After a busy week of work, we set out on Saturday to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. My sister’s family lives ninety minutes away, making it inexcusable not to visit.
Rolling into Cooperstown, it was shocking just how unassuming the Hall of Fame is within the downtown area. It resembled a combination of a church and a hotel, situated in the heart of downtown. Windsor’s Main Street is far more active. We parked two blocks away, on a neighborhood street and headed right in.
Once inside, the size of the Hall becomes much more expansive. While not very wide, it goes back deep. We began our visit by watching a movie about the Hall of Fame and baseball history, then proceeded to explore the various exhibits on the second floor. We especially liked the Babe Ruth section, the Women’s baseball section (although it looked a lot bigger in A League of Their Own, and the Black and Latino player exhibits.
The third floor had what seemed to be more temporary exhibits, one showcasing baseball’s reach in other countries (namely Japan, likely commemorating Ichiro’s induction this year). We also got to see Hank Aaron’s locker, as well as lockers representing each of the teams. I inappropriately showed my disdain for the Rockies in a picture below.
They also had a Bobblehead exhibit, where we picked out various Rockies. Frankly, this was the section in the whole Hall where the Rockies were adequately represented.
We finally went down to the first floor to see the actual Hall of Fame. Standing there amongst all the busts was a remarkable experience, thinking that most of these players had once stood and touched these plaques. It felt like hallowed ground. People are not permitted to touch the plaques, but Jackie Robinson’s shiny plaque demonstrates how he touched people (or at least, compelled people to touch him and the history he represents). We also found the two Rockies in the Hall of Fame: Larry Walker and Todd Helton.
When I considered the number of people who have played baseball over the last 150 years and the relatively few plaques, the difficulty of making the Hall resonated with me. As someone who has fallen out of love with baseball (due to having a dumpster fire of a team), I’m still very glad that we took the time to visit the Hall of Fame and experience baseball’s history.
We made a detour to Ommegang Brewery, a majestic place where a beautiful large outdoor patio was surrounded by a large green field (and a scary treeline). We were blessed with gorgeous weather, making it a privilege to sit outside. We stayed through to Golden Hour and snapped some pictures in their beautiful backyard.
This was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and even the Baseball Hall of Fame is well worth the visit to anyone who is even a casual baseball fan. Be sure to make the trip!