and then some.”

2016 Hall of Fame Inductions Watch live coverage of Sunday’s Hall of Fame inductions on MLB Network and MLB.com starting at 11 a.m. ET.

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Cooperstown will do that to a fellow, especially one who grew up around the game and respects its traditions. And yes, that desire to honor the game is why Griffey’s plaque won’t have him wearing a backward hat like so many have encouraged.

Coverage begins on MLB Network and MLB.com at 8 a.m. PT Sunday, with the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies getting under way live at 10:30 a.m.

Griffey will become the first inductee to wear a Mariners logo on his cap, and he’ll do so proudly.

“It’s whatever you want to do,” he said. “But you respect the game of baseball and what these doors have behind …

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