Play Ball!

The Baseball Hall of Fame could be THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. It underscores every aspect of social and economic change in the US from the 19th century on, using one topic as a theme. Here are covered racism, the women’s movement, the depression, war, all under the benign blanket of Baseball, America’s Past Time. If you feel anything about the sport, you cannot fail to be moved while you are there, beginning with the 12-minute multimedia presentation that can bring tears to the eyes of a sap such as myself. My passion for baseball is greater than many, certainly more than most women, and I love it as an art form and for all the things that were iterated within the museum. I wish the labels for the artifacts weren’t written on the glass cases in white letters – they are nigh on impossible to read with the lighting. But other than that, the museum tells a thel story of America’s development through baseball in a beautiful manner.

In that vein, the stores around the museum tell the modern tale. If you are not a Yankees or Red Sox fan, you will find little apparel, paraphernalia, information to address your needs. In fact, a foreigner coming to Cooperstown might be hard pressed to tell you what other teams exist without going to the museum itself. Where are the Pirates, the Reds, and all the other teams that had successful pennant runs long in the past? We are told of the magnitude of the rivalry of the two teams, but something else too. The Yankee tee-shirts brag about the number of wins they have, and like so many Red Sox fans, I can’t help but think of how boring that is. Oh yeah, the Yankees are in the playoffs. Again. But (dear Red Sox fans) so are the Sox. In fact, these two teams, with their massive budgets, continually dominate the American League. It is as successful an illustration of America today in terms of both government and opportunity as the Jackie Robinson story was of desegregation.

So this year: Go Chicago White Sox!