Sunday was a special day in the baseball world, as a class of six new players were inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Starting pitchers Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina, closer Mariano Rivera, and designated hitter Edgar Martinez were elected by the votes of baseball writers to the Class of 2019.
The Veterans Committee, on the other hand, chose closer Lee Smith and infielder Harold Baines to be inducted.
The day was full of emotional moments as the always-tear jerking speeches were given by the former players.
Fans clad in Mariner teal came from Seattle to see the first-ever full-time Mariners player elected, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the late Roy Halladay’s wife Brandy read a speech in his honor after the former Phillies and Blue Jays starter died in a plane crash last year.
Fittingly, legendary Yankees closer and all-time saves leader was the last to speak, moving the crowd as he told the story of coming to the United States from Panama without knowing any English and ending his career as the game’s greatest reliever.
Six new plaques in Cooperstown will cement Halladay, Mussina, Baines, Martinez, Smith, and Rivera as parts of baseball’s storied history.
