Rain, No Living Inductee Dampen Baseball HOF Induction Ceremony

Baseball HOF officials estimated that about 2,500 fans attended Sunday’s induction ceremony for the ’13 class, which for the first time since ’65 did not include a living inductee. Attendance was “well below the usual 10,000 to 15,000.” Only 32 HOFers showed up for the event, which usually draws 40-50 (N.Y. TIMES, 7/29). Inclement weather delayed the start of the ceremony, which “figured to affect the turnout” (AP, 7/28).

There is a “good chance the number of visitors will dramatically increase for the 75th anniversary inductions next year.” The list of eligible players includes Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Jeff Kent and Frank Thomas and managers up for consideration will be Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre. Next year could be the HOF’s biggest crowd since ’07, “when it was estimated 75,000 fans came for the inductions” of Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn (Utica OBSERVER-DISPATCH, 7/29).