Coronavirus: Baseball Hall of Fame postpones induction ceremonies until 2021

Derek Jeter and Larry Walker will have to wait a year to make their induction speeches at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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The Hall of Fame’s board of directors voted unanimously to cancel 2020 Induction Weekend ceremonies due to health and safety concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Hall announced in a news release Wednesday.

It will be the first time since 1960 that an induction ceremony will not be held in Cooperstown, New York.

“It was a very difficult decision, but with so many unknowns facing the world, the Board felt strongly that this was the right decision,” Hall of Fame member Joe Morgan, vice chairman of the Hall’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Our Class of 2020 electees should enjoy the same wonderful experience that I did when I was elected, and they will have that opportunity next summer.”

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Jeter, who received 396 out of a possible 397 votes, and Walker, were to be inducted July 26. The ceremony has been rescheduled for July 25, 2021, the Hall said. They will be joined by former baseball union leader Marvin Miller and catcher Ted Simmons, who were selected by the Veterans Committee in December 2019. If anyone is selected for the class of 2021, they also will be inducted at that time.

“Induction Weekend is a celebration of our national pastime and its greatest legends, and while we are disappointed to cancel this incredibly special event, the Board of Directors’ overriding concern is the health and well-being of our new inductees, our Hall of Fame members, our wonderful fans and the hundreds of staff it takes to present the weekend’s events in all of its many facets,” Jane Forbes Clark, chairwoman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement. “We care deeply about every single person who visits Cooperstown.”

Both Jeter and Walker said they understood the reasons for the postponement.

“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.”

“I fully understand and agree with the Board’s decision,” Walker said. “It is most important to do the right thing for everybody involved, and that means not putting any participants in jeopardy, whether Hall of Famers or visitors. I realize how serious this situation has become and how many lives have been lost.”

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Induction ceremonies were not held in 1950, 1958 and 1960 because there were no inductees. No elections were held in 1940, 1941 and 1943. In 1942, Rogers Hornsby was elected but there was no ceremony due to World War II travel restrictions.

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Next year’s ceremony will also be the first time since 1949 that multiple classes have been combined. The first four classes, from 1936 to 1939, were inducted when the Hall of Fame opened in 1939. Inductees in 1946 and 1947 were enshrined in 1947, while the 1948-1949 inductees received their plaques in 1949.

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“It’s clear that canceling this year’s induction ceremony was the appropriate decision,” Simmons said. “I commend the board for making this decision under these difficult circumstances, particularly in New York, a state severely hit by the pandemic. This was the wisest and smartest thing to do, given the existing environment and the danger that this pandemic presents.”

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