The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York is one of the greatest landmarks in all of sports. Hosting a collection of legendary exhibits and one-of-a-kind displays makes the MLB HOF a must-visit for any fan of America’s pastime. From Babe Ruth to Jackie Robinson to Pedro Martinez, plenty of past and modern superstars not only have their plaque forever enshrined in the walls but they also feature history lessons galore about what truly made them special.
Here are the five most interesting things to see when exploring the venue:
The first thing to do once entering the Hall of Fame is walking up to the second floor, taking a quick left, and exploring the movie theatre venue. They play a ‘Generations of the Game’ movie every 30 minutes at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, etc. WARNING: you will get goosebumps watching this. People can watch a bootlegged version of the movie here but it’s highly recommended to wait until seeing it in person for the full experience.
This movie covers the history of the Hall of Fame and how it’s become a national landmark in the sports universe. It captures the uniqueness of Cooperstown, NY as the definition of a baseball town despite not having any Major League team. From Lou Gehrig to Cal Ripken Jr. to Joe Morgan, plenty of Hall of Famers are featured throughout the video with part of their story being displayed to the masses. This is an excellent display to start your MLB Hall of Fame tour.
The game of baseball was first played in the 1800s and there are plenty of displays about the origination of the game and the development of the equipment being used over the decades. While baseball started as a pickup game to play with a ball and a stick, it has now morphed into one of the most competitive spectacles in the world. The competitiveness of the sport is now all based on winning a Championship with the first World Series taking place in 1903 between Boston and Pittsburgh.
There have been 115 other champions crowned at the end of every postseason since. Every team’s season-long victory is forever engrained into a championship ring that the players, coaches, and other integral staff can wear for the rest of their lives to showcase one of their greatest accomplishments. Every World Series champ’s ring is showcased on the 3rd floor of the HOF and it’s very interesting to see all the different shapes, sizes, and uniqueness each team crafts into their championship jewelry.
A huge part of America’s pastime is the contributions of the Negro Leagues and the integration of black players, starting with Jackie Robinson in 1947. While Jackie was the first African-American to be introduced to the Major Leagues, it was his massive success and unrivaled discipline that paved the way for generations of players to be welcomed into the MLB despite whatever skin color they may be born with.
Robinson’s introduction to the Show and instant success is well-documented but what the MLB Hall of Fame does a great job of is showcasing how many other black players weren’t just good big leaguers who could hold their own, but were dominating at such a high level that the white writers had no choice but to award them Rookie of the Year’s, Cy Young’s, and numerous MVPs in the 10+ years after #42 made his mark on the game forever.
While plenty of legendary players have an argument to be considered the greatest hitter ever, one thing that was clear after visiting the Hall of Fame was that the best PURE hitter baseball has ever seen went by the name of Ted Williams. The Boston Red Sox HOF Left Fielder is the most recent player to finish a season with a batting average above .400, doing so in 1941. The 2x MVP was runner-up another four times and was an All-Star basically every single year of his career.
His total Hits numbers (2,654) don’t compare to the Pete Rose‘s or Ty Cobb’s of the worlds but that’s because Williams missed three years of his prime due to military service during World War II. Even so, his .482 OBP is the best ever, and what truly made Teddy Ballgame the best hitter ever was the fact he had no weaknesses in his swing.
He could lift high fastballs over the wall, turn on inside sliders, poke outside changeups the other way, and belt hanging curveballs into the gap. The display of baseballs above showcasing his batting average at each part of the strike zone says it all. Even the low-and-away stuff he’d still manage to hit around average.
The create-your-card feature is something that wasn’t a part of the MLB Hall of Fame museum until recently (about three years according to one of the staff members there). However, it was clearly a fan-favorite for visitors, especially the younger generation. Fans can have their picture taken, type their name in, and pick their team. The automated software then takes the materials and transcribes it onto a variety of baseball cards the visitor can choose from.
When I personally went to try this feature out myself, I was wearing a ‘Let the Kids Play’ shirt inspired by Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres so it became a no-brainer to choose ‘Padres’ as the team and ‘SS’ as the position but they have every other team and position available to customize as well. These kinds of custom design t-shirts are actually PSO originals that will be available to purchase soon.
A great part of the Hall of Fame is the fact that it’s always changing and improving, adding new features every single year. This card customizer is just an example of the innovative features the museum is implementing into its regular tour options. Any baseball fan would greatly enjoy seeing the MLB Hall of Fame for themselves and are welcomed to take pictures throughout the exhibits to save as memories to last a lifetime.
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