“My husband, Jim, lost his long battle to colon cancer on June 12, 1994, right after the CollegeWorld Series,” said Mrs. Pat Brock, Dr. Brock’s widow who returned from an overseas’ trip to Europe to accept her late husband’s accolades. “I am so sorry he was unable to be here for this great induction. Baseball truly was his life, and Tim Esmay, who played and coached for Jim, was so kind to attend this week. Jim was very proud of everything Tim and so many other players and coaches accomplished at Arizona State.”

“To hear all the baseball stories of Uncle Bibb,” said Mrs. Clemmie Hext, the late coach’s niece, “you would have to be somewhere for a long while. He was gruff on the outside but had a heart of gold on the inside, and he touched so many lives. He always had a determined look on his face and a baseball rulebook in his pocket. He was a baseball man through and through but a wonderful human being. He truly loved all his players – especially the ones who competed on the 1949 and ’50 national championship teams at Texas.”

“On behalf of the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ extended family,” said Brad Walker of OSU accepting for Incaviglia, who was unable to attend because of a family issue, “we want to accept this honor for Pete. His college coach, Gary Ward, also was trying to attend but had another pressing obligation, and Pete put college baseball into the regional and national television spotlight at a time when ESPN and the regional networks were expanding their coverage. His NCAA record of 100 career home runs still stands, and there are life-sized busts of both Oklahoma State Hall of Fame inductees, Robin Ventura and Pete Incaviglia, outside of Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on campus.”

“I have been so very blessed all my life,” said Kindall, who played on a NCAA title team in 1956 at Minnesota, in the 1965 World Series for the Minnesota Twins and then coached three teams to NCAA championships. “I’m not quite sure how all this happened, but my mother had a favorite hymn that began ‘there will be showers of blessings’ and that fits rather nicely with the Good Lord’s plan for me. I have been very fortunate never to have had a real job: I’ve coached or played all my life and I have been surrounded by terrific people. I can thank my assistant coaches Jim Wing, Mark Johnson and Jerry Stitt for their roles in making me a better coach and winning those NCAA championships.”

“I wonder why I am here,” Lynn said with a smile, “especially after it took us 17 hours to get here because of the weather. I am proud to be here, and I am grateful to many people for a fair amount of success. My parents were very supportive, and I probably got a lot of the ability from my mom. My dad did toughen me up a little by bouncing a hardball off my head when I was little. The convinced me that there would be no sports without A’s or B’s in class, and I was grateful for USC football helping me come there on an athletics scholarship. Playing for (Hall of Fame) coach Rod Dedeaux was scary at times, but you learned to play intelligently and avoid making the mentral mistakes.”

“I thank the Lord for helping me continue my career during and after college,” said Olerud. “I had a brain hemorrhage my final year at Washington State and was very fortunate not to have had any major health effects. It was truly a close call medically and a miracle. I was very fortunate also to have had a dad who was a doctor and could treat those sports injuries and a coach like (fellow Hall of Fame inductee) Bobo Brayton teaching me in college. Coach Brayton coached my dad and me, and I think he (Brayton) gave me some breaks because of that. I want to extend a special thanks to my wife and family and this great group of inductees.”

“My dad was very fortunate to have coached Jerry Kindall and three national championship teams at Minnesota,” noted Dr. Richard Siebert, son of the immortal UM mentor and accepting for the family. “I was able to pitch for him during the 1957-59 seasons, and that was a thrill. My brother, Paul Siebert, pitched in the majors, and my dad told me with my grades and pitching ability, I should think about medical school. He really made the Minnesota a national power behind players like Jerry Kindall and Paul Giel, who was an All-Big Ten football tailback and All-Big Ten pitcher. It was a great time to be associated with Golden Gopher baseball.”

“I was contacted about making the Hall of Fame in March,” said Stephenson, “and if you know me, that was pretty hard for to keep under my hat. I want to thank my brother Gene Stephenson (current head coach at Wichita State and second-winningest coach in NCAA sports history with 1,500-plus victories) for my baseball knowledge and for taking me into the program after he just had coached at Wichita State for two years at that time. (Fellow inductee) Fred Lynn and I used to sit on the end of the San Diego Padres’ bench, and I was fascinated by his great baseball stories. Congratulations to Fred and this entire class.”

“Aloha,” began Tatsuno, a lifelong Hawai’i resident. “Both my parents did not play sports, but they could not be more supportive throughout my college career. My coach at Hawai’i, Les Murakami, just missed out on a NCAA bid (UH then was a Division I independent) in 1978 when we went 38-14-1. The next year, we played 96 games – there was no limit on the number of games you could play then – and that helped me win 20 games (first Division I pitcher in NCAA annals) in ’79. Coach Murakami and my teammates were responsible for all my success, and I want to thank the College Baseball Foundation, Hall of Fame voters, and all who made this possible.”

Among the 11 “modern” inductees there was a total of 158 total seasons and 16 NCAA crowns as players or coaches.