Soak up baseball history at these museums
Dedicated baseball fans often take road trips to watch favorite teams play in storied stadiums around the country. But there are plenty of places to steep yourself in baseball lore outside the ballparks.
Here are a few ideas, ranging from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., to the Louisville Slugger factory in Kentucky.
Salutes to individual players: If you have a favorite baseball great, chances are there’s a destination honoring him, whether it’s a birthplace, home, museum or statue.
In Baltimore, check out the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, located inside four row houses, baberuthmuseum.org, with the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards a few blocks away. In Fargo, N.D., there’s a Roger Maris Museum, rogermarismuseum.com. Mobile, Ala., has the Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum, hankaaronstadium.com, while Royston, Ga., is home to the Ty Cobb Museum, tycobbmuseum.org. The Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, in St. Petersburg, Fla., pays tribute to the Red Sox legend and others, tedwilliamsmuseum.com.
Salutes to individual teams: Many teams have their own halls of fame or exhibit halls, often in or near the ballparks.
Ghosts of old parks: There’s a sign for Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the Dodgers once played, but today it’s the site of an apartment complex and parking lot. Sections of Braves Field in Boston were incorporated into Boston University’s Nickerson Field. And in Hoboken, N.J., you’ll find markers in the vicinity of 11th and Washington for Elysian Fields, marking the spot where locals say the first organized baseball game was played.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: The museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., a four-hour drive from New York City and Boston, celebrates its 75th birthday this summer, with events planned for June 12 that include guests such as Cal Ripken Jr., and an Aug. 2 concert featuring Paul Simon. The museum tells the sport’s story through thousands of photos and artifacts, baseballhall.org.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Located in Kansas City, Mo., the museum preserves the history of the leagues where black athletes played before the sport was integrated, nlbm.com.
World of Little League Museum: This museum in South Williamsport, Pa., reopened last year after a $4 million renovation. Its collection includes President George W. Bush’s Little League roster along with Little League jerseys worn by Gary Carter and Mike Mussina, littleleague.org/learn/museum.htm.
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory: Located in Louisville, Ky., this company has been manufacturing bats since 1884. There’s a factory tour and a museum featuring bats gripped by baseball greats, sluggermuseum.org.
Field of Dreams: The field in Dyersville, Iowa, was the setting for the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” starring Kevin Costner. Fans can toss a ball around on the diamond carved from a cornfield from April to November, fodmoviesite.com.
Schrader’s Little Cooperstown: This exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History in Florida showcases the world’s largest collection of signed baseballs – 4,600 of them valued at more than $2 million. It’s named for collector Dennis Schrader, spmoh.com/visit/exhibits/baseball/.
International museums: The Latino Baseball Hall of Fame (Salon de la Fama del Beisbol Latino) is located in La Romana in the Dominican Republic. In Japan, there is a Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum within the Tokyo Dome. The Canadian Baseball Hall located in St. Marys, Ontario.
FILE – This June 16, 2008 file photo shows baseball fans in front of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
FILE – This undated file image provided by the Brooklyn Cyclones shows a statue of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson at MCU Park in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York, where the minor league Cyclones team plays. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Brooklyn Cyclones)
FILE – This July 15, 2013 file photo shows a woman looks at a display on baseball legend Roger Maris Museum in the West Acres Mall in Fargo, N.D. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Mikhail Iliev, File)
FILE – This April 7, 2013 file image shows the site of the Brooklyn Dodgers? ballpark, Ebbets Field, which was torn down after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1957 and is today an apartment complex in the Crown Heights neighborhood. A stone in the wall says ?This is the former site of Ebbets Field? while a faded sign in the courtyard says ?No ball playing.? There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz, File)
FILE – This Aug. 27, 2005 file photo shows Chad Sauls looking at baseball memorabilia at the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, Ga. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)
FILE – This April 14, 2010 file photo shows The Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Ala. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Michelle Rolls-Thomas, File)
FILE – This May 13, 2005 file photo shows a large photograph of Babe Ruth used for an exhibit at the Sports Legends at Camden Yards museum in Baltimore. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner, File)
FILE – This Oct. 22, 2013 file photo shows a collection of autographed baseballs at the St. Petersburg History Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
FILE – This Oct. 22, 2013 file photo shows visitors to the St. Petersburg History Museum view some of Dennis Schrader’s autographed baseballs in St. Petersburg, Fla. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
FILE – In this Feb. 19, 2010, file photo a stack of baseball bats wait in the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Ky. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)
FILE – In this April 24, 2013 file photo, the home plate used in the first Little League in 1939 is displayed at the Little League museum in South Williamsport, Pa. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Genaro C. Armas, File)
FILE – This March 6, 2012 file photo shows the entrance to the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley, File)
This April 30, 2004 file photo shows museum patrons viewing plaques of recent inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Tim Roske, File)
This April 30, 2004 file photo shows museum patrons viewing plaques of recent inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. There are many destinations of interest to baseball fans around the country outside ballparks from museums and statues to historic homes. (AP Photo/Tim Roske, File)