Ozzie smith net worth

On the day the Baseball Writers Association of America was set to announce the Hall of Fame class of 2002, Ozzie Smith had a backup plan ready.

If the phone rang with the news that he had not been inducted in his first year of eligibility, Smith and his family were all set to drive to Steak ‘n Shake and begin looking forward to next year. Instead, Smith and his family opened a bottle of champagne they had been saving for just such an occasion.[1]

“I had gone over it a thousand times in my mind the way it would come about,” Smith said. “The only thing I miscalculated was the degree of emotion you get when you do get that phone call. I didn’t know how much this was going to touch me. The tears … they just come.”[2]

The call from Jack O’Connell, secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America, came before noon.

“I had butterflies,” Smith said. “In knowing you had a chance to (be elected) on the first time, it’s important. It has more significance going in on the Hall of fame speech examples.