Induction Ceremonies Are Postponed by Rain : Baseball: For first time in nearly 30 years, Hall of Fame event delayed. Palmer and Morgan put on hold one day.

Jim Palmer and Joe Morgan weren’t quite ready for this rainout.

Only minutes before they were set to give their induction speeches Sunday, a heavy rain fell and forced the postponement of the Hall of Fame ceremonies for the first time in almost 30 years.

The induction ceremonies were rescheduled for today at 7 a.m. PDT, with an exhibition game to follow between Baltimore and Montreal at Doubleday Field.

“I’m kind of disappointed, but I’ll give my speech tomorrow,” Palmer said. “My arm didn’t bother me when I got up this morning.”

The rainout continued Commissioner Fay Vincent’s run of bad luck when it comes to baseball’s big events.

Vincent guided baseball through an 11-day delay during the World Series last year because of the Bay area earthquake and sat in the dugout at Wrigley Field while it rained during the All-Star game last month.

After the postponement, Palmer and Morgan held a news conference inside the Hall of Fame, reflecting on some of the things they might have said during their induction speeches.

“I was ready emotionally to give my speech,” Morgan said. “I’m not that disappointed. I’ll be back tomorrow, and the next day and the next.”

In the event of rain today, Hall of Fame officials said the ceremonies would be held at the high school gym.

“When I got out to the podium I noticed there were a lot of people from Baltimore sitting in the crowd,” Palmer said. “They were prepared, too. They all had their Orioles umbrellas.”

Morgan and Palmer both got a chance to stand on the steps of the Hall of Fame Library and wave to the crowd before the rains came.

“To me, the crowd I saw was the real baseball fans of America,” Morgan said. “I was at a party of about 300 people before coming over here. But they were friends from all over the country. These were the baseball fans.”

Morgan and Palmer were each elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Palmer finished his career with a record of 268-152 and a 2.86 earned-run average. “Am I as good as a lot of pitchers here? Probably not,” Palmer said. “But I would have voted for myself.”

Morgan won consecutive MVP titles in 1975 and 1976, leading the Cincinnati Reds to the World Series victories each year. He had a lifetime average of .271 with 268 homers and 1,133 RBIs.

“The writers showed they did a lot of homework,” Morgan said. “Maybe my numbers don’t jump out at you, but the writers showed they understood some of the other things you have to do to win ballgames.”