Much of the focus at Wednesday’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown was squarely on Yankees legend Derek Jeter, but fans who tuned into the ceremony quickly fell in love with one of the other inductees.
Ted Simmons, who was elected via the Modern Baseball Committee, quickly became a sensation for fans on social media with his flowing locks and orotund voice as he delivered his induction speech.
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So, for those who do not know, who is Ted Simmons and why is he worthy of the Hall of Fame?
Simmons was a former catcher who played 21 seasons in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves.
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He was an eight-time All-Star, with six of those appearances coming with the Cardinals. He had a career slash line of .285/.348/.437 with a .785 OPS and previously held the National League record for most home runs by a switch-hitter (182).
His 2,472 career hits and 483 doubles ranked most all time for a catcher when he retired until Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez broke those marks.
He had seven seasons in which he hit at least .300 and caught two no-hitters — Bob Gibson in 1971 and the first of Bob Forsch’s two no-no’s in 1978 — and 122 shutouts in his career.
Following his playing career, Simmons was general manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992 and served as director of player development for the Cardinals and Padres, as well as a scout for the Cleveland Indians. He was also bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 and rejoined the Braves as a scout in 2015.
Simmons was first eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1994 but failed to receive 5% of the vote to remain on the ballot, hence why he was voted in the class of 2020.
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