Ken Griffey, Jr. last weekend came just three votes away from being the first baseball player to be unanimously selected into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. He was joined by catcher Mike Piazza, whose baseball career was in stark contrast to that of the talented outfielder.
Piazza was a late-round draft pick by the Dodgers, who allegedly took him simply as a favor to family friend Tommy Lasorda. An obvious long shot of making it to the big leagues, let alone Cooperstown, Piazza used hard work and perseverance to reach the pinnacle of baseball success.
Griffey, on the other hand, seemed from a young age to be destined for baseball greatness. His father was a talented outfielder for the Cincinnati Big Red Machine, a team the boy spent a lot of time with.
Junior went to school in Cincinnati, starred at Moeller High before being drafted number one overall by the Seattle Mariners. He will enter the Hall of Fame as a Mariner, but enjoyed nearly a decade of service as a member of his hometown Reds.
Cincinnati obviously loved it when their native son turned red, and they enjoyed his induction to Cooperstown, too. However, there are plenty of other Cincinnati natives who the people of the Queen City would like to see join Griffey in the Hall.
Here are the top five Cincinnatians not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
pink pete
After starring at Western Hills High School, Charlie Hustle became the leadoff hitter for the Big Red Machine and racked up more hits than any other player in baseball history. Unfortunately, it all went downhill after 1986, when an investigation led Rose to accept a lifetime ban from the sport.
david parker
He won a pair of batting titles with the Pirates after leaving Coulter Tech High School, won an All-Star Game MVP award and hit enough home runs to one day earn a plaque in Cooperstown.
friend bell
The son of Reds great Gus Bell, the Moeller High graduate was a perennial All-Star third baseman for Cleveland and Texas during the 1970s and 1980s.
jeff russell
A product of suburban Cincinnati, Wyoming, the two-time All-Star pitcher became one of the dominant closers as a member of the Texas Rangers.
don zimmer
The Western Hills graduate had a commendable 12-year playing career in the Major Leagues, but “Popeye” deserves to be enshrined because of his managerial record. He won nearly a thousand games in twelve years, including being named Manager of the Year for 1989 as captain of the Chicago Cubs. On top of that, his service as bench coach to the Yankees and Joe Torre proved instrumental to New York’s long pennant-winning streak in the 1990s and early 2000s.
