I was acquainted with baseball at four years old when my parents signed me up to the local t-ball league. Back then, to be a member of the girls' softball league, you had to be a little older to join so it was onto the local co-ed league. I was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and I remember our plain little uniforms of baseball pants with a black t-shirt with the bright yellow writing. Obviously the league organizers were males because they didn't think that maybe black t-shirts and hats may be a touch HOT in glaring sun at noontime on a Saturday in the late eighties. Regardless, it really allowed my very blond ponytail to pop under the hat so I was happy as a clam. Sure, it's not the majors or anything but we have to start somewhere right?
Eventually my season with the Pirates ended and I moved on to bigger and better things (including better uniforms) but my affection for baseball never diminished. I still go to multiple games a year (and yes, moderate pitch softball counts) and thought it would be appropriate to visit the place where all its glorious history is documented, Cooperstown!
We went to Saratoga for Memorial Day weekend and Cooperstown was just a hop, skip and a jump down the road - well not really, but my three trip companions made the trip fly by. Now, the Hall of Fame is in charming Cooperstown and I mean totally charming. It reminds me of a movie with a really small town Main Street running down the middle of it, filling with families and small businesses.
Obviously this picture needed to happen.. it seems only fitting after reminiscing about my early t-ball days, right? The Baseball HOF has a ton of exhibits and really strives to rotate new material regularly. It's a nice mix of history and current items - including this season's stats compared with historical statistics. We did look for the bloody sock (which the staff insisted was on display - wrong!) but otherwise a good trip!
And you were a "cracker jack" baseball player!
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