Mariano Rivera received 100 percent of the votes for his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was a tremendous achievement as he was the first ever inductee to receive all votes.
And he deserves it.
There has been some outrage from fans complaining about how it’s not fait that Rivera was the first one to receive the honor. They mention inductees like Ken Griffey, Jr., Nolan Ryan and even Babe Ruth who never got to 100 percent.
Can you believe it? Exactly 20 years ago today, The Catch II happened. This remains as one of the greatest playoff moments in San Francisco 49ers history. To me, it is one of the most impossible and unexpected moments in team history.
And for good reason. This 49ers team had been dominating since the 1980s and well into the 90s. But the team’s nemesis since their 1994 Super Bowl win was the Green Bay Packers. They had Brett Favre at the helm winning MVP awards. The Niners just couldn’t beat them. And with a late touchdown to Antonio Freeman, this game seemed to be another loss to the Packers.
I also remember Terrell Owens, the hero of this game. He struggled throughout the game, dropping passes. That stood out to me. But also in the back of my mind I knew that the team was nearing the end of their amazing run. Steve Young and Jerry Rice were getting up there in age. They were still good, but I just had a hard time seeing this team sustain dominance for much longer. And with the Packers being the better team (having gone to consecutive Super Bowls, winning one of them) it just felt that this might have been the last hurrah.
But at the end of the day... 