A decision is expected in early May, a Hall of
Fame official told the New York Post. The ceremony is scheduled
for July 26.
"The health and public safety aspect of it is paramount," said
Jon Shestakofsky, the organization's vice president of
communications and education. "But we also consider the
experience that we are providing for both the visitors and for
members of our Hall of Fame family that would be traveling.
"Pretty much everything remains on the table, other than a
virtual event."
The ceremony is held annually on the expansive grass field at
the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., where 55,000
people showed up last year as Jeter's longtime teammate with the
New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera, and five others were inducted.
Jeter's enshrinement has been expected to shatter the record set
in 2007, when an estimated 82,000 people descended on the small
village to see Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn take their place
among the game's greats. Social distancing would be impossible.
The Post reported options include keeping the ceremony as
scheduled, moving it to later in the summer or the fall, or
pushing it to 2021.
"Our board has been having conversations for over a month about
the status of induction weekend," Shestakofsky said. "We are
expecting to make an announcement in early May to indicate the
direction that we are going. Again, health and safety is our No.
1 objective."
Jeter and Walker will be inducted along with the late Marvin
Miller and Ted Simmons, who were elected by the Modern Baseball
Era Committee.
--Field Level Media
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|