MLB Network will exclusively televise the 2017 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this weekend as Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Iván Rodríguez, John Schuerholz and Allan H. "Bud" Selig are enshrined in Cooperstown, New York this Sunday, July 30. Featuring Hall of Fame award-winning writer Peter Gammons, MLB Network analysts Harold Reynolds and Sean Casey, Rodríguez's former Detroit Tigers teammate, and hosts Greg Amsinger and Robert Flores, MLB Network's live on-site coverage will begin with MLB Tonight on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Induction Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. ET. MLB Network will televise the event for the ninth consecutive time since its launch in 2009.
The ceremony will include the acceptance speeches by Bagwell, Raines and Rodríguez, the three electees from the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote in January, as well as Schuerholz and Selig, who were elected by the Today's Game Era Committee in December. The ceremony, which will be hosted onstage by MLB Network's Brian Kenny, will also feature the introductions of more than 50 Hall of Famers, including 2015 inductee and MLB Network analyst John Smoltz, who played under Schuerholz during his time with the Braves.
Prior to its live coverage on Sunday, MLB Network will televise the 2017 Hall of Fame Awards Presentation at 11:00 a.m. ET, featuring the presentation of the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award to Rachel Robinson, the awarding of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for writers to Claire Smith, the first female recipient of the award, and the posthumous honoring of Bill King, the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters. The presentation, held this Saturday, will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the film A League of Their Own. MLB Network's coverage will be streamed on MLB.com, BaseballHall.org and MLB.com At Bat starting at 11:00 a.m. ET.
MLB Network will debut several pieces of new, original content leading up to the Induction Ceremony, including individual interviews with Bagwell, Raines and Rodríguez by Bob Costas, and an essay by Tom Verducci looking back ten years at the iconic induction ceremony honoring Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in 2007. MLB Network will also showcase new commentary on each member of the 2017 Hall of Fame class from those who know them best, including 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Craig Biggio on Bagwell, his former Astros teammate; 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson on Raines, his former Expos teammate; Texas Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve on Rodríguez, who began his career with the Rangers when Grieve was GM of the team; 1999 Hall of Fame inductee Robin Yount and Hall of Fame award-winning Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker on former Brewers owner and MLB Commissioner Emeritus Selig; and Kansas City Royals GM and former Braves assistant GM Dayton Moore on Schuerholz.
This Saturday, July 29 at 10:00 a.m. ET, 2016 inductee Ken Griffey Jr. will be featured on a special Hall of Fame-themed edition of Play Ball, MLB Network's weekly youth-focused show with one-on-one baseball demonstrations and conversations with the top players in the game.