Griffey Jr., Piazza inducted into Baseball HOF

4:55 PM ET

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Staring out at their families and tens of thousands of fans who hung on every word, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame in a ceremony tinged with tears all around.

“I stand up here humbled and overwhelmed,” Griffey said. “I can’t describe how it feels.”

The two became a piece of history on their special day. Griffey, the first pick of the 1987 amateur draft, became the highest pick ever inducted. Piazza, a 62nd-round pick the next year -No. 1,390 — is the lowest pick to enter the Hall of Fame.

Griffey played 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox and was selected on a record 99.32 percent of ballots cast, an affirmation of sorts for his clean performance during baseball’s so-called Steroids Era.

A 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner in center field, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs. He also was the American League MVP in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards.

Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. pose with their plaques at Clark Sports Center after the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony Sunday in Cooperstown. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Griffey, who fell just three votes shy of being the first unanimous selection, hit 417 of his 630 homers and won all 10 of his Gold Gloves with the Seattle Mariners. He played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Mariners and led them to the playoffs for the first two times in franchise history.

“Thirteen years with the Seattle Mariners, from the day I got drafted, Seattle, Washington, has been a big part of my life,” Griffey said, punctuating the end of his speech by putting a baseball cap on backward as he did throughout his career.

“I’m going to leave you with one thing. In 22 …

continue reading in source espn.go.com