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Bochy, Molitor miss games to attend Hall of Fame inductions

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor missed their team's respective games on Sunday to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at Cooperstown, N.Y.

Bochy managed reliever Trevor Hoffman for 12 seasons with the San Diego Padres, and fellow inductee Alan Trammell had a stint on the Padres' coaching staff. Molitor was a boyhood friend of pitcher Jack Morris in St. Paul, Minn., and the two later were teammates on the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bochy told USA Today that he approached team president Brian Sabean and general manager Bobby Evans with the request to miss the game about three weeks ago.

"They were really supportive of this," Bochy told the newspaper. "I didn't know if managers ever did this. You wonder if it's the right thing to do. But they made it easy for me. Trevor meant too much to me. This man had a great impact on me. The things he did on the field and in the clubhouse, I wanted to show my appreciation."

Molitor also gained approval to make the trip to Cooperstown from Minnesota team president Dave St. Peter.

"It's very odd," Molitor said. "It's an awkward thing to walk out for a day or two and just not be here. I know it's in good hands, it's just something I haven't done."

Molitor, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004, didn't want to miss Morris' enshrinement.

"(Our friendship) has probably grown more since we retired than during the time we had as teammates," Molitor said, "Just a guy that I have a lot of respect for, a guy that I've been pulling for, in terms of this particular honor for a long time."

--Field Level Media