Sitting side by side at the New York Athletic Club press conference, Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. were equals as newly-enshrined Hall of Famers. Yet the paths they took to get here couldn’t have been more different, one a former No. 1 pick in the country and the other a 62nd-round draft choice.
And in some ways those paths will always define them — Piazza the underdog who was only drafted because Tommy Lasorda was his father’s friend. Griffey the son of a big-leaguer with talent so obvious that scouts were predicting stardom for him before he could drive.