Baseball Hall of Fame cancels 2020 ceremony
Much like the rest of the world, professional sports leagues and businesses are still learning to adjust to life since the COVID-19 pandemic shook the globe. On Wednesday, we saw yet another big summer annual event cancelled due to the outbreak – the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The event was originally scheduled to take place in Cooperstown on July 26th, but the Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that the ceremony would no longer take place this year. Instead of trying to postpone it or push it back later in the year, the Hall of Famed opted to induct this year’s class with any new additions on July 25th, 2021.
This will be the first year since 1960 that the annual induction ceremony will not be taking place. However, the Hall of Fame and Museum have been closed since March 16th, and Major League Baseball hasn’t even been able to start their 2020 campaign.
“Induction Weekend is a celebration of our national pastime and its greatest legends, and while we are disappointed to cancel this incredibly special event, the Board of Directors’ overriding concern is the health and well-being of our new inductees, our Hall of Fame members, our wonderful fans and the hundreds of staff,” Hall Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement.
“In heeding the advice of government officials as well as federal, state and local medical and scientific experts, we chose to act with extraordinary caution in making this decision,” she said.
The 2020 induction class consisted of New York Yankee legend Derek Jeter and Canadian great Larry Walker. It remains to be seen who will be joined with them at the ceremony in 2021, but Curt Schilling remains a favourite after falling just 20 votes shy this year. Torii Hunter and Mark Buehrle are also candidates as they will find their names on the ballot for the first time.
Jeter was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee and it’s not hard to see why. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Yankees, appearing in 2,747 games and winning the World Series an astounding five times with the organization. He is a 14-time All-Star, 5-time Golden Glove Award winner and was the 2000 World Series MVP.
Walker also had quite the career, playing 17-years and splitting time with the Montreal Expos, Colrorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in a total of 1988 games, hitting a total of 1311 RBIs and was named the 2005 National League MVP. He is a five-time All-Star and seven-time Golden Glove Award winner, but unfortunately the World Series had always alluded him.
The Baseball Hall of Fame was opened in 1939 in Cooperstown and the annual ceremony has become a staple in the baseball community. Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner became the original Hall of Fame class of 1936 when the Hall of Fame was opened. If anyone new is inducted next year, it would be the first time since 1949 that the Hall of Fame has inducted multiple classes in the same year.
