Hawk Harrelson agrees with Hall's decision
The last time there was no Hall of Fame induction was 1960.
The reason? There were no new electees.
On Wednesday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced its board of directors voted unanimously to cancel this year's Hall of Fame induction weekend events (July 24-26) as a result of health and safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, who was in the White Sox's broadcast booth for 33 years before retiring at the end of the 2018 season at the age of 77, was all set to be inducted into Cooperstown in July after winning the Ford C. Frick Award.
Reached Wednesday at his home in Orlando. Florida, Harrelson was not at all surprised by the Hall's decision to make the Class of 2020 a part of the 2021 Hall of Fame induction weekend, scheduled for July 23-26 in Cooperstown, New York.
"They made the right decision, in my opinion, because I didn't want my family and my friends and everyone else to be exposed," Harrelson said.
In addition to Harrelson, the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 includes Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker.
The late Nick Carfado is the J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner, and David Montgomery is the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award inductee.
Harrelson believes Jeter's induction was a major reason this summer's Hall of Fame ceremony was canceled. An immensely popular player for the Yankees for 20 seasons, Jeter would have attracted fans from all over the state, and beyond, to Cooperstown, a tiny hamlet in upstate New York.
"They were going to have so many people there," Harrelson said. "Derek Jeter is going to bring in people from all over, in the country and out of the country as well, deservedly so. I'm a huge Derek Jeter fan, so I get that.
"They probably would have had over 100,000 people there, breaking the all-time record. I think 80,000 is the all-time record. You can't put that many people together and expect some of them to not have the virus."
Harrelson has had some health issues in recent months, but he said he's feeling great and will use the extra time to work on his Hall of Fame speech.
"Hopefully, after a year and a half, two years, I won't screw it up," he said.
Harrelson said he is "sad" about this summer's celebration being pushed back "because it's the big weekend for Cooperstown, people there make their living on this. But we all will have fun in July 2021 when we all can join together safely to celebrate two classes on induction weekend."
Jeter agreed.
"Being inducted into the Hall of Fame will be an incredible honor, but the health and safety of everyone involved are paramount," Jeter said in a statement. "I respect and support the decision to postpone this year's enshrinement and am looking forward to joining current Hall of Famers, fans, staff and my family and friends in Cooperstown in 2021."
The Hall of Fame did not have an induction ceremony in 1950, 1958 and '60 after voting resulted in no new electees. No elections were held in 1940-41 and 1943 due to World War II.