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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - The bright sunshine filtered through the glass cupola in the Hall of Fame gallery where Eddie Murray stood, illuminating the wall where his plaque will hang after his induction in July.
The reticent former slugger was in the spotlight again, and this time he didn't seem to mind.
"This is pretty awesome. It's been a fun little trip," Murray said Monday as his first visit to baseball's shrine ended. "When I thought about the Hall of Fame, I thought about the plaques, and here I am standing right here. This is the main place to be. I can't wait."
Murray, elected in January along with former Montreal Expos and New York Mets catcher Gary Carter, became the 38th person picked by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his first year of eligibility.
"It's nice to be voted in, but I didn't do a whole lot of thinking on this because I didn't have any control over it," Murray said. "I did not play to get into the Hall of Fame. As a kid, it was, 'Boy, I get to play on television.' That was the first thing you thought about, and the next thing was a house."
Currently a hitting coach with the Cleveland Indians, Murray was an eight-time All-Star first baseman. He played his first 12 years with the Baltimore Orioles, whose cap he will be wearing on his plaque. He finished with 504 homers, 1,917 RBIs and 3,255 hits in 21 seasons that also included stints with the Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets and Anaheim Angels.
Not even the great Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees achieved what Steady Eddie did _ he's the lone switch-hitter in the 500-homer-3,000-hit club. The only other players to achieve those milestones were Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
"That is awesome what those guys did. I'm not in their class," Murray said.
Murray never led a league in hitting, homers or RBIs in a full season, was never an MVP and never was friendly with the media, the people who do the Hall voting. And his numbers were posted mostly before baseball's offensive outbursts.
"I thought 500 home runs was totally out of the question," he said. "I never considered myself strong, but power comes in different forms. I was just able to use my body along with my hands to generate speed and power and hit the home runs."
When Murray received word of his induction, there was no celebration because it came on the day of his sister Tanja's funeral. He has since savored the moment, albeit reluctantly, after a sponsor insisted.
"They just felt like I should do it because I told them, 'No, don't do it,'" Murray said, smiling. "And they go, 'Whether you like it or not, you should be celebrating.' So they threw this party anyway in Las Vegas. It turned out to be a wonderful night."
Murray, now 46, said his greatest thrill occurred 20 years ago, when he homered twice in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series against Philadelphia. That might be relegated to No. 2 come July 27.
He said his speech is a work in progress.
"I've thought about it a little bit," Murray said. "It was brought up again last night, but you just try and jot down some notes and, hopefully, as you get closer, then you can probably piece some things together. Hopefully, it will be fun."
The reticent former slugger was in the spotlight again, and this time he didn't seem to mind.
"This is pretty awesome. It's been a fun little trip," Murray said Monday as his first visit to baseball's shrine ended. "When I thought about the Hall of Fame, I thought about the plaques, and here I am standing right here. This is the main place to be. I can't wait."
Murray, elected in January along with former Montreal Expos and New York Mets catcher Gary Carter, became the 38th person picked by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his first year of eligibility.
"It's nice to be voted in, but I didn't do a whole lot of thinking on this because I didn't have any control over it," Murray said. "I did not play to get into the Hall of Fame. As a kid, it was, 'Boy, I get to play on television.' That was the first thing you thought about, and the next thing was a house."
Currently a hitting coach with the Cleveland Indians, Murray was an eight-time All-Star first baseman. He played his first 12 years with the Baltimore Orioles, whose cap he will be wearing on his plaque. He finished with 504 homers, 1,917 RBIs and 3,255 hits in 21 seasons that also included stints with the Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets and Anaheim Angels.
Not even the great Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees achieved what Steady Eddie did _ he's the lone switch-hitter in the 500-homer-3,000-hit club. The only other players to achieve those milestones were Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
"That is awesome what those guys did. I'm not in their class," Murray said.
Murray never led a league in hitting, homers or RBIs in a full season, was never an MVP and never was friendly with the media, the people who do the Hall voting. And his numbers were posted mostly before baseball's offensive outbursts.
"I thought 500 home runs was totally out of the question," he said. "I never considered myself strong, but power comes in different forms. I was just able to use my body along with my hands to generate speed and power and hit the home runs."
When Murray received word of his induction, there was no celebration because it came on the day of his sister Tanja's funeral. He has since savored the moment, albeit reluctantly, after a sponsor insisted.
"They just felt like I should do it because I told them, 'No, don't do it,'" Murray said, smiling. "And they go, 'Whether you like it or not, you should be celebrating.' So they threw this party anyway in Las Vegas. It turned out to be a wonderful night."
Murray, now 46, said his greatest thrill occurred 20 years ago, when he homered twice in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series against Philadelphia. That might be relegated to No. 2 come July 27.
He said his speech is a work in progress.
"I've thought about it a little bit," Murray said. "It was brought up again last night, but you just try and jot down some notes and, hopefully, as you get closer, then you can probably piece some things together. Hopefully, it will be fun."
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