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Baseball Hall of Fame 2018: Preview, Viewing Info for Induction Ceremony
July 28, 2018
A star-studded class of 2018 will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday.
Third baseman Chipper Jones, first baseman/designated hitter Jim Thome, closer Trevor Hoffman, outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, starting pitcher Jack Morris and shortstop Alan Trammell combined to make the following resume, per Baseball Reference: 40 All-Star Games, 14 Silver Slugger awards, two regular-season MVP and two World Series MVP.
Jones and Thome were each inducted after their first round on the ballot. Guerrero got the nod the second time around, while Hoffman made it after the third attempt. Morris and Trammell were inducted by the Veterans Committee.
Here's a look at the viewing information tomorrow, as well as a quick preview.
Viewing Information
The official Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Sunday. MLB Network will televise the event, and baseballhall.org will live-stream the action.
MLB Tonight will be hosting a special Hall of Fame edition from 11 a.m. ET to the ceremony's start time of 1:30 p.m. ET. Ceremony coverage will run through 4:30 p.m. ET.
Preview
Two 1984 Detroit Tigers Get Recognized
Jack Morris is best remembered for his 10-inning shutout masterpiece in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, when he led the Minnesota Twins to a closing victory over the Atlanta Braves. But he was also the ace of the 1984 Detroit Tigers, who started the season 35-5 en route to a Fall Classic victory.
The 18-year veteran won 254 games during his career and won four World Series (three in a row from 1991-1993 with the Twins and Toronto Blue Jays).
Alan Trammell was the slick-fielding shortstop on that aforementioned 1984 Tigers team, and he also took home four Gold Gloves during his career. Trammell played his entire 20-year career in Detroit, making six All-Star Games (including five in a seven-year span).
A three-time Silver Slugger, Trammell was one of the best hitting shortstops of his generation, smacking 185 home runs to go along with a .285 batting average.
Hall of Fame Voters Dig the Long Ball
Known for his cannon arm, powerful swing and whacking pitches way outside the strike zone, Vladimir Guerrero was one of the game's most entertaining players during his time. In his 16-year career, Guerrero hit 449 home runs, including 27 or more 11 times. He also had a stellar .931 OPS.
Guerrero's most impressive season may have been at age 35, when he hit 29 home runs to go along with 115 RBI and a .300 batting average for the Texas Rangers. That campaign helped him make his ninth All-Star Game and his first (and only) World Series, where Texas lost to the San Francisco Giants in five. Although Guerrero ended his playing days without a ring, that certainly isn't a knock on his phenomenal resume.
Likewise, Jim Thome is a proficient slugger who came close but never won the big one. Like Guerrero, however, that doesn't take away from his greatness.
At 6'4" and 250 pounds, he was one of the most feared hitters in the game. Over the course of his 22-year career, Thome hit 612 home runs alongside a .956 OPS. His best season was in 2002, when Thome hit 52 home runs, knocked in 118 runners and finished with a staggering 1.122 OPS.
The No-Doubter
Somehow, 2.8 percent of ballots cast did not have Chipper Jones selected for this year's Hall of Fame class. All the 20-year Atlanta Brave did was hit 468 home runs to go with a .303 batting average. He also finished top 12 in the National League MVP voting nine times.
Jones was a key member of the mid-to-late 1990s Braves teams that seemingly won 100-plus games every year. He won the World Series with them in 1995 and led the team to two more pennants in 1996 and 1999.
Like Thome and Guerrero, Jones found the fountain of youth near the end of his career: From 2006-2008 (his age-34 to age-36 seasons), he hit 77 home runs, knocked in 263 runners, hit .342 and had a 1.027 OPS.
The Superstar Closer
One of the more loaded trades in MLB history occurred in 1993, when Trevor Hoffman and slugger Gary Sheffield were on opposite ends of a deal. Hoffman went to the San Diego Padres, where he accumulated nearly all of his NL-record 601 saves, while Sheffield (509 home runs), won a World Series with the Florida Marlins.
Outside of his remarkable save number, Hoffman is best remembered for his role on the 1998 San Diego Padres, an underdog team that upset the 106-win Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
While the Padres got swept by the 114-win New York Yankees in the World Series, Hoffman still had his best year ever, amassing a career-high 53 saves alongside a 1.48 ERA. That was good enough for the first of his two top-two Cy Young finishes.