Memory Lane – Hoffman’s Retirement Ceremony

August 21, 2013 by Rebecca Herman

This morning I got the text from the San Diego Padres about this day in Padres history … August 11, 2011 … Trevor Hoffman‘s Retirement Ceremony. Wow – what memories came flooding back about that day! I knew I needed to dig through photo files and find what I had from that day and just relive the amazing events. Once I did, I thought I should share it with you … maybe to rekindle your own memories or to create new ones if you didn’t have the opportunity to be there for this historic event. This is mostly a pictorial – hope you enjoy!

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I invited Wayne and his son, Alex, to join my son, Trevor, and I for the game and breakfast on the field beforehand. When we arrived, we learned that the field was closed due to ceremony preparations but that we would be seated on the HOF Patio – in the Batter’s Eye.  I believe this was the first time I was seated there and got to see all the HOF plaques.  It was a beautiful day and we truly enjoyed the view. I can hardly believe it has been two years … my son was about to start High School and now he is a Junior! Time simply flies too quickly for my taste.

It was immediately evident why we couldn’t be on the field this morning … they were working on some special signage on the warning track. It took the hard-working grounds crew a couple hours to get it “just right” but it was completely appropriate.

We worked our way toward our seats and watched the crews get the field perfectly set for the festivities.

At the start of the ceremony, we were reminded of the many accomplishments of Trevor Hoffman.

• 2006 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
• 2008 Branch Rickey Award
• MLB’s All-Time Saves Leader – 601
• 7-time All-Star
• Career ER of 2.87,
• 4 NL West Division Titles
• Member of the 1998 NL Champion Padres
• 14 Seasons with 30+ Saves (MLB Record)
• 9 Seasons with 40+ Saves (MLB Record)

Then Trevor arrived … with the playing of Hell’s Bells!

Next, we were treated to the arrival of the other 4 Padres with retired numbers:

• #6 – Steve Garvey
• #19 – Tony Gwynn
• #31 – Dave Winfield
• #35 – Randy Jones

The big moment arrived and the #51 was revealed:

Trevor Hoffman was presented with some awesome gifts:

As if the day couldn’t get more emotional, a video of his father, Ed Hoffman, singing the National Anthem at the 1981 Red Sox Opening Day at Fenway Park was played [see VIDEO] … then his three sons simultaneously threw out the first pitch:

To top the day off, we SWEPT the Marlins [BOXSCORE]

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I enjoyed sharing it.

Rebecca

For Padres360