Baseball Hall of Fame 2017: Time, TV schedule, live stream, inductees for enshrinement ceremony

As the 2017 baseball season enters August, MLB will take the final weekend of July to celebrate its past. The Baseball Hall of Fame will enshrine five new members in Cooperstown on Sunday, which includes three players, a GM, and the former commissioner.

Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines had to wait a long time for induction, but they finally got the votes necessary to get their busts this year. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, didn’t have to wait nearly as long, getting in on his first year of eligibility. Meanwhile, executive John Schuerlohz and commissioner Bud Selig were voted in by the Today’s Game committee.

Other inductees include the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, recognizing baseball writers, and the Ford C. Frick Award, given to the best announcers in the sport. This year’s Spink winner is Claire Smith, while Bill King is honored with the Frick award.

It promises to be long and eventful day with the festivities beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. The ceremony will be televised on MLB Network, with an online stream being provided on baseballhall.org.

Here’s a complete rundown of this year’s inductees.

Houston Astros 1991-2005
Inducted in seventh year of eligibility

The 1991 NL Rookie of the Year, Bagwell was one of the league’s premier sluggers throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, forming part of Houston’s famed “Killer B’s” lineup. He won the 1994 NL MVP and was named to four All-Star Teams, playing all 15 seasons with the Astros. Bagwell retired holding franchise records for both home runs (499) and RBI (1,529), both of which still stand today.

Montreal Expos 1979-90, 2001, Chicago White Sox 1991-95, New York Yankees 1996-98, Oakland A’s 1999, Baltimore Orioles 2001, Florida Marlins 2002
Inducted in tenth year of eligibility

Rock finally gets his due from the BBWAA. A seven-time All-Star, Raines was the subject of a famous decade-long campaign from the new school of sabremetric baseball writers, using advanced statistics to build a convincing case for him being one of the best outfielders of his generation. After years of growing support in the voting totals, Raines got in just under the gun, getting inducted in his last year on the ballot. He ranks fifth all-time with 808 stolen bases and won the NL batting title in 1986.

Texas Rangers 1991-2002, 2009, Florida Marlins 2003, Detroit Tigers 2004-08, New York Yankees 2008, Houston Astros 2009, Washington Nationals 2010-11
Inducted in first year of eligibility

One of the best defensive catchers of all time, Pudge just cleared the 75 percent threshold with 76 percent of the votes, getting in on his first year. With 13 Gold Gloves, 14 All-Star appearances, and the 1999 AL MVP, Rodriguez was a rock in the middle of the Rangers’ lineup for many years before going on to win a World Series ring with the Marlins. He developed a reputation as someone you don’t try to steal on, leading the AL nine times in caught-stealing percentage. Pudge could also deliver with the bat, taking home seven Silver Sluggers and ranking 26th all-time in doubles.

Kansas City Royals 1981-90, Atlanta Braves 1991-2007
Inducted as Today’s Game Era candidate

Scherholz will go down as one of the game’s best GMs, having success with two separate teams over three decades. He built the Royals roster that won the World Series in 1985, and then jumped to the Braves in 1990, where he was the architect of 14 straight division titles and the 1995 World Series crown. Although he stepped down as GM in 2007, Schuerholz is still involved with the Braves as team president.

MLB Commissioner 1992-2015
Inducted as Today’s Game Era candidate

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny the impact Selig has made on the game. He certainly fits the “fame” definition of Hall of Fame, so there’s that. Selig was commissioner during turbulent times such as the 1994 strike, the Montreal Expos’ relocation, and the infamous tied All-Star Game in 2002, which led to the winning team being granted home-field advantage in the World Series (thankfully that rule was undone this year). He also introduced interleague play, which remains as divisive in 2017 as it was in 1997. Towards the end of his tenure, Selig made the long-awaited move to implement replay reviews, which has since been expanded by his successor, Rob Manfred.

Of course, Selig’s biggest legacy will be his role in baseball’s steroid era, the fallout of which is still being felt today. His handling of the scandal, and what could’ve been done differently, will be debated for many years to come and there don’t seem to be any easy answers. Nevertheless, there were some positives of Selig’s tenure, the most notable being over 20 years of labor peace and exploding league revenues.

Time: Sunday, June 30, 1:30 p.m. ET

TV: MLB Network

Online: baseballhall.org