Hall of Fame Classic Weekend Presented by Boeing

A Memorial Day Weekend tradition returned to Doubleday Field on Saturday, May 28, as fans welcomed the Hall of Fame Classic back to Cooperstown.

With a big assist from partly sunny skies that overpowered the forecasted showers, the 12th edition of the Hall of Fame Classic legends game featured seven Hall of Famers and more than two dozen former Major League Baseball stalwarts. Garrett Jones, who was named the Bob Feller Player of the Game, had two homers and six RBI to lead Team Ozzie past team Fergie 10-7.

“I guess it was just muscle memory,” said Jones, who hit 122 home runs over eight seasons with the Twins, Pirates, Marlins and Yankees in a career that lasted from 2007-15. “The first one, I knew was gone. The second one, I was a little off balance. But this is just the best place in the world, so I guess it was meant to be.”

With the game-time temperature a comfortable 67 degrees and in front of 4,179 fans, Team Ozzie broke on top in the bottom of the first off Team Fergie starter José Contreras on a single by Matt Wieters that scored Carlos González. Jones followed two a two-run homer deep over the right field wall to give Team Ozzie a 3-0 lead.

Team Fergie responded in the second inning off of Team Ozzie starter Bruce Chen with a double by Alex Avila and RBI single by Steve Buechele to cut the deficit to 3-1. Bobby Abreu then made the score 3-2 in the third inning with home run into the bleachers down the right field line. Justin Maxwell followed with an RBI single that scored Carlos Peña, tying the game at 3.

Team Ozzie retook the lead on a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning that scored Craig Grebeck. But Team Fergie came right back in the top of the fifth off reliever Tim Stauffer on Abreu’s second home run of the game to tie the game at 4.

It was sweet redemption for Abreu, the owner of 288 big league homers who failed to hit one out in his 10 swings in the pregame Home Run Derby.

In the bottom of the fifth, Jones’ single off reliever Keith Foulke plated González as Team Ozzie took a 5-4 lead which became a 6-4 advantage when Wieters scored on an RBI groundout. Jones then scored on a long single by Grebeck to make the score 7-4.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jones’ three-run homer off Ryan Rowland-Smith gave Team Ozzie a 10-4 lead before Team Fergie scored three runs in the top of the seventh to close the scoring.

Stauffer picked up the victory, while Foulke was charged with the loss.

González, representing the Rockies, and Maxwell, representing the Nationals, shared the pregame Home Run Derby title.