A few hours before the 2004 Induction Ceremony on Sunday afternoon, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench took this year's inductees, Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley, to the back porch of the Otesaga Hotel and sat them in rocking chairs looking out over Otsego Lake.

"I just told them to rock and relax for a couple of minutes and think about the fact they were going into the Hall of Fame very soon," Bench said on Monday morning during a special Legends Event at the Clark Sports Center. "I thought they both did a phenomenal job with their speeches. They were emotional and really sent a message of closure to great careers."

In one of the more emotional Induction Ceremonies in recent memory, Molitor and Eckersley were enshrined in front of a record 50 Hall of Famers at the Clark Sports Center.

Molitor, who amassed over 3,300 base hits, and Dennis Eckersley, who won nearly 200 games as a starter and saved close to 400 more after moving to a relief role, became the 39th and 40th players to be inducted in their first year of eligibility.

The crowd for the event, which also included honors for broadcaster Lon Simmons and sports writer Murray Chass, numbered around 12,000, which was smaller than recent years, but the fans made up for it by being very vocal.

Both Molitor, who played most of his career in Milwaukee, and Eckersley, best known as the closer for an Oakland A's team that went to three straight World Series, said they never dreamed of making the Hall of Fame.

"I played baseball because I loved it," said Molitor, whose six sisters and brother were all in attendance. "My dreams never took me to Cooperstown. But now that I'm here I know the Hall of Fame represents everything good about the game. It's beautiful, traditional and pure."

Eckersley was a fiery competitor, and during his acceptance speech he had trouble keeping his emotions in check.

"This day is a tribute to my Mom and Dad," Eckersley said, pointing to his parents, who were seated in the front row. "My Dad (who was receiving oxygen during the ceremony) had trouble getting here, but my parents have always been there for me and nothing was going to keep us apart today."

Eckersley talked of his two failed marriages and his battle with alcohol (he got sober in 1987) and how accepting his addiction turned his life around.

"I was at a crossroads, and getting sober literally saved my life," he said to a large ovation. "Acceptance was the key. When I was traded to the Oakland A's and (manager) Tony LaRussa sent me to the bullpen I was in an accepting frame of mind. You never know when you're life is going to change forever and I'm being inducted into the Hall of Fame in large part because of Tony LaRussa and (pitching coach) Dave Duncan."

Eckersley, who was born in Freemont, California, said his 12 years with Oakland were the best years of his baseball life. He began his career in Cleveland, where he pitched a no-hitter, then moved to Boston and won 20 games in 1978, before being traded to Chicago in 1984. "Eck" became a full-time closer in 1988, and the A's went to the World Series the next three seasons, winning it all in 1989 against the San Francisco Giants.

"To have the ball in my glove to make the last out of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants...it doesn't get any better than that for a kid from California," he said.

Molitor had a similar path back to his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, spending 15 years with the Brewers before moving on to Toronto-where he won his only World Series in 1993-before finishing his career with his hometown Minnesota Twins.

After playing much of his career as a designated hitter because of various injuries, he got his 3,000th hit with the Twins on the same date, Sept. 16, as another St. Paul product, Dave Winfield.

Molitor said his mother, Kathleen, was a huge baseball fan while he got his work ethic from his father, Richard. He added that he savored every moment of the 1993 World Series, of which he was named MVP, and his 15 years in Milwaukee playing alongside another Hall of Famer, Brewers shortstop Robin Yount.

"As great as the baseball memories are, the people memories are even better," he said.

Also honored Sunday was broadcaster Lon Simmons, who lived up to his irreverent reputation with the opening line of his acceptance of the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence.

"When I first walked into the hotel and saw all the Hall of Famers, I thought I had walked into the wax museum by mistake," he said.

Simmons broadcast San Francisco Giants and later Oakland A's games for a total of 41 years, retiring in 2002. His trademark home run call was "Tell it Goodbye" which he used to call Willie Mays' 600th career home run.

Murray Chass of the New York Times was the winner of the annual Spink Award for sports writers. He was a longtime beat writer for the New York Yankees and also pioneered the coverage of baseball business and labor issues.

"I considered myself a reporter who happened to cover baseball, and that's how I encourage all young sports writers to think of themselves," Chass said.

Notes: Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark announced after the ceremony that the 2005 Induction Ceremony would be held on Sunday, July 231...George Grande celebrated 25 years as the Induction Ceremony Master of Ceremonies on Sunday...The ceremony included a new addition to the program in which one Hall of Famer's career will be spotlighted. This year it was slugger Harmon Killebrew, who broke into the major leagues 50 years ago and was inducted 20 years ago...Famous tenor Daniel Rodriguez sang the National Anthem while Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins sang the Canadian National Anthem...Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig was cheered when he was introduced, an Induction Ceremony first.