A two-year wait seemed worth it Wednesday at Cooperstown, New York, where the sun shined, a breeze blew, a late-summer crowd cheered, and four men were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, all with eloquent words that perhaps reached their zenith during a stirring address from Southfield native and early Tigers follower, Ted Simmons.
Simmons, a switch-hitting catcher who played 21 seasons for the Cardinals, Brewers, and Braves, was joined Wednesday in having his Hall of Fame plaque unveiled, in company with Yankees deity Derek Jeter, super-skilled outfielder Larry Walker, and Marvin Miller, the late labor head who brought baseball from its indentured-servant milieu to its perch as the strongest union in all of professional sports.
And while the day belonged to Jeter from the standpoint of Yankee fans who flooded Wednesday’s audience amid the hills and fields surrounding Cooperstown, it was Simmons who perhaps offered the day’s most evocative, most profound words.
He began with a tribute to his late Tigers hero, Al Kaline, and continued with gratitude for the principled economic justice brought about by Miller, the man with whom Simmons said he would be “forever linked” as they were formally enshrined during Wednesday’s 2.5-hour pageantry.
“I was a Tiger fan,” began Simmons, whose nickname as a player was “Simba” and whose silver mane flittered in Wednesday’s breeze. “I grew up idolizing Norm Cash, Rocky Colavito, Frank Lary and Bill Freehan.
“I discovered my first hero in Al Kaline and had no idea how much he impacted my life.
“He was my hero, and as I stand before you as a man, he remains my hero today.”
More: Henning: Southfield product Ted Simmons has always been more than a baseball player
Kaline was a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Tigers and had always been a regular at Cooperstown induction weekends after he was enshrined in 1980. But he died in April, 2020, at age 85, just as COVID-19 was beginning its global assault, which canceled last July’s plans for installing Jeter, Walker, Simmons, and Miller.
Simmons and Jeter both share Michigan backgrounds — Jeter played high school baseball at Kalamazoo Central — but unlike Jeter, who was born in New Jersey, Simmons as a Michigan native could speak at length Wednesday about his Tigers attachment and his time growing up on Detroit’s baseball sandlots.
He also paid tribute to Moby Benedict, the University of Michigan baseball coach who saw that Simmons got scholarship money to begin classes at Ann Arbor, even after Simmons signed with the Cardinals in 1967 after he had been a first-round draft pick.
“Moby Benedict made that happen for me,” said Simmons, who years later finished his UM degree in sports management and communication. “And I still owe him.”
He likewise owed Miller, he said, although Miller might have offered the same tribute to Simmons had Miller, who died in 2012, been on hand Wednesday. Simmons was one of the more labor-conscious players during Miller’s time, which spanned from 1966-82.
Simmons had even played minus a contract in 1972 after making $14,000 in 1971 and hitting .304. Simmons pushed for $30,000 in 1972, then held out even as he played and made the All-Star team, finally inducing the Cardinals to offer a two-year deal: $30,000 for 1972, and $45,000 in 1973. Free agency’s culture had been brought closer to reality by Simmons’ stance and his growing influence on players who were steadily unifying behind Miller’s counsel.
“I could not be more proud to enter this great Hall with this great man,” said Simmons, whose 15-minute speech also saluted a host of teammates, scouts, and coaches who had shaped his baseball years.
Simmons, like Miller, was elected in 2019 by the Modern Era Committee, which identifies players and baseball figures worthy of induction, even if those players had missed in their candidacies on the writers’ ballots.
Simmons led off Wednesday’s speeches, followed by Don Fehr, who succeeded Miller as head of the Major League Players Association and who spoke on behalf of Miller.
Walker was next and, true to playfulness that was always part of his big-league persona, he stepped to the microphone and immediately posed for a selfie — cracking up the big crowd seated in white chairs on the induction site’s veranda.
More: Henning: Hall of Famer Derek Jeter’s greatness shined early in Kalamazoo
Jeter was Wednesday’s uncontested main act, a product of his celebrity as a 20-year Yankees superstar, as well as the heavy number of Yankees fans, many decked in “Jeter” jerseys.
“Der-ek Jeter!”
“Der-ek Jeter!”
It was a loud, audience refrain heard often Wednesday and a chorus common to Yankee Stadium crowds during Jeter’s years, during which he slashed 3,465 base hits, fifth-most in MLB history.
“I haven’t heard that in a long time,” Jeter said to the fans intoning his name Wednesday. “And it still feels good.”
Dressed in a blue suit, white shirt, and blue tie, Jeter looked the part of a man who might yet fit sleekly into his old Yankees togs. Jeter is now a part-owner and chief executive officer of the Miami Marlins.
His speech Wednesday was a stream of gratitude and tributes to those who had influenced him, beginning with his parents, who had brought him to Kalamazoo when he was 4.
But it was the Yankees to whom Jeter offered his longest and most detailed hosannas Wednesday, befitting the 20 years in pinstripes and boyhood goal he had announced in fourth grade: that he intended when he grew up to be the Yankees shortstop.
Other ambitions followed.
“I had one goal in my career — win more than anyone else,” Jeter said to Wednesday’s crowd. “And we did.”
Jeter and his fellow inductees had company on Wednesday’s dais: 34 players and front-office artists who all have Hall of Fame plaques. Among the 34 were two with Tigers heritage: shortstop Alan Trammell, and pitcher Jack Morris.
Kaline was part of a tribute, narrated by Johnny Bench, to 10 men with Cooperstown plaques who died since the last ceremonies, 26 months ago.
Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver, and Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda were all honored in video reflections overlaid by Bench’s words.
“He was the classiest of guys — we bonded right away,” said Bench, himself a Hall of Fame catcher for the Reds. “The calmness in his voice, the smile, the laughter.
“Mr. Tiger — 68 years with the Tigers organization as a player, broadcaster, and executive.”
Now, they all have homes within Cooperstown’s baseball cathedral — Kaline, his late co-honorees, and a living cast that Wednesday brought its annual aura to the stage, along with four new members, their plaques gleaming as greatness was unveiled.
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and former Detroit News sports reporter.