Worth A Trip: Baseball as America

By Courtney Llewellyn Reminder Assistant Editor The goals of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are preserving history, honoring excellence and connecting generations, and the revered institution has been spreading those ideals from its home in Cooperstown, N.Y., with its "Baseball As America" tour since 2002. The traveling exhibit represents only two percent of what is on display in the museum, according to Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors, but those artifacts capture some of the best moments of baseball history. "Baseball as America" will be on display in Boston's Museum of Science through Sept. 1. Boston is the tour's last stop before the artifacts return to the shrine in rural upstate New York. Much like the Hall of Fame, "Baseball as America" is set up in a chronological style, which takes visitors through some of the greatest eras of baseball. Some of the many artifacts in "Baseball As America" pertaining to baseball in Boston include: Trophy ball for a July 24, 1868 match between the Brooklyn Eckfords and the Tri-Mountain Club, Boston's first baseball club, founded in 1857 Souvenir scorecard from the final game of the first modern World Series, a 3-0 Boston victory that gave them the championship over Pittsburgh, 1903 Jersey worn by Red Sox pitcher Cy Young in 1908 when he went 21-11 his record 511 career wins and 751 complete games now seem unbreakable Glove worn by Boston's Bobby Doerr during the 1948 season, when he set a then-record 73 games and 414 chances without an error at second base Bat used by two-time MVP, six-time batting champion and two-time Triple Crown winner Ted Williams to hit his 521st home run in his final career at-bat, 1960 Silver bat awarded to 1967 AL MVP Carl Yastrzemski for his league-leading .326 average, contributing to the last Triple Crown (44 HR, 121 RBI) Patch commemorating Carlton Fisk's famous game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game Six of the 1975 World Series Batting gloves worn by Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs during 1989, his American League-record seventh consecutive season with at least 200 hits Blood-soaked sanitary sock worn by Curt Schilling after surgery allowed him to pitch a stirring six innings to win Game Two of the 2004 World Series Baseball caught by first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out of Boston's 2004 Series sweep, bringing home their first world title since 1918 Cap donned by Clay Buchholz in his second major league start, when he no-hit the Baltimore Orioles, Sept. 1, 2007 Glove worn throughout 2007 World Series by Boston's closer extraordinaire Jonathan Papelbon, who converted all three of his save opportunities. "It is fitting to finish [the tour] here in Boston because of the city's passion," Clark said during the ribbon cutting ceremony. "The story of baseball reflects the culture of American history." Baseball is not just a reflection of culture, however. It's a reflection of youth. You don't just remember the game with this exhibit, though you participate. See how fast your reaction time is to a 95 miles per hour pitch is, or see how well you can pitch from various distances with the interactive displays. Take a stroll down your special sports memory lane with "Baseball as America." "It is who we are," seminal sportswriter and broadcaster Peter Gammons said of baseball. "It ties people together. When I watch a game, I know what it is to be 12 years old again." To learn more about "Baseball as America," visit www.baseballasamerica.com or www.mos.org≤/a>.