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Griffey, Piazza ‘euphoric’ day after induction
- Updated: July 25, 2016
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The night after Sunday afternoon’s speeches is always the best time for the new inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s a time to relax at dinner with their now fellow Hall of Famers, and receive their cherished ring.
The pressure and buildup toward that half-hour of oration in front of a crowd of 50,000 behind the Clark Sports Center is “nerve wracking,” as Mike Piazza said.
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Not so much for Ken Griffey Jr., who told MLB.com on Monday that he’s been down that road many times before.
“I spoke in Seattle and I’ve spoken in other places,” said Griffey, who addressed a huge throng at Safeco Field when he was inducted in the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2013. “I think the hardest thing was Mike talking to his dad and me looking at his dad as he was crying unbelievably.
“You know, the bonds that fathers and sons have is pretty special.”
Griffey should know. His dad is Ken Griffey Sr., a 19-year Major League veteran who had as much influence on Junior playing baseball as Vince Piazza had on his son, Mike.
Asked to sum up his feelings about the weekend, the younger Piazza was pretty succinct.
“Euphoric,” he said before he and Griffey took part in a Legends of the Game roundtable in front of 3,000 baseball diehards at Doubleday Field, Monday’s final event of the weekend. “I feel a lot more relaxed today. I know that. The night before the speech, I don’t think I slept an hour.
“It was just so special to spend it with my family — especially with my dad, obviously. As I mentioned in my speech, he had a …
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