Hello, Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor excelled in the clutch, so they should be used to the nerves by now. Then again, induction speeches at the Baseball Hall of Fame are once-in-a-life time opportunities.

"I'm getting a little bit more anxious," said Molitor, contemplating today's ceremony. "There's a lot of things to handle."

"I feel like the kid that didn't study for his test until the last night," said Eckersley, a studio analyst on cable TV for Boston Red Sox home games. "I'm so uptight about this. It's going to be difficult because when you revere something like this, it's emotional, and I'm a very emotional guy. But I'm going to try to keep it together. It's amazing what a speech will do to you. I'd better get it done so I can have fun."

Getting it done was what both did during their long careers. In 24 seasons, Eckersley appeared in 1,071 games, the most of any Hall of Fame pitcher, and finished with a record of 197-171 and 390 saves.

Molitor, now a batting coach for the Seattle Mariners, played 21 seasons, including 15 with the Brewers. He joins Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb as the only players in history with 3,000 hits, 600 doubles and 500 steals. He's also the first Hall of Famer to have played over half of his games as a designated hitter.

Both Eckersley and Molitor were elected in January in their first year of eligibility. Eckersley will wear an A's cap in the Hall of Fame, while Molitor enters as a Brewer. Longtime A's and Giants broadcaster Lon Simmons is this year's Ford C. Frick winner, awarded for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. The New York Times' Murray Chass gains entrance as the J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

Molitor emerged as a superstar in 1982, playing third base and batting leadoff for the AL champion Brewers. Nicknamed "The Ignitor," Molitor hit .302, scored a team-record 136 runs and stole 41 bases. In Game 1 of the World Series, he became the first player in history to collect five hits in one game.

A seven-time All-Star, Molitor led the AL in runs scored and hits three times each and had a 39-game hitting streak in 1987, fourth-longest in AL history. He fully expected to follow in the steps of teammate Robin Yount and play his entire career in Milwaukee. But as a free agent in 1992, the Brewers were strapped for cash and could only afford to offer him a one-year deal for $1.5 million. When the Toronto Blue Jays countered with three years for $14 million, Molitor begrudgingly said goodbye.

"When I left for Toronto, I know I spent a good portion of the season wondering if I had done the right thing," Molitor said.