Cooperstown, New York and the Baseball Hall of Fame

We left my family in Pennsylvania and drove north in to New York to Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  We stayed at the Empty Pockets Ranch, a beautiful Boondockers Welcome site in Cobleskill which was a 40 minute drive to Cooperstown.

 

 

 

 

 

We got parked on their land and spent two nights there.

There were all types of farm animals, flowers, and crops and we enjoyed walking the property to see it all.

Pigs

 

 

 

 

 

Lots and lots of sunflowers blooming!  The owners hosted a farmer's market and sunflower event the weekend before we arrived.  They have a little store where they sell their sheep's milk products.  All to make money during the pandemic.

 

 

 

Free range chickens.....

 

This location was so big they hosted another RV which parked up by the barn.

 

The main reason for visiting this area was to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.  This has been another item on my bucket list and now I can check it off.  

 

We planned to visit Cooperstown for one day and it just happened to be an induction day.  Not for the class of 2021 but the class of 2020 which was cancelled due to Covid.  I could not believe we were so lucky!  Well, until we arrived in town and tried to find parking for our monster truck!  $50 bucks, crazy!  

 

 

We drove around a bit looking at our options and asked a parking attendant at the golf course and he suggested a parking lot a little further down the road that has a shuttle in to town for $7 all day.  Perfect!

 

 

The little town of Cooperstown wasn't so busy when we walked around.  Guess most people were at the induction ceremony location.

 

 

 

 

There were many baseball memorabilia shops so we checked them out.  In one shop we were looking at the items and continued deeper in to the store until we accidentally came across Pete Rose signing items.  You had to buy something of his that he would then sign.  The entrance to see him was in the back of the store.  We didn't realize we walked past a sign keeping people away from that area of the store.  So, we got to see and hear Pete Rose.  An all-star who is not in the Hall of Fame because of a gambling issue from many, many years ago.  

An old Phillies button before the Phillie Phanatic became the mascot.

We walked over to the Clark's Sports Center to get a seat in the grass area to watch the Class of 2020 Induction ceremony.  

 

 

Here is the Class of 2020:

 

We were this far from the stage!  Luckily there were big screens broadcasting the induction and we had binoculars!

Creating our own shade

 

 

One talented girl!

Can you find me in this crowd?

 

Being in New York and the Yankees Derek Jeter being inducted meant there were a LOT of Yankee fans in the crowd!  Thankfully they were pretty well behaved and respectful.  

 

 

Many Hall of Famers from previous years were on hand for the ceremony.  Each one was announced as they entered the stage and took their seat.  Then the Class of 2020 was greeted to the stage.

 

Derek Jeter arrives on stage

 

For each player there was a short video of their career highlights before they were awarded their plaque and gave their speech.  First up was Ted Simmons.

 

Major League Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfred

 

Ted Simmons

Ted Simmons

 

Marvin Miller was next but he passed away in 2012 so a colleague, Donald Fehr delivered a speech on his behalf. 

Marvin Miller was not a player but instead an American union leader who, as head of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Players Association, drove successful efforts to improve ballplayers’ labor rights, revolutionizing the business of professional sports as a result.

Donald Fehr went on, and on, and on, and on, and on with his speech.  The Yankee fans were respectful but when Mr. Fehr would take a breath, the crowd would start to clap to signal, thank you but let's get on to the next guy.  I think he did finally cut his speech short but not nearly short enough.  The clouds were rolling in and it looked like rain was coming.  

I found this article from the New York Post when I was searching for the name of the guy who gave the speech:

 

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Fans waited an extra year to see Derek Jeter inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

 

But by Wednesday afternoon, they were finally losing patience. 

 

As Donald Fehr delivered the second speech of the ceremony at Clark Sports Center, honoring the late Marvin Miller, the crowd began to grow restless.   

 

“Let me suggest to you why I think we’re here today,” Fehr, the former head of the MLB Players Association, said late in his speech, which lasted around 20 minutes.

“Jeter,” many in the crowd rumbled as they waited for the former Yankees shortstop, who was the fourth and final inductee to deliver a speech, with storm clouds beginning to near.

The crowd appeared to try to clap Fehr off the stage before he finally finished his speech at the ceremony, which was twice delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Just a couple of other words,” Fehr said, to which someone in the crowd yelled, “No!”

Fehr responded, “Sorry, guys,” and finished his speech shortly thereafter.

Next was Larry Walker who I didn't remember.

 

 

Finally it was Derek Jeter's turn.  Just as he began, it started to sprinkle.  Luckily it was a very short sprinkle and then it stopped.

 

 

Derek Jeter's wife and girls

The ceremony was over and we had just a little sprinkle so we were happy.  

 

MLB Hall of Fame Class of 2020

 

On the walk back to town and the Hall of Fame museum we passed by Doubleday Field.  

 

The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm. 

 

 

 

Sand Lot Kid

 Next up was our timed visit to the Hall of Fame Museum.

 

 

Some items of interest inside the museum:

Babe Ruth's glove from the 1926 World Series

Lou Gehrig - Most consecutive games played at 2130 (former record).  Now Cal Ripken Jr holds the record with 2632!

Mike Schmidt

Shohei Ohtani's bat.

After taking the mound for the Angels against the visiting Chicago White Sox on April 4, 2021, Ohtani, became the first starting pitcher to purposefully hit for himself in an AL game since 1976.  Batting second, he swung this lumber to drive the first pitch he saw for a home run. 

Following the success of the San Diego Chicken, the Phillie Phanatic, famed for his bouncing belly and ATV antics, debuted at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium on April 25, 1978.  Today almost every club has a friendly, fuzzy and marketable mascot. 

One of my heroes growing up was Hank Aaron and his quest to beat Babe Ruth's 714 home runs.  My parents let my brother and me stay up past our bed time in order to watch history.

Hank Aaron is greeted by a pair of fans as he rounds the bases following his record-breaking 715th career home run on April 8, 1974.

"The day I left Mobile, Alabama, to play ball with the Indianapolis Clowns, Mama was so upset she couldn't come to the train station to see me off.  She just made me a couple of sandwiches, stuffed two dollars in my pocket, and stood in the yard crying as I rode off... [The train ride] was the first time in my life that I had been around white people."  --Hank Aaron on his 1952 trip to Clowns spring training in Winston-Salem, NC.

Retired players with more than 500 home runs in their career

Wearing this glove on July 6, 1980, Steve Carlton notched a fourth-inning strikeout of Cardinals outfielder Tony Scott to become the all-time strikeout king among left-handed pitchers, breaking the mark of 2,832 K's held by southpaw Mickey Lolich.

 

 

Hank Aaron's uniform

 

World Series ring through the years.  Notice how they get larger and more gaudy as the years go on!

 

 

 

When Wagner discovered this tobacco card had been issued without his permission, he demanded its recall.  Today, this story, Wagner's fame, the card's scarcity (about 60 examples survive), and its skyrocketing price tag (regularly over $1 million) make the card baseball's most legendary collectible. 

In a room of the museum is a locker room set up with each team represented and items special to them are included.  Here's the Angels locker:

• Shohei Ohtani's equipment - As the big leagues' first successful two-way player since Babe Ruth, Ohtani wore this cap during his pitching debut(and first win) on April 1, 2018, and two days later wore this helmet when he crushed his first home run.
  
• Mike Trout's bat - using this Zepp Labs "Smart Bat" during Spring Training 2016, Trout was able to evaluate and visualize his swing data.  
  
• Mike Trout shoes he wore during his 2012 Rookie of the year season.
• Albert Pujoles bat, uniform, and shoes (wore them when he hit his 600th double in 2016)
• Tylar Skaggs jersey worn by the whole team following the death of Skaggs in 2019.  Teammate Andrew Heaney donated his jersey to the HOF.
• Cap with protective insert.  Matt Shoemaker wore this carbon-fiber head guard which sits inside the cap's sweatband throughout the 2017 season after he was hit in the head by a line drive on September 4, 2016.
• Carlos Perez's bat.  In his first big league game, Perez swung this bat for a walk-off home run, May 5, 2015.  He is the fourth player to accomplish this feat.
  

 

 

 

 

More on the Class of 2020:

Hall of Fame Plaque Gallary arranged by year of induction:

 

 

Christy Mathewson
George Herman (Babe) Ruth
Tyrus Raymond Cobb
Honus Wagner
Walter Perry Johnson

 

Some plaques of interest to me:

We thoroughly enjoyed viewing the items in the museum.  Someday we expect Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to be inducted to join the only other LA Angels player, Vladamir Guerrero (Class of 2018).

One last stop in town was to the post office to get some post cards postmarked from Cooperstown on induction day.

And that was our visit to Cooperstown.  It was the end of baseball history and games for this year for us.  We packed up the trailer and bought some items from our host's market before hitting the road.  Next we're moving over to Vermont.