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KXO News Sports San Diego Padres Cooperstown – This Must Be Heaven
KXO News Sports San Diego Padres Cooperstown – This Must Be Heaven Todays is : Tuesday, 02 December 2008
| Cooperstown – This Must Be Heaven |
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| Written by Michael J. Buckley | |
| Friday, 03 August 2007 | |
 One of my favorite movie lines is from Field of Dreams when John Kinsella, looking out over the baseball field reclaimed from a cornfield asks his son Ray (Kevin Costner) “Is this heaven?” Ray answers “It’s Iowa… heaven is the place where dreams come true ”. He then looks at his family and the baseball field and says “Maybe this is heaven”. Last weekend my heaven was Cooperstown, NY when I traveled to the baseball fan’s Mecca --- Cooperstown, New York, for the 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies. A lifelong dream come true, but even more special this year with the induction of my favorite baseball player of all time – Tony Gwynn, “Mr. Padre”.  A road trip of approximately 1,324 round-trip miles from Battle Creek, Michigan, Cooperstown is a town of about 2,000 year around residents, located on the shores of Otsego Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. Old Victorian homes and narrow streets make driving in-town next to impossible. Even walking on the crowded streets was difficult. We stayed 1-½ hours away in Syracuse (the closest hotel available), but still spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday in Cooperstown. .
Our Saturday was planned for a tour of the Hall of Fame Museum, and Sunday for the Induction Ceremony. Saturday's attendance was 14,500 at the Museum, nearly 5,500 more than any day in the 68-year history of the place. The Induction Ceremony crowd was estimated at 75,000, far exceeding the previous record of 50,000 set in 1999.
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The Induction Ceremony was like Woodstock for the baseball fan, except for no mud, drugs and naked dancing. I guess you can’t have everything. 75,000 of my closest friends - my baseball peeps! Every foot in the place started tapping when John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” was played over the loudspeakers. Tony’s daughter Anisha sang the Canadian and American national anthems at the start of the ceremonies.
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We saw Willie Mays, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Al Kaline, Denny McClain, Harmon Killebrew, Tom Seaver, Rollie Fingers, Rhyne Sandberg, Billie Williams, Bobby Doehr, Dave Winfield, Brooks Robinson, Greg Nettles, Gaylord Perry, Steve Garvey, Ozzie Smith, Joe Morgan --- 53 of the 61 living Hall of Famers showed up. This was the most Hall of Fame inductees ever to attend these ceremonies --- I think a testament to their respect for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr.
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Parking WAS an issue on Induction Day (Sunday). I eventually dropped my fellow travelers off at the induction site, then drove looking for a place to park. I parked in someone’s front yard, leaving me about a 45 minute walk back to the Induction Site.
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My only real disappointment was that the ballplayers all charge for their autographs now. Rollie Fingers and Steve Garvey both snubbed my wife Diane on the street, and handing him a baseball she even politely asked “Mr. Fingers, will you please sign this?” He rudely replied “No more.”
I wore my Tony Gwynn jersey and San Diego State alumni hat. I even picked up an old mustard and brown Padre’s cap from their first years. I met someone who came with three plane loads from San Diego/Del Mar, and half of the city of Baltimore were also in attendance.
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I saw many great shirts and banners identifying “The Hall of Fame’s Classiest Class of 2007”, referencing these two classy individuals in Gwynn and Ripken.
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I’ve now been to Hell (Vietnam), and Heaven (Cooperstown)… my life is complete. Thanks to my wife Diane for encouraging me to make the trip, and my thanks to her and her Dad for indulging and accompanying me. |
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