MLB: Spring Pilgrimage to Cooperstown

About a month and a half ago as players were heading south to Spring Training to prepare for the upcoming season, I also began to get ready for it. But instead of going south, I chose to head north to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

I had been to the Hall of Fame a couple times in my youth, but now upon entering I really feel like I got the most out of my trip. I really understood the history and importance behind the national pastime and understand how hard it is to become a Hall of Famer. Out of approximately 15,000 players who have played in the Major Leagues, just over 1 percent are ever inducted. So as I walked inside, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with a sense of awe at the thought of all of baseball’s greatest players who have been here for induction ceremonies.

I started off with a walk through the Hall of Fame Gallery and looked at all the plaques celebrating each person’s contribution to baseball. From Hammerin’ Hank Aaron to Robin Yount. There were flowers around Eddie Mathews plaque as he had passed away the previous day. A truly amazing display.

Then I went see the History of Baseball. It contained some incredible memorabilia including the oldest known baseball, the Doubleday ball. The written text accompanying the items really helped to capture baseball’s infancy and bring the past to life and gives a nice little account as to the significance of each piece. As you walk through the exhibit you can chronologically watch as the evolution of baseball unfolds before you. From there as you move on you can see game worn jerseys and equipment from Ty Cobb and Cy Young. Along the way I stopped at the Babe Ruth exhibit. It had his old locker, and his bat from his famous and controversial "Called Shot" from the 1932 World Series among other remarkable pieces This exhibit is a must for any Yankee or Babe fan.

Other exhibits featured some bats from some other famous feats, such as Roberto Clemente’s 3000 and final hit, a Ted Williams’ bat from his .406 season, Hank Aaron’ s from when he hit his 714th home run and many others too numerous to list.

The baseball ball card collection is equally impressive. With Babe Ruth cards, a Mickey Mantle rookie. Not too mention an incredibly rare T-206 Honus Wagner card. Many baseball card collectors will be jealous after walking away from this exhibit.

There are also films shown in the Bullpen Theater and the Grandstand Theater. The presentations are both educational and entertaining. The short film on The Babe was very informative and contained some footage never before seen. It also has showings of "Charlie Brown’s All Stars" and "It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown."

The Evolution of Equipment Exhibit made you appreciate the old timers and their skills more after you see what they used for gloves and other equipment. Other items included old -style catchers’ masks and even old umpires' ball and strike indicator.

The "You’re in the Hall of Fame Charlie Brown!" is the newest exhibit to the HOF. Charles Schulz was a huge baseball fan. The Hall of Fame Library has a great collection of Schulz’s Peanuts strips available to read. This exhibit contains Schulz’s own baseball glove and a Schulz autographed baseball as well as some other Peanuts memorabilia.

Another exhibit that I was very much impressed by was the Memories of a Lifetime: The Barry Halper Collection. It had been his private collection, which he began amassing at age eight. Two items that were mind blowing were the transfer agreement for sale of Babe Ruth’s contract from the Red Sox to the Yankees. And Babe Ruth’s Polo coat. You can really get a true idea of what a large man he was after seeing the size of that coat. The uniform and pocket watch of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was just as incredible. The Cy Young jersey displayed still had dirt stains on it. You could almost visualize him donning it before a big game.

This was a great time of the year to go to Cooperstown and visit the Hall of Fame. You can avoid the huge throngs of tourists who flock there in the summer months, so you can take your time and revel in the vast amount of history and mementos contained in the most hallowed of halls, The Baseball Hall of Fame.