Jonathan Papelbon's Hall of Fame Speech
[Ed. note: You know how every time you get excited about a young ballplayer someone says "Hey, let's not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet"? To hell with that...]
Place: Cooperstown, NY
Date: July 28, 2028
Emcee: “Welcome everyone. Reading from the plaque of the newest inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame:
Jonathan Papelbon. Pitcher. Boston, A.L. (2006-2023) For 16 seasons the flame throwing righty was baseball's dominant relief pitcher and a key contributor to the Red Sox dynasty. Holds the all-time Major League records for career saves with 550. World Series M.V.P. in 2007, 2011 and 2014. Won the A.L. Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2011. Career E.R.A. of 1.51 the lowest in M.L. history.
“Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, please welcome, Jonathan Papelbon!” [applause]
Thank you. Thank you very much [chokes back tears]. First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming today. And I’d like to thank the baseball writers for voting me into the Hall in my first year of eligibility. It’s an honor to be given a place among the greatest ever to have played this great game of ours. I’m truly grateful.
Since being voted in, I’ve been asked many times when I first realized that every kid’s dream, being inducted into Cooperstown, could someday come true for me. I remember the moment exactly. Sunday night, April 8, 2007, in a game against the old Texas Rangers, before they became the Texas Rancheros of North Mexico.
It’s funny now to look back and think what an innocent time that was. Games were being snowed out in mid-April, and it was 33 degrees on Marathon Monday, but we still believed in global warming. 38Pitches.com was still in its start-up phase and hadn’t yet bought out Microsoft. This was five years before Bill Belichick outsmarted the aliens and prevented worldwide enslavement of the human race.
I was coming off a rookie season that I was very proud of. I’d had an E.R.A. of 0.92, but I had to shut it down in September because of shoulder problems, and a lot of people in the Red Sox front office felt that I wasn’t cut out to be a closer. But a week before the ‘07 season began I went to Terry Francona (God rest his soul) and told him I wanted to close. Everyone felt it was a risk, but in my heart I knew that’s where I belonged.
That night, they brought me in with one out in the 8th and the tying run at third. I got the final five outs of the game on fifteen pitches. No one got the ball out of the infield. Later I saw the game tape and I couldn’t believe it. Not just the way I blew the ball by the hitters, but the way I’d stared them down. I didn’t even recognize myself. Lasers came out of my eyes; it was like a superpower. I shot one look to Hank Blalock that literally turned him to stone. It was that exact moment that I realized I had a chance to be the best there ever was in this game.
But no one makes it to the Hall of Fame on their own. I have a great many people to thank. First of all, my beautiful wife Ashley. Last year at this same podium Derek Jeter told his wife, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, Dakota” and I feel the same way. Thank you to my mom and dad for all they did for me. I also want to thank my teammates, who were instrumental in my success. Legends like David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Koby Clemens. And Manny Ramirez, my Red Sox teammate for twelve years and one of the most respected and admired guys to ever play the game. Manny breaking Alex Rodriguez’ career home run record on the same day I broke Mariano Rivera’s save record was a highlight of my career.
And I want to thank all the managers I played for, especially Terry. Of course, if ten years ago we knew about the healing powers of chewing tobacco he’d be here today, but he’s here with us in spirit. Thank you, Tito. Thank you ‘Tek. And thank you, Nomar.
I also want to thank the fans of Boston. No matter where we played, no ballpark ever had the same excitement, the same intensity that you got every night pitching in Giant Glass Field at Fenway Park. Every time I stepped through the John Hancock Bullpen door, walked across the Jordan’s Furniture grass and stepped onto the BarelyLegal.com pitcher’s mound, it was special. I especially want to acknowledge my fans in the bleachers [cheers from back of crowd, applause] …I see some of you are here…who were so supportive of me. Plus the fans in the Upper Deck Bleachers, the Prudential Rooftop Family Value Bleachers and the Big Dig Disaster Memorial Waterfront Bleachers. You guys were great to me, and I’ll never forget you.
I’m proud of my career and all that we accomplished; I’ve truly been blessed. The championships, the awards, all of it. I’m proud that a middle class kid from Baton Rouge got to stand in the Rose Garden alongside President Brady and First Lady Bridgette. That he would take the time to congratulate us on our winning our ninth World Series at a time when he was working so hard to keep the U.S. out of the Soccer Wars…well, it taught me everything about what it takes to be a winner in this world.
I’m proud that I got to have a positive influence on young people. Every time I meet a kid that says he likes to play Jonathan Papelbon on MLB Holographic Baseball, that means more to me than anything I’ve done on the field. Hopefully I’ve inspired one or two kids to pick up a bat and a ball, and someday we can have at least one U.S.-born player in the Major Leagues again.
I’m proud that I was able to play my entire career in one city. Of course there that time late in my career when I almost left. Contract talks between G.M. Lucchino and I weren’t going well, and I was seriously considering signing with the Santo Domingo Devil Rays [boos from the back of the crowd]…no I’m serious…But I will never forget the feeling, flying back to Boston. We were coming into Uncle Buck Airport and I looked out the window…the Barstool Tower on one side of the plane, the Statue of RemDawg in the harbor on the other…and I knew, just knew that Boston was the only place for me. [cheers]
It was hard to retire from baseball. I’m a competitor, and I still felt like I had plenty of good innings left in me. I’ll never understand how some great athletes can just walk away from the game, like the way Greg Oden left the Celtics to go smoke African Babinja Weed with Lenny Kravitz. But I know I made the right decision. When Commissioner Canseco legalized human/animal gene splicing and I was facing 18 year olds with hawk eyes and gorilla arms…I knew the time was right.
I’m enjoying my post-baseball life, and I look forward to the years ahead. The work I do broadcasting games for the Disney-Barstool network has kept me around the game, something I‘m grateful for. Again, let me thank all of you. This has been remarkable journey for me, and it all began on a chilly night in 2007.