I had a dream of mine come true this weekend when I was able to attend the 2016 National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York to see Mike Piazza and Mariners great Ken Griffey, Jr. enter the Parthenon dedicated to the greats of the game.

While the ceremony itself on Sunday at the Clark Sports Center was certainly a highlight (being spotted by family and friends on the MLB Network's television coverage was cool too!) I think I may cherish the roundtable discussion the two players had with hall-of-fame writer Peter Gammons the following day at Doubleday Field. Unlike their humble and heartfelt speeches the day before, neither player broke down into tears this time as it was a much more casual and lighthearted conversation with many laughs.

My vantage point at the induction ceremony (TSM/Todd Lyons)
My vantage point at the induction ceremony (TSM/Todd Lyons)
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I'd estimate that only around 500 people were able to attend - a stark contrast to the 50,000 in attendance the day before - which made it it much more up close and personal. Comparative to where we were located during Sunday's festivities, this time, Junior and Piazza were just yards away!

Gammons asked them a number of questions before reading some submitted by the fans themselves. Maybe not-so-surprisingly, the crowd gave the most applause to the notion of another specific Seattle Mariner being inducted alongside Griffey at next year's ceremony. Griffey also talked about the one pitcher whom he couldn't hit off of (you will NEVER guess it!) as well as his experience playing with Japan's national treasure Ichiro Suzuki.

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