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Major League Baseball


2004 Hall of Fame Inductees to be Named in Exclusive Live Video Webcast on MLB.com

NEW YORK, Dec. 23, 2003 (PRNewswire) -- MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, announced today that the Baseball Writers' Association of America 2004 Hall of Fame class will be revealed for the first time ever in a live television webcast on MLB.com, the official league website, at 2 p.m. ET on January 6.

Baseball fans with broadband connections can watch worldwide as Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey makes the announcement, part of a free 1 1/2-hour live video show on MLB.TV beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET that will include interviews with new inductees as well as commentary from Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. The same live programming will be simulcast on MLB.com Radio.

"A place in the Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor for a Major League player," Petroskey said. "Only one percent, one out of 100, of the great athletes privileged to play Major League Baseball are immortalized with a plaque here in Cooperstown. And I think that's why fans everywhere are so interested in the announcement on January 6 to see whose plaque will hang next to the ones of Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Now that the Internet has become such a big part of our life and a major way that we get communications, it's only natural that I will be with MLB.com to announce the election results of the baseball writers."

The hosts of the MLB.TV announcement broadcast will be former Major Leaguer Billy Sample and the Hall of Fame's Bruce Markusen. Aaron will appear on the show as a guest to offer his remembrances of greats who passed away in the last year, including Warren Spahn and Larry Doby. Fans will see panel discussion and highlights from the careers of any players voted in by the writers.

"We are extremely pleased to start another new year with something special for baseball fans: For the first time, MLB.TV will present the Hall of Fame induction announcement live and free," said Jane Buford, vice president of multimedia at Major League Baseball Advanced Media. "We are honored to utilize our technology and airtime to help showcase the important legacy of Cooperstown. For those who await eagerly for this announcement every January, this will be an example of the new and exciting ways fans can get closer than ever to the game through the Internet."

Paul Molitor, who spent all 21 of his seasons in the American League with the Brewers, Blue Jays and Twins, is on the ballot for the first time and is generally regarded as a first-ballot favorite with 3,319 hits, a .306 career average and one world championship. Dennis Eckersley also is a top newcomer on the ballot and is among several former relievers, including Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith and Goose Gossage, who are expected to gain serious consideration among baseball writers.

Ryne Sandberg, Jim Rice and Andre Dawson are among those returning eligibles who hope to receive the 75 percent of the writers' votes necessary for induction. Others returning to the ballot were Bert Blyleven, Steve Garvey, Dave Concepcion, Jack Morris, Keith Hernandez, Dale Murphy, Tommy John, Dave Parker, Alan Trammell, Don Mattingly and Fernando Valenzuela. Newcomers on this year's ballot included Cecil Fielder, Kevin Mitchell, Juan Samuel, Joe Carter, Danny Darwin, Dave Stieb, Randy Myers, Doug Drabek, Jimmy Key, Bob Tewksbury, Dennis Martinez, Terry Pendleton and Jim Eisenreich.

Today's announcement is the latest breakthrough for MLB.TV, which in 2003 successfully pioneered the first attempt by any sports league to broadcast a full season slate of its games live over the Internet -- from Spring Training through the World Series. It is also just another of many firsts for the Hall of Fame, which has come a long way since newspapers in 1936 reported that the Hall's first inductees would be a quintet that included Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner and The Bambino.

"It's wonderful, because I think it's a lot more of a participatory process today between the baseball writers and the fans and the Hall of Fame," Petroskey said. "It makes for a lot of interest. It's wonderful that so many people across the country care so much about who does get elected. It means it matters."

While waiting for Petroskey's announcement, fans at MLB.com also are making their own voices heard about which players are most worthy of 2004 enshrinement. Fan balloting ends January 5, and MLB.com will compare those results with the BBWAA results that are announced on MLB.TV one day later.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a not-for-profit educational institution, dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to our National Pastime.

Web site: http://www.mlb.com/

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