Elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame more than 17 years after his final game, Jeff Kent couldn’t control his emotions. “Absolutely unprepared. Emotionally unstable,” he said after Sunday’s vote announcement.

Oklahoma native, and Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, Johnny Bench turns 78 on Sunday. Considered one of the greatest catchers of all-time, Bench played his entire 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds.

There was never a single reason that this Long Island kid would choose Dale Murphy as a childhood idol, but he earned a lifetime of fandom and ultimately friendship.