Figurative weight is the least of it

Hall Of Fame

In the days and weeks leading up to the induction ceremony, both Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn spent plenty of time talking about the state of their nerves. While Ripken mentioned the speech and maintaining his composure, there was an unexpected obstacle that almost got him yesterday: holding his Hall of Fame plaque.

"I did think it was really heavy. ... That was my first feeling," he said. "You don't expect that. I thought I could drop it on my toe, it could be pretty embarrassing. There was a brief moment of that."

Each plaque weighs 35 pounds and was hung in the museum at 7 o'clock last night.

For Gwynn's part, he handled the heavy plaque with no trouble and relied on a bit of advice from Gary Carter to get through the speech itself.

"I was just telling myself, `Look at the trees, look at the trees,'" he said.