It was possibly the first rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” where you were expecting to hear a Jaco Pastorius counter-melody. On a scorchingly hot afternoon, the kind that occasionally elicits contempt for summer, the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony illustrated the unique splendor of this time of year. Only in the summertime can you witness Yankees legend Bernie Williams play “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on guitar with most of the living Hall of Fame inductees sitting behind him, and the stunning bucolic scenery of upstate New York in front of him.
Williams managed to accomplish the impossible by performing a standard as familiar as your shadow, and rendering it completely unrecognizable. His version sounded more akin to the pastoral calm of Pat Metheny’s 1976 debut album Bright Size Life, particularly “Unity Village.” The spell of solemnity was suddenly broken when Williams started playing the iconic riff of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” acknowledging his former teammate Mariano Rivera, who would be honored after the performance.
The brief homage added levity to a day that was often poignant. Brandy Halladay, the widow of Roy Halladay, who died in a plane crash in 2017, showed remarkable poise considering the circumstances. Halladay said “Roy would want everyone to know that people are not perfect. We are all imperfect and flawed in one way or another. We all struggle, but with hard work, humility and dedication, imperfect people still can have perfect moments.”
Harold Baines invoked his late father in his powerful speech. With shades covering eyes inclined to look as sad as a Kinks ballad, Baines mentioned how his dad would pass on lessons, usually when they were playing catch in the yard. Quoting Linwood Baines, his son said “Words are easy, deeds are hard. Words can be empty, deeds speak loudest, and sometimes they echo forever.”
That’s the beauty of baseball. A situation as seemingly common as a father and son throwing a ball to each other can take on heroic, mythological significance, like it was right out of Superman. This year’s ceremony will be echoing for quite some time.
Matt Leinwohl