Cooperstown, New York 22 June

Nirvana! Mecca! This is a place that is a must see for all who are real baseball fans--the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Originally named for the author James Fennimore Cooper, compared to the Babe, and Gehrig, Mays and Mantle, Cooper has now been relegated to double A ball. They have significantly expanded the hall in the last 10 years, so if has been a while since you have visited, it is worth the trip. There are numerous Bed & Breakfasts in Cooperstown that are within easy walking distance of "The Hall."

A good to know for all military personnel, active duty and retired, show your ID card and your admission is waived.


The Hall of fame opened in 1936 with the induction of the first 5 players--Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Matthewson, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner. The hall that contains a plaque for every player, manager, and executive elected to the Hall of Fame is well worth a couple of hours. There is so much history on just the plaques, but there are eight more wings on three levels to visit. It took us seven hours to get through. Thankfully, the Hall of Fame is open from 0900-2100 everyday except for Christmas and New Years (that's fine for them to close those days--with an average of 39" of snow on the ground, we won't be around anyway.

The other wings are dedicated to hitters, pitchers, announcers, the Negro leagues, and many other important facets of the game. There is a short movie in the main theatre that is well worth seeing. It is a collage of great plays the last 50 years. They are bang-bang played back to back and the film has a pretty high wow factor.






The letter above is displayed as you enter the display wings. Judge Mountain Kennesaw Landis, the commissioner of baseball, had written to the President, FDR, seeking guidance on whether Major League Baseball should continue during the Second World War. Answering as a private citizen with clear overtones of Presidential authority, FDR asked that the game continue.

As you enter the Hall of Honor where all of the plaques are hung, the first display is that of all of the members of the Hall of Fame that served in armed forces from the Civil War to the present. The designation is also on each veterans plaque. It is clear from this and other benefits and displays that the Hall is going out of its way to welcome home the troops.

In one wing of the Hall is a case with a ball from every no hitter pitched since 1900. Off to the left of that case is a separate case for the balls from Nolan Ryan's SEVEN no-hitters (without steroids). No other pitcher is even close. Another display also notes Ryan's 5714 career strikeouts (without steroids) which is over a thousand more than the number two pitcher, Randy Johnson.

Boston 20-21 June

Guess where! If you want history, this is one of the key places. The stadium is old, it is small, it has weird fence lines, it has the Green Monster, but any tour of baseball parks would be incomplete without it.


Unfortunately, the fans don't live up to the grandeur of the park. This is not a family park. Never before had I seen a fan buy a beer (especially at ball park prices--$9.00) just to pour over another fan that was rooting for the other team.



Before the first game, there was a rain delay of about an hour. We were glad to see the rainbow come out as the clouds passed and the tarp come off the field.

The first game was also the day that Boston celebrated the Celtics winning the NBA championship. They proudly paraded the championship trophy around the field Paul Pierce. threw out the first pitch.











For only the second time in their history, the Red Sox played in a green uniform in celebration of the Celtics win (the other time was for Red Auerbach's funeral).


Overall, the weather was pretty good in Boston. Before the second game, we had a chance to roam around the park. This is a picture of Kate next to the infamous red chair. This is the chair way up in the bleachers where Ted Williams longest Home Run landed. If you ever go to the park, walk up here and look back to Home Plate. This is a LONG LONG way!
Out on Yawkey Way is the statue of Ted Williams that Kate wanted to see. This is a great statue, unfortunately we had to get by several drunks to get a good shot.







Boston lost the first game to St. Louis. After the way the crowd treated the St. Louis fans, it was poetic justice.







They lost again. At least this one was close. Like the best baseball games, it came down to the last pitch and it could have gone either way. Hopefully there will be many more games like this in real baseball towns.

Thus far, of the three stadiums that we was visited, if you want the best stadiums for history, the crowd and the surrounding area, go to:
Baltimore
Washington
then Boston.

Norfolk 9-16 June

Yep! Norfolk. The Navy in its infinite wisdom and close monitoring of tax dollars sent me to Norfolk for a week to process out. During that time, I signed four papers, took four days off, and watched seven beautiful sunsets like this. I suppose that I was being helped to transition to retirement and a more leisurely pace. If this is retirement, bring it on.

For those of you that remember Ocean View in the old days (about half of it was off limits) almost nothing is the same. They have really gone upscale. However there are still a few historical landmarks left. This Pancake House was once a two bay garage. Now it is a jam packed 24 hour breakfast place. Good food and a great price. This served as our point of departure for the rest of our baseball trip. And now it is off to Boston and the 28 remaining ball parks.

You will find all kinds of great posters on the wall, but the food makes it worth the trip

The Nationals 11-13 April

Right up front, my apologies. For both games at the new Nationals park, we forgot the camera. That being said, it really is a beautiful park with easy access to Metro. There is absolutely no reason to drive to the park. We got to see three Games against the Braves. Chipper Jones was ripping the cover off of the ball. Unfortunately, the Nationals hitting did not show up until the third game when the squeaked out a victory (5-4). The other two games were futile gestures. It appears that the cellar is waiting again this year.

I promise more pictures on the next stop.