To any baseball fan, devotee or fanatic this is the mecca of America's "national pastime." The best part - even non baseball enthusiasts will love it!
Know the difference between a Bronx cheer and a Baltimore Chop?
Does hearing Babe Ruth first make you think of a similarly named candy bar?
When diamonds are mentioned, do you think gemstones?
Congratulations! You have passed baseball’s naiveté test.
Now the good news…visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame can increase your knowledge… without boring you to death!
While devotees of the game justifiably compare their trek to Cooperstown, located in upstate New York, to the undertaking of a holy pilgrimage, feel free to enter with less fervor.
Start upstairs where rousing cheers and colorful characters, depicting the baseball’s diversity of fans; including a sun-glassed granny, greet you inside the Grandstand Theatre. The 13-minute film delivers history and thrills simultaneously.
Discover how the game became America’s national pastime with the Taking the Field: The 19th Century exhibit. See how similar games, like English rounders, evolved and made baseball indelibly linked with the country’s image.
Babe Ruth was in fact, George Herman Ruth, Jr. Given his famous nickname early in his career, he was, and remains, a powerhouse in the laurels of baseball.
One of the Halls’ original five inductees, along with Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner, the Babe was renowned for his off-field actions – particularly with helping children. Entering the Sultan of Swat’s room he is shown not hitting homers, but speaking to a wide-eyed young fan.
Like America, baseball has changed over the years.
Excluded from playing on white teams, until post WWII, predominately African-Americans athletes illuminated diamonds and outfields playing in the Negro Leagues. Discover the enlightening stories of men like Joss Gibson, Rube Foster and Cool Papa Bell at the Pride and Passion exhibit.
Alabama born, Henry “Hank” Aaron had brief beginnings in the Negro League before signing with the Boston Braves. By the time he moved up to the majors, the team had moved to Milwaukee and again on to Atlanta. It was there on April 8, 1974, off Al Downing 's pitch, Aaron’s bat cracked the ball and forever cemented his name into the legend books as baseball’s home run king. Over thirty years later, the man and the moment, still delights.
Ladies, this diamond is for you! Guys, feel free to share the sparkle too.
During the 1940’s and ‘50’s female players batted, fielded and ran bases with the same vigor and determination as their male counterparts. Depicted in the film, A League of Their Own, the actual events and role of women in baseball prove more fascinating
Diamond Dreams: Women in Baseball expands the stories of denial, perseverance and ultimately acceptance. Not contained to just tales of the former All-American Girls League, learn how the actions of an earlier generation lead to the women taking positions On the Field, In the Office and In the Stands.
Architect Janet Marie Smith is often heralded as revolutionizing modern-day design ballparks. Her Oriole Park at Camden Yards is considered the gold standard, to many, while renovations at Boston’s Fenway Park, is under her current watch.
Ballparks have always been sacred ground, and the Hall’s exhibit of the same name, is all time favorite. Relive old memories or make new ones through a series of interactive displays, including walking through Beantown’s former South-end grounds.
Other popular venues include the recording of Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First?
Enter the Plaque Gallery, and voices quiet and the mood becomes reverent. Bronzed images of past players are forever enshrined with managers, umpires and greats in baseball’s saga.
Here the Hall’s creed of "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations" becomes real and inspirational.
Admit it. You enjoyed yourself.
seustravel.suite101.com/article.cfm/baseball_is_back
maryland-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/baltimore_and_baseball
