Time

It's Induction Day at the Hall of Fame!  Derek Jeter is the headliner and I'm glad to see Marvin Miller, the player's union leader and a pivotal figure in the game, being recognized by the Hall.

I first began following baseball closely around 1960.  By that time I was pouring over the weekly statistics published in newspapers on the weekends and had read a book of short biographies of players admitted to the Hall of Fame which, at the time, seemed liked an institution that had been around forever.

In reality the first election to the Hall only took place in 1936 with Cobb, Wagner, Ruth, Matthewson, and Johnson being elected and the initial induction ceremony and opening of the Hall taking place in 1939.  As of 2021, I've been following baseball for 61 years and then Hall of Fame has been active for 85 years, so for almost 75% of its history.  Yet, unless I force myself to think about it, my starting mindset and reference point for new and old in the game is still that of the 9 year old boy in 1960.

Indeed, when I started following baseball the major leagues were considered to have begun in 1901 when the American League declared itself the rival to the National.  Yes, "organized baseball" began in 1876 or 1871, depending on your preference but it wasn't considered "major".  Today, for record keeping purposes 1876 is considered the starting date but, again in reality, the type and quality of baseball played in the 19th century only faintly resembled that of the 20th century game.

Even when 1901 was considered the starting date it seemed unimaginably ancient to a 9 year old.  That was 120 years ago and I've been following the game for half of its history.