The Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2020 might have to wait a little bit longer to get their moment in Cooperstown as the induction ceremony scheduled for July is expected to be postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Nightengale adds that the ceremony, which was supposed to take place July 24-26, was expected to draw close to 100,000 people and that the board would be meeting this week before finalizing their decision. Another factor in the decision is the health of older Hall of Fame players, including 19 who are least 80 years old that attend the event.
“How could you have an induction ceremony?’’ Hall of Famer Andre Dawson said in Nightengale’s piece. “I wouldn’t want to see it happen. You got to look at well-being of people. You look at the older guys that come here. Think about the crowd. It’s just way too risky.”
With the ceremony expected to be moved to next year, the 2020 class, which includes Derek Jeter, Canadian Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller, would be combined with the 2021 class. The Hall of Fame reportedly dismissed the idea of holding a virtual ceremony and the uncertainty of when large crowds would be able to gather to made it tough to push the ceremony later in the year.
The Cooperstown museum has been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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