When Cooperstown calls, words fail and legends cry

You can bet anything that Vladimir Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, even Édgar Martínez and Trevor Hoffman and every other candidate with credentials worthy of Cooperstown are right now nervous, anxious, wishing that time would fly.

“It’s hard to explain how you feel,” Hall of Famer Orlando “Cha Cha” Cepeda said.

“That call takes an eternity to arrive,” Hall of Famer Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez said.

Yes, “The Call” — the moment a player finds out that he has entered baseball Valhalla. That he has achieved the highest pinnacle in the sport. That his name will forever be linked to names like Babe Ruth, Henry “Hank” Aaron, Roberto Clemente and every other immortal with a bronze plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“How can I not remember such an unforgettable day?” said Cepeda, voted in via the Veterans Committee on March 2, 1999, after not getting the call in his first year of eligibility in the same category.

“When they called me, I lost my mind,” Cepeda said last week in an interview conducted in Spanish with La Vida Baseball “I couldn’t speak. I handed the phone over. I couldn’t believe it. It took me a whole day to believe it.”

“You want to celebrate. But Orlando is right,” said Rodríguez, who got the call on Jan. 18, 2017. “You don’t know what to do. I started to tear up.”

‘I’m nervous, man’

That moment is captured on tape. Surrounded by family and close friends, Pudge initially kept his composure, raising his fist in celebration while his wife Patricia exclaimed out loud, “He got in? I don’t believe it!”

He didn’t say much at first, listening on the phone as his son Iván Dereck and then Patricia hugged him. Midway through the call, he began to tear up.

“I’m nervous, man” he said. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, thank you.”

“How do I put it? It’s a call in which you can’t find the words or the right phrase,” Rodríguez said.

“It’s a very special moment,” he added. “A dream come true. A moment every player should get to enjoy.

“It’s definitely a different feeling. You say, ‘Wow!’ I got to the highest level you can achieve.”

Since it was Pudge’s first year on the ballot, he had no idea what to expect or the range of emotions that he would experience. From debuting as a precocious rookie in 1991 to earning 13 Gold Gloves and 14 All-Star selections en route to setting numerous records for catchers, Rodríguez has enjoyed a storybook career. But most players who eventually make it into Cooperstown go through at least one disappointment, if not more.

Missing by two votes

Take as an example Cepeda, the 1958 National League Rookie of the Year and 1967 MVP. Because knee injuries diminished his prodigious offensive production in the latter half of his career and an ensuing conviction for the possession of marijuana hurt his public standing, Cepeda never got sufficient support over 15 years from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and his eligibility ended in 1994.

Cepeda was given a reprieve through the Veterans Committee, but it wasn’t without a struggle. If “The Call” is one of the most emotional and satisfying moments in the career of a major leaguer, then the “Non-Call” is one of the saddest and most disappointing sensations any star player can experience, as Cepeda discovered in 1998.

“The first time, I missed by two votes,” Cepeda said. “It was horrible. I was with friends, family and press. Then they told me no.”

Cepeda was back on the ballot in 1999. This time he kept it simple. He and his late wife, Mirian, invited several close friends but did not offer drinks or prepare food. Because of what had happened the previous year, everyone was tense and nervous.

“We didn’t know what would happen,” Cepeda said. “You’re thinking whether it will be a yes or a no. Everyone else is sitting quietly. Then the phone rang. I answered it. And I yelled out, ‘I made it.’

“It was amazing,” Cepeda added. “Everyone started to call. From Puerto Rico. The Giants. The press.”

For Cepeda, it was the culmination of a long journey, the final chapter in the trials and tribulations of a black Latino who was a pioneer in the post-integration era. Cha Cha shattered stereotypes. Not only did he hit .297 with 1,365 RBI over 17 seasons, when he retired in 1974, he was the all-time leader among Latinos with 379 home runs.

“Juan (Marichal) called right away. Monte Irvin. Willie Mays. Willie McCovey. The commissioner. The president of the Giants. It was tremendous, just tremendous.

“You can’t explain it,” Cepeda said. “The Giants’ president told my wife, ‘Don’t let him drive.’ I was only the second Puerto Rican player voted in and the only living one.

“It was sad that Roberto Clemente didn’t get to enjoy it,” he added.

Enjoy every moment

There is a protocol to “The Call.” It’s either initiated by Jane Forbes Clark, Hall of Fame chair, or Jack O’Connell, BBWAA’s secretary-treasurer. Regardless of who calls first, a time-honored script is followed.

“What do they tell you? ‘You have been selected for the 2017 Hall of Fame class. Congratulations on a great career. You deserve it. Enjoy every moment.’ Mine was short because they had to call Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell. I think that I was first one,” Rodríguez said.

Next to call is the commissioner. In Cepeda’s case, it was Bud Selig, barely in his second year as the head of baseball. Selig’s successor, Rob Manfred, called Pudge five minutes after the Hall of Fame hung up.

“Then you get overwhelmed by lost phone calls, messages and texts,” Rodríguez said. “It took me a couple of days to catch up.”

According to Ryan Thibodaux, a well-known Hall of Fame ballot tracker, Jones, Guerrero and Thome, in that order, seem sure bets to enter Cooperstown today. They would join Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, who were elected in December by the Modern Baseball Era committee — an updated version of the Veterans Committee. Martínez and Hoffman are on the bubble, barely above the 75 percent threshold with half the ballots to be revealed.

Nonetheless, regardless of what the projections and predictions say, everyone is certain to be on edge. Waiting for “The Call” does that to the most seasoned ballplayer.

“I’m sure that Vlad and everyone is very anxious,” Pudge said. “On Tuesday, everyone is wishing that tomorrow is already today. But it’s a beautiful day because of all the people who call and remember you.”

“The Call.” For at least three players, if not four or five today, it will be the moment of a lifetime.

Featured Image: Iván Rodríguez Instagram

Inset Image: Iván Rodríguez Instagram