Griffey, Piazza push Pennslyvania Hall number to 24

When Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Sunday, the two Pennsylvania natives gave the Keystone State 24 members in the hallowed shrine.

Griffey was born in Donora, also the birthplace of Hall of Famer Stan Musial. They were born on the same date, Musial on Nov. 21,1920 and Griffey on Nov. 21, 1969. Piazza was born in Norristown.

With their inductions, Pennsylvania ties California for the second most Hall of Fame members from one state. New York has the most with 31.,

Georgia has only six native sons in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it has the first member selected. The “Georgia Peach,” Ty Cobb, was one of five players chosen when the Hall of Fame began in 1936, and the reason I say he was the first is because he received the most votes in the inaugural class (222 of a possible 226 by the Baseball Writers Association of America), outdistancing the immortal Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

Cobb, who began his major league career more than 100 years ago, still holds the highest lifetime career batting average of .367, and he is second only to Pete Rose in base hits with 4,189. Rose had 4,256. Cobb was born in Narrows, which is located in Banks County in northeast Georgia.

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, although he lived there only a year before he moved to California with his family after his father left. He broke baseball’s color barrier, becoming the first black player to play in the majors. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1947 and the NL MVP in 1949, and he was a six-time All-Star and played in six World Series. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

Atlanta native Bill Terry was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1954. He played his entire 14-year career with the New York Giants, and he was a three-time all-star and was a member of a World Series championship team. He is the last NL player to hit .400 for a season, accomplishing that feat when he led the majors in batting in 1930 with a .401 average.

Negro League standout Josh Gibson, who was born in Buena Vista, is considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, but his official statistics are difficult to come by. His Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown says he hit almost 800 home runs during his career. His lifetime batting average is said to be higher than .350.

Gibson left Georgia for Pittsburgh with his family when he was 12 years old. He was the second Negro League player, behind Satchel Paige, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Gibson was in the 1972 class.

“The Big Cat,” Johnny Mize, who was from Demorest, was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1981 by the Veterans Committee. He played 15 seasons in the big leagues and was a 10-time All-Star while hitting 359 home runs and compiling a lifetime batting average of .312. He played on five World Series championship teams with the New York Yankees. The big first baseman also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants.

The most recent Georgian to be inducted is Frank Thomas from Columbus. “The Big Hurt,” a first-ballot selection, went in to the Hall of Fame in 2014 after an 18-year career — 15 with the Chicago White Sox and his final three split between Oakland and Toronto. He had 521 home runs and a career batting average of .301. He was a five-time AL All-Star and was a unanimous choice for AL MVP in 1993.

With Griffey and Piazza going in this year, the Baseball Hall of Fame now has 312 members. Griffey received the most votes ever of anyone selected to the Hall of Fame, appearing on 397 of 400 ballots which represents 99.3 percent, the highest ever cast for a member.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Griffey, Piazza push Pennslyvania Hall number to 24."