Baseball Hall of Fame cancels traditional ceremony, moves indoors

Derek Jeter spent his Hall of Fame career playing on the biggest stage, under the brightest spotlight, in the loudest of stadiums.

But when the former Yankees captain with five World Series rings is inducted in Cooperstown on July 25, the ceremony won’t even have a crowd on hand to witness it.

The Hall of Fame made the announcement Friday that this year’s event will be moved indoors because of "ongoing safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic" and that those in attendance will be restricted to the honorees, their family and friends, and the television production crew.

The decision comes two days after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo paved the way for fans at New York sporting events, beginning Feb. 23, based on 10% capacity at venues of at least 10,000 seats.

Jeter fell one vote shy of becoming a unanimous first-ballot candidate a year ago, as teammate Mariano Rivera was in 2019. His induction ceremony — along with Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and union pioneer Marvin Miller — was expected to attract more than 70,000 fans to the free event.

In 2019, Rivera’s class, which included Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Lee Smith and Harold Baines, drew an estimated crowd of 55,000 — the second-largest attendance since Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn had 82,000 in attendance in 2007.

With New York consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hall of Fame canceled last summer’s induction in late April. The Baseball Writers' Association of America failed to elect anyone this year, meaning Jeter wouldn’t have to share the stage with anyone from the controversial trio of Curt Schilling (71.1%), Barry Bonds (61.8%) and Roger Clemens (61.6%). But rather than a triumphant return to the Clark Sports Center outdoor venue, jammed with fans, Jeter and his classmates will have only TV cameras as an audience.

"We had hoped to be in a position to welcome loyal baseball fans back to Cooperstown for Induction Weekend, but with the continuing uncertainties created by COVID-19, the Board of Directors has decided not to hold Induction Weekend ceremonies at the traditional Clark Sports Center location," said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "We have prepared alternative plans to conduct our annual Awards Presentation and Induction Ceremony as television events taking place indoors and adhering to all of the required New York State guidelines."

The Hall of Fame discussed moving the date of last year's ceremony from late July to September, but the daunting logistics involved for Cooperstown, along with the cloudy pandemic future, didn't allow for much flexibility.

While Clark reaffirmed the Hall’s commitment to staging the induction ceremony this summer, Friday’s announcement included the cancellation of Cooperstown’s other events that usually surround it.

The pandemic prevented any elections by a special committee during the past year, but the other Cooperstown honorees for this July include: 2021 Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcasting excellence, Al Michaels, and the 2020 Frick Award winner, Ken Harrelson; the 2021 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner, Dick Kaegel, and the 2020 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner, Nick Cafardo, and the 2020 Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner, David Montgomery.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.