COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — On Sunday, three inductees and about 50 returning Hall of Famers were introduced during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony as 27,500 fans “basked in the brilliant sunshine on a perfect summer day,” according to the Hall of Fame website. The ceremony lasted 3 hours and 38 minutes, officials said.

This year, inductees were first baseman Jeff Bagwell, outfielder Tim “Rock” Raines and catcher Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez. Their fans could be spotted on Cooperstown’s Main Street, as visitors walked through the village, often in clusters of orange or blue T-shirts bearing names of favorite players.

Also inducted Sunday were former Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig and baseball executive John Schuerholz.

But reactions were mixed Sunday about the number of people flooding this small New York town — where America’s pastime is big business — though there was agreement that the weekend remains a key moneymaker for the summer tourist season.

Attendance in 2016 was 50,000, according to Hall of Fame officials, who reported crowds this year at somewhat more than half that figure.

“It’s always one of the busiest weekends of the year for us,” said Sarah Mower, manager at Mickey’s Place, a memorabilia shop. This weekend was “busy, exciting” but not at the level of last year when Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. made for an “incredible” weekend, she said.

Mark Andrews, a co-owner of Danny’s Market, on Main St., said some visitors who come annually to Induction Weekend returned this year and it’s good to see familiar faces.

“It’s been a pretty busy Hall of Fame weekend,” Andrews said. “It’s just more enjoyable all around when the weather is nice.”

Ryan Dye of Tullahoma, Tennessee, was traveling with his father, Clay, with a baseball tour group. The 10-day tour out of Chicago included stops in major cities for baseball games.

The trip was a graduation gift for completing a physical therapy assistant program at Jackson State Community College, according to Dye, who said he had watched all three players inducted this year. He didn’t pick a favorite among the three but said he was happy to be able to attend the induction ceremony.

Tapestri and John Carlson, and their son, Brody, traveled from Round Rock, Texas, to see Bagwell, a career Houston Astro, inducted. They had their chairs set up at 8:30 a.m. Sunday to designate a spot for the ceremony, which they described as “great.”

“We were pretty excited,” Tapestri Carlson said. She said Bagwell was a “hero” to Brody, who plays first base on a youth traveling team.

Brody had a one-word description for Bagwell after seeing and hearing him Sunday: “Awesome.”  

Richardson writes for the Oneonta, New York, Daily Star. Follow her on Twitter at @DS_DeniseR.