This year’s Hall of Game honorees were ‘electrifying’ players, and World Series champs

The Hall of Game class announced on Tuesday at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has more than greatness in common.

The four new inductees were all World Series champions.

Eric Davis, Fred McGriff, Dave Parker and Dave Stewart can show off their rings on June 29 at the Gem Theater at the sixth annual NLBM induction ceremony.

All played for several teams and were among the game’s best. Parker was the 1978 National League MVP with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis won Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards. McGriff led both leagues in home runs. Stewart led the American League in victories.

But they also were winners and several turned up their games in the postseason.

Stewart was the 1989 World Series MVP with the Oakland A’s and twice an AL Championship Series MVP. He also won championships with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.

Parker helped the Pirates to the 1979 crown and was part of Oakland’s 1989 title team. Davis batted cleanup for the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, as did McGriff for the 1995 Atlanta Braves.

These players helped show the way to the most recent championships for the Pirates, A’s, Reds, Blue Jays and Braves.

“I kept trying to figure out how to characterize this group,” NLBM president Bob Kendrick said. “And one word kept coming back to my mind, and that was electrifying.”

With 282 career home runs and 349 stolen bases, Davis blended power and speed over a 17-year career as an outfielder. He delivered baseball’s first 30-home run and 50-stolen base season when he went for 37 and 50 in 1987.

One of the game’s most consistent hitters, McGriff turned in seven consecutive seasons of at least 30 home runs and finished with 493 for his 19-year career.

Parker turned in huge years for Pittsburgh, where he spent 11 of his 19 seasons. He led the NL in batting average in 1977 and 1978 and at some point in his career topped the league in hits, doubles, RBI, slugging, OPS and total bases.

Stewart spent his early years in the bullpen before becoming a workhorse starter in Oakland. His 10 postseason victories rank eighth in baseball history and he went 8-0 in league championship series games.

In addition to the Hall of Game players, the NLBM will present the Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award for “career excellence in the face of adversity” to Robinson’s daughter, Sharon.

Sharon Robinson was 7 when her father retired as a player after breaking baseball’s color barrier. Today, she serves as the education consultant for Major League Baseball and manages “Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life,” a baseball-themed national character education curriculum that helps empower students facing obstacles in their lives.

“She’s been a phenomenal voice and champion for diversity in sports and is carrying her father’s legacy in a powerful and effective way,” Kendrick said.

Event and ticket information can be found at www.nlbm.com.