Two legends inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, New York: Major League Baseball legends Cal Ripken Jnr and Tony Gwynn were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, each being honored for 20 years of historic feats.

The estimated crowd of more than 70,000 was the largest seen for a Hall of Fame induction.

A record number 53 of the 61 living members of the Hall returned to see the fan favorites, who each played his entire career with one team during an era when free agency fully bloomed.

Baltimore Orioles infielder Ripken, who turns 47 next month, played in 2,632 consecutive games, breaking the US ironman streak of Lou Gehrig and the global mark of Japan's Sachio Kinugasa. San Diego Padres outfielder Gwynn, 47, was an eight-time National League batting champion, matching Honus Wagner's all-time record, and batted .394 in 1994, the best single-season NL average since Bill Terry hit .401 in 1930.

Each was elected into the shrine by voting from a journalist panel last January. Both received more than 97 percent support to be enshrined in their first year of eligibility.

Ripken broke Gehrig's 56-year-old record of 2,130 consecutive games in 1995 and his pursuit of the streak - a night after night testimony to endurance and stamina - helped Major League Baseball recover after a labor fight wiped out the 1994 World Series.

"I know some fans have looked at the streak as a special accomplishment," Ripken said. "I appreciate that, but I always looked at it as just showing up to work everyday."

Ripken was a two-time Most Valuable Player and 19-time all-star in 21 Major League seasons. He finished with 3,184 hits in 3,001 games, 431 home runs and 1,695 runs batted in.

Yet, for all of his accomplishments, Ripken took the time to express his feelings about his place as one of the gentlemen of the game.

"We are the ambassadors of the future," he said. "Just as a baseball player wants to leave his mark on the game and make it a little better than he found it. We should all leave this world a better place for the next generation."

Gwynn, a 15-time all-star, had a .338 career average, 20th-best in major league history. His 3,141 hits rank 18th all-time.

"I never looked at doing anything special. I just loved the game," Gwynn said. "When I got my 3,000th hit, that was going to get me where I needed to go and to justify the type of hitter that I was. That was the first time I honestly thought I might have a chance to get here."

AFP

(China Daily 07/31/2007 page23)