COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

For former Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick, it was a two-day exercise in preparation conducted by the Baseball Hall of Fame in this beautiful village on the shores of Otsego Lake. Annually, the Hall brings in honourees who will be part of the ceremony during the July induction weekend, intensely prepping them for what to expect from the Hall and in what is expected of them.

On Tuesday it was Gillick’s turn at the school of Fame. After a busy morning of signing baseballs and sorting out invitation lists, tickets and hotel arrangements, it was time for a personal tour of the museum led by Erik Strohl, the Hall’s chief archivist. The Star was one of four North American media outlets invited to accompany Pat and wife Doris.

“To say I even had the opportunity to be nominated to be selected is a very humbling experience,” Gillick said. “Because of the tremendous amount of talent, of personality, integrity and reputation of the people who are in the Hall of Fame, to be a part of that group is indescribable.”

Gillick is an emotional human being. He wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to romanticizing the game he loves. The tour began in a darkened theatre with a stirring 10-minute video on baseball and its ever-evolving connections to society. The first voice belonged to the late Yankees announcer Bob Shepard. Gillick got a lump in his throat. After that it was the Jays display, including the two World Series wins. He paused for a long time in front of the glass. Another lump in his throat.

“Joe’s bat’s in there,” he said quietly to Doris.

They then escorted Gillick to the archive vault where more than 35,000 undisplayed items are marked and stored. They pulled some items of personal interest for Gillick to see. In order to handle them, he and Doris had to slip on a pair of white gloves along with their tour guide Strohl. Gillick opted to hang on to his gloves as a souvenir.

Among the meaningful items pulled from boxes for Gillick’s perusal were: Dave Stieb’s no-hitter cap; Fred McGriff’s bat from the Jays’ 10-homer game; Cal Ripken’s batting glove from the final game of his streak; an Ichiro bat from his rookie 2001 season and a Babe Ruth bat featuring 28 hand-carved notches, one for each homer he hit with that particular weapon.

The two-hour tour ended in the Plaque Gallery, where Gillick, in making one final sweep of the hall, was interrupted by an 11-year-old boy who asked timidly for his autograph. Gillick graciously signed his paper, asking him what grade he was in and what position he played. Forever scouting.

The tour ended in silent reverence at the exact spot where his bronze plaque is to be installed this summer along with those of Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven. They will share a wall next to Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice and Cal Ripken, Jr. At that point came a final throat lump.

“Joe Carter’s bat, shoes, it is a very special moment,” Gillick summarized. “To win that first World Series, to get over the hump is like climbing a mountain and all of a sudden you get to the top and you made it. So to see Joe’s artifacts kind of brought back those memories of 18-19 years ago.”

Imagine, if he could barely make it through a museum tour, how will Gillick finish his speech?

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he smiled. “People ask me about what I’m going to say. I’ve changed my speech about four or five times. There’s time constraints so hopefully they can stick me in the middle where they might need a little time later. I might only get to four or five minutes.”

Gillick’s career in pro baseball started with the Houston Colt .45’s in 1963, on to the Yankees in 1974 and then to the Jays in 1976. His wife did not join him that first year in Toronto but caught up with her husband and the city, never expecting the road would lead to Cooperstown.

“I never thought it would end up like this,” Doris said. “It wasn’t really the goal. The city . . . I lived there for 30 years. Even when he left, I commuted to wherever he was. We (have) moved to Seattle but I lived (in Toronto) for 30 years. It’s is a beautiful city. Toronto will always be our home for my daughter and myself because I lived there longer than anyplace else.”

Being the newest member of a select group of 295 Hall of Famers clearly has not gone to Gillick’s head. Though it would have somehow seemed acceptable had Gillick booked a limousine for the four-hour ride from Philly to this Cooperstown command performance, Pat and Doris opted for the train through New York to Albany, then by car, seven hours for what might be four.

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“There’s a lot of people that got us to this spot,” Gillick said. “Everyone I’ve worked with, the clubs I’ve been associated with, the scouts, the whole team that worked together, the players, that’s what it’s all about. I guess I just feel like I’m one of those guys. I put my shoes on and my pants on just like everybody else. I’m not any better than anyone else.”

The Expansion Era panel of voters beg to disagree.