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www.ipetitions.com/petition/savehofgame/ Editor’s Note: Kristian Connolly, CCS ‘95, developed these for the Web site www.savethefamegame.com.   Schumer Leads Charge To Preserve HoF Game 2-8-08 U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer provided the spark, and resistance to Major League Baseball’s decision to end the seven-decade-old Hall of Fame Game caught fire. "In this era of mega-million dollar payrolls and unaffordable luxury boxes, there is a unique value in playing a simple game of ball in a quaint setting like Doubleday Field," Schumer had written MLB Commissioner Bud Selig after the decision became public. "Simply put," the state’s senior senator continued, "Major League Baseball needs to be a living part of Cooperstown, not merely an enshrinement of its rich past." The latest manifestation came Wednesday, Feb. 6, when the Otsego County Board of Representatives authorized its chairman, Jim Powers, to write its own letter to Selig objecting to the decision. "The real reason – in addition to the economic impact – is the tradition. We hate to lose the tradition," said county Rep. Jim Johson, R-Otsego, who introduced the issue at the end of the board’s monthly meeting. Initially, local reaction was subdued, but numerous newspapers outside Otsego County quickly decried Selig’s decision. "It’s a hassle to get to Cooperstown. And there’s not enough money to be 1 made there," the Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, editorialized. "But it’s no hassle to send two MLB teams to play in China this year. There’s no talk of complexities or inherent challenges or suitable dates. "But there is a whiff of money to be made." Said the Auburn Citizen, "Cooperstown will take an economic hit, as the contest always sold out and brought thousands to the village." The varied responses prompted The Freeman’s Journal to create an Internet petition on www.ipetitions.com mid-afternoon Friday, Feb. 1, and by the end of the workday more than 100 people had already signed it electronically, asking Selig to change his mind. By Wednesday, Feb. 6, 253 people had signed, and 147 had left comments. "In today’s world of sporting events, where the average ‘Fan Cost Index’ has topped more than $200 to attend many major league games, the preservation of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame Game is more important to the fan base than ever," wrote Kenneth R. Deans Jr. "As Teyve said in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ Tradition. Traditions need to be observed, especially when it comes to one such as this," said Bruce P. Frassinelli of Oswego. "What is MLB thinking?" asked Dr. Sasha Matson of Cooperstown. "You would think they have been getting enough bad press recently! This misguided action is a disgrace, and an insult to history and to the game of Baseball itself. " "Now is the time to preserve the best, to shine over the present storm weathered by America’s National Pastime," commented Alex and Barbara Shields of Richfield Springs. Soon, Kristian Connolly, CCS ‘95, who has worked for the Minnesota Twins and MLB.com, launched www.savethefamegame.com, urging visitors to e-mail MLB President & COO Bob Dupuy and MLB Players Association head Don Fehr, as well as Petroskey, to save the game. Fan pressure can help change the decision, said Connolly, whose parents, Michael and Kathleen, still live within a couple of blocks of the Hall. "Commissioner Selig has always been very aware of and concerned with his own legacy as guardian of the game," said Connolly, and might very well view the Hall of Fame Game’s demise "as a true black mark on his legacy in the minds of fans and lovers of the sport. "I’m hopeful that the commissioner’s sense of what’s right as far as the best interest of baseball and its fans will ultimately be challenged and changed by the showing this campaign generates." To a merchant, baseball retailers in downtown Cooperstown agreed to keep copies of the petition by their cash registers and encourage shoppers to sign it. "It takes a great weekend away from us," said Artie Ausfeld of A&E Sports. "It’s good. It’s very good for us," Jeff Foster, Legends Are Forever owner, said of the game. The influx of cash in May after the lean months allowed merchants to pre-pay for summer inventory in cash, he said. "It’s just a terrific weekend for us," echoed Barry Renert, manager of Seventh Inning Stretch. "There’s no question about it." Jane Clark, Petroskey Should Join Schumer In Saving HoF Game 2-8-08  The press conference was called to talk about something else, but talk turned to the Hall of Fame Game. Jim Powers, chairman of the county Board of Representatives, remembered his grandfather, an immigrant from Ireland, sitting in the hot sun in the Doubleday Field stands in suit, tie and hat. It was a more formal time, but the game deserved that kind of formality. Scott Harrington, the new county rep from Oneonta, said, “It’s kind of like when the Dodgers left Brooklyn and moved to L.A.” And Sam Dubben, representative from Roseboom, ended emphatically: “If their dream is to be here, it doesn’t hurt them to play here once or twice.” • The MLB made the decision quietly. It was announced at a low-key press conference Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. Mayor Carol B. Waller and John Bullis, Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce executive director, were aboard, echoing HoF President Dale Petroskey’s call for a renewed pursuit of “opportunities” to fill Doubleday Field’s 10,000 seats. But, as the impromptu discussion among county representatives shows, there is gut resistance to the MLB’s move, in the midst of the worst tainting of professional baseball’s image since the 1994 strike. It was pointed out that, with the expansion of the leagues, players have to play 18 days in a row before getting a break. If they then MUST play at Cooperstown, they could go 37 days without a break. Even if that couldn’t be adjusted, as Tim Feury of Cooperstown points out in a letter on this page, any one team would be rotated through the Hall of Fame Game once every 15 years. • From a purely parochial standpoint, the Hall of Fame Game – growing in popularity as it has since it was removed in 2003 from Induction Weekend to May (this year, June 16) – was a significant shot in the arm for Cooperstown’s merchants, rocketing them out of the winter doldrums and spring rains into the busy summer season. This is not to discount opportunities. As mentioned last week in this space, they – Korean vs. Japanese national teams, state championships, perhaps games between recently retired Major Leaguers – should be pursued regardless. • The MLB’s cavalier treatment of Cooperstown should give pause looking ahead. With Mark McGwire’s HoF candidacy at a standstill due to steroid allegations – he needs 75 percent of the Baseball Writers to back him; he received 22 percent – it’s quite likely that, with the leading contenders being members of the “steroids generation,” there may be some years when no one wins nomination at all. Again, from a parochial standpoint, that will wreak economic havoc from Chestnut to Fair and beyond. Instead of dissing Cooperstown as they have been, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the other headliners need to wash themselves clean of steroids. Their careers to date may preclude their entry into the Hall, but if they could lead a charge that indeed drives steroids, HGH and other chemical forms of cheating from the game, this “second career” might win them entry for actions off the field in the service of the sport and society at large. In short, Cooperstown is part of the larger solution. MLB should reverse itself. HoF Chairman Jane Forbes Clark and Petroskey should sign the petition. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer did. The three would be an unstoppable combination, not just in erasing this setback to Cooperstown, but in reviving the National Pastime’s image and influence in the years ahead. Letters to the Editor
2-8-08  $7 Beers, $4 Hot Dogs, $100 Seats To the Editor: Some weeks ago The Freeman’s Journal carried a story containing comments by some of the Baseball Writers of America and some major newspaper columnists regarding the Mitchell steroid-use report. Missing in that piece was the saddest comment of all. Shaun Powell of Long Island’s Newsday said, “At least now we can say farewell to the romantic and ridiculous notion of professional baseball as the sweet American pastime played by noble and heroic men.” Now the institution of the much loved and anticipated Hall of Fame Game is to be no more. The pure and simple greed of the leagues in not wanting to interrupt the flow of $7 beers and $4 hot dogs to be gulped in $100 seats while they dole out multi-million dollar contracts to so many over-hyped players who see only dollar signs instead of faces in the stadium stands is almost unbelievable. If all that baseball is and has been is now going to be reduced to nothing more than commercial-laden home-run contests on television and Broadway show prices at the ball park, I for one will find it very difficult to bring my grandsons to the HoF and sit through the Baseball Experience media show. What a joke! BOB O’CON Cooperstown Is Once in 15 Years To Much To Ask? To the Editor: I do not believe that scheduling is the reason for ending the Hall of Fame Games. There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball. Each team could come to Cooperstown once every 15 years. Most Sundays at least two teams enter or leave New York City. Stopping in Cooperstown on Monday once every 15 years would not be difficult. Can the Hall of Fame say that 2008 would be the last year new members would be enshrined? TIM FEURY Cooperstown If Profits Are What MLB Wants, Then Give, Share In MLB Profits To the Editor: Clearly, all parties would agree that a stable or increased fan base is beneficial to all of baseball. One of the unstated abstract notions in discontinuing the annual Hall of Fame Game is that it simply was not worth the increasingly difficult effort to make it happen. The answer is pretty straightforward – put it on television so it becomes a widely publicized and viewed event, with all the accompanying media ads. Let all the parties that have a stake in it – the media company channel that shows it, baseball, Cooperstown, the Hall of Fame and anyone else I have left out – devise an equitable profit structure for the event (that has been done over and over for other venues the media televises). Making it a sports media event will then become another component that bolsters interest in baseball and makes the Hall of Fame game once again worth the endeavor. If the reaction to this suggestion is that it is too complex to orchestrate, the response to that reaction should be, “Work it out.” JOHN KOSMER Fly Creek Mr. Selig, Please Save The Hall of Fame Game 2-8-08  Editor’s Note: Here are excerpts from the comments of people who signed the petition on www.ipetitions.com/petition/savehofgame/ urging MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to reverse his decision to abolish the Hall of Fame Game, a tradition since the HoF’s establishment in 1939. William J. Baskin: "This is part of Cooperstown history! Please keep the Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown!!!" Steve Bieritz: "The decision to cancel this long-time favorite game amongst fans is a mistake. Please reconsider for all concerned." Shane Newell: "When MLB begins to forget the traditions of baseball, the fans will forget MLB. Save Baseball Hall of Fame Game!" Chris Demlin: "A number of years ago, the Hall of Fame Game was on the same day, as the baseball induction ceremonies. I wish someone could put the word out, and maybe we could have the game on the same day again as the ceremonies. It would bring more people to both events on the same day. I am a local business owner and having the Hall of Fame Game on the same day did very well for my business." Jason Bernhardt: "Please don’t take away the annual Hall of Fame in Cooperstown!!!" Sue Burke: "Please save the Hall of Fame Game." Bruce P. Frassinelli: "As Teyve said in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ Tradition. Traditions need to be observed, especially when it comes to one such as this." Drew Rossman: "It is simply a shame that this tradition cannot be continued. It is a scheduling problem? Well it should be worked out and those who participate should be HONORED to ALTER their SCHEDULES." Hugh MacDougall: "As the official historian of the Village of Cooperstown, I hope that this game can be saved – it has become an important part of Cooperstown tradition." Psalm Wyckoff: "Just another example of how MLB doesn’t care about the fans." David Perazone: "Definitely save the game! Not just a tradition but an institution. Got to save the game!" Sally A. Barlow: "The Hall of Fame is a tradition in Upstate New York. Please reconsider your decision to cancel the game and reinstate the game. It means so much to the fans." Tara Barnwell: "Commissioner Selig, this event means tremendous revenue to our community in all aspects – not only is it in the typical "shoulder season," our local businesses benefit in a time that typically is slow tourist wise. BRING THE GAME BACK PLEASE!!! We need it and would appreciate your consideration." Evan Jagels: "In light of the controversy surrounding MLB, the league should, more than ever, rest heavily on its tradition. A native of Cooperstown, I would view the cancellation of this event as just one more step away from its humble roots as the nation’s pastime. Commissioner Selig, is it your honest intention to elevate the game even further out of grasp of the common American? Yours, Evan Jagels Cooperstown, NY” PIERRE WEIDEMANN: “This is a time-honored tradition that remembers the fans and gives thanks to the Hall of Fame....” KENNETH R. DEANS JR.: “I was very saddened to learn earlier this week that this year’s annual Baseball Hall of Fame game, held in Cooperstown, NY, will be the last. This is a time-honored tradition that sports fans from around the nation and globe look forward to. In today’s world of sporting events where the average ‘Fan Cost Index’ has topped more than $200 to attend many major league games, the preservation of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame game is more important to the fan base than ever. Where else can a family experience a MLB game offering seats close enough to actually see the players and the game, see the game being played on the historic Double Day field, purchase in stadium lost cost concessions where proceeds go to support local educational activities, and enjoy a pre and post game opportunity to take a tranquil three minute stroll through quaint Cooperstown to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum? There is nowhere else! This is a family event designed around the history of what makes baseball so great. It’s important that future generations of children and their families continue to have the opportunity to create what is for many a ‘once in a lifetime memory’ enabled by this long-established occasion. I respectfully urge and request that this decision be reconsidered in an effort to continue preserving history, honoring excellence, and connecting generations.” STEVEN ARIETTA: “Please save the Hall of Fame Game!” WILLIAM DORNBURGH: “I was in Cooperstown for the first game in 1939. It is a baseball tradition that must be continued.” JOHN O’MALLEY: “I’m not even much of a baseball fan, but I appreciate the history and tradition of this game. Please keep this tradition in place” STEVE STEGMAN: “Why?” MELISSA MAHLER: “This game should not be cancelled as it is a valuable part of the history of baseball and a chance to recognize those that have come before.” DOUGLAS G. GEERTGENS: “I understand the logistics of scheduling but I really don’t understand that with the expanded schedule that there are not two teams that could find one day during the summer to promote baseball and play the annual HOF game. The players who are making far more in salary that the people who attend the game say they don’t want to play on their ‘day off.’ There are many here in Cooperstown who would normally have that ‘day off’ but who volunteer so that others may have an enjoyable and memorable experience. For some young people in our area, it might be the only time they ever get to see a major league ball game. I can’t believe that asking highly paid players to give a part of one day back to the fans for the good of baseball is asking too much.” RICK WORDEN: “Don’t mess with history.” LINDA LOOMIS: “Traditions matter. Please help save this one.” BRUCE HOROWITZ: “Tradition is important to baseball. This game has tradition written all over it. Please save the game.” JACKIE KOHN: “Many of my guests enjoyed the game and it is a shame to think it may not happen.” PATRICIA CRISAFULLI: “Save the tradition and save the game! No matter what divides us in this great country of ours, traditions such as baseball remind us what we have in common.” PATSY SMITH: “I know it’s because the field is so small and fans not from major cities... so what??? You all make enough money without this game... just help keep the wonderful traditions of baseball alive and make children and fans happy. We don’t need to lose one more tradition of old in this country, do we?” RICHARD POST: “This has been a yearly event that has a long history. It has benefited the village of Cooperstown and local baseball fans. This event should not be allowed to end.” DEB BRIDGER: “SAVE THE GAME, it is a part of Cooperstown’s history.” DAN ALLISON: “Summers in Cooperstown just wouldn’t be the same without the HOF game.” VINCENT NEWELL: “Save the GAME!” JEFF KATZ: “It is a sad passing of a much-loved event. It would mean a great deal to our High School students, our businesses and our entire community if this decision could be changed.” DR. SASHA MATSON: “What is MLB thinking? You would think they have been getting enough bad press recently! This misguided action is a disgrace, and an insult to history and to the game of Baseball itself. Why should anyone be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame when they can’t even be bothered to come to Cooperstown once in their lives? Are the players really that lazy? Are the owners really that short-sighted and cheap? The whole thing stinks.” RICHARD SYNDER: “For economic reasons and for traditional reasons this game needs to be saved. New York State’s tourism office needs to take the lead in keeping this game here in Central New York.” LAURA KILTY: “Perhaps it could be played after the World Series as global warming comes to Cooperstown and warms up November in upstate NY!! We could have the World Series winning team play the previous winning team or something of that sort.” HENRY S. F. COOPER, JR.: “FYI, the Hall of Fame Game used to be held the same weekend as the induction ceremonies, which gave the game an added purpose. Several years ago, the game was shoved forward to May or June, because it was easier to schedule then. If the game coincided with the induction once again, that might make the future of the game more secure. Possibly the induction could slide forward to the earlier date?” JEANNINE BOHL: “Hello, Please save the Hall of Fame game. It brings baseball back to its roots – small town America.” JOHN KEVLIN: “KEEP THE GAME!” JOHN GURDO: “You are crazy to take away a summer classic where players get to give something back to the fans. You can kiss goodbye this fan if the HOF game gets the deep six. Enough of all the damn money and the game of baseball.” ALEXANDER & BARBARA SHIELDS: “Now is the time to preserve the best to shine over the present storm weathered by America’s National Past Time. Commissioner please reward the fans and the ‘Hall’ for it’s faithfulness to the true spirit by letting the Game play on thru your – we will do better leadership.” U.S. SEN. CHARLES E. SCHUMER: “ Since 1940, baseball lovers from across the globe have descended upon Cooperstown, New York, the cradle of our national past time, to hear the magical words ‘Play Ball!’ ring out. In this era of multi-million dollar payrolls and unaffordable luxury boxes, there is unique value in playing a simple game of ball in a quaint setting like Doubleday Field. Simply put, Major League Baseball needs to be a living part of Cooperstown, not merely an enshrinement of its rich past.” BRIAN SCULLY: “It’s a shame when MLB thinks more of TV revenue than it’s own history!!!!!!! They can’t cut one regular season game to save a game that has been played for 69 years? How very sad!” WAYNE CARRINGTON: “In light of current events hanging over MLB one would think that now more than ever Commissioner Selig would leverage baseball’s best traditions as the truest expression of our national pastimes future...” BILL MIRRO: “Just the thought of cancelling this annual game is a disgrace to Baseball America. It’s Baseball, Mom’s apple pie, and the Hall Of Fame Game!!! Where is the problem here? Another thorn in the side of who will likely go down in history as the Worst Commissioner in the proud history of this game.” CARL B. GOOD: “With the steroids problem, baseball does not need any more bad publicity.” EDWIN J. WEEKS JR.: “What a shame to stop it. I used to go up as boy growing up to chase down a couple of (foul or home runs). Then hitch hiked four miles back to Phoenix Mills – to milk cows. Keep it going for the kids.” TONY DAOU: “There is no reason why the game can’t and shouldn’t continue.” MICHAEL LEO: “SAVE THE GAME” JAMES BURNES: “If MLB can schedule the Red Sox to open the season in Japan, and the Padres to play an exhibition game in China, surely they can figure out how to schedule a game in Cooperstown, NY.” KAREN ANDERSON: “Commissioner Selig, it’s not just a game. It’s not just a tradition. And it’s not just about baseball. It’s an important part of the local economy. As a small business owner, I urge you to reconsider your decision. This is a depressed rural area and we depend a lot on the tourist industry. Of course, it IS also about baseball and tradition.” MATT SISSMAN: “Yet another kick to the teeth from baseball’s governing elders to the loyal paying customers. An All-Star game that was declared a tie, looking the other way for a protracted period as many of the game’s top stars were juicing to gain an unfair advantage in the 90’s and 00’s, and now this. Yep, we’ll all just keep paying escalating ticket and concession prices with never any limit. Get real. Bring back the Hall of Fame game, Bud, and while you’re at it, reinstate the double header too.” WILLIAM DOHENY: “ Why end this after so many years? Don’t fix what’s not broken.” GRACE KULL: “I am a 50 year resident of Cooperstown and look forward each year to the Hall of Fame Game. My three children grew up with this tradition, as have so many others. It will forever change Cooperstown if this game is discontinued. Please reconsider.” JOHN S. BOWER: “I was born and raised in Cooperstown, and am a baseball fan. I encourage MLB to reconsider their unilateral decision and save the Baseball HOF Game!!!” JOSEPH L. MACALUSO: “I don’t think MLB can afford to abandon a tradition such as this -- not with what’s been going on of late.” ALEX THOMAS: “Is baseball really just about money and Bud Selig’s addiction to it? I gotta find an American Legion softball team to support.” GARY FOSTER: “Maybe the commissioner should ask the players if they want to be part of the game or shut down Cooperstown’s traditions along with the Hall of Fame so they will be forgotten as we have! Please rethink this” CINDY PERYEA: “We all understand the difficulties of coordinating teams but look at the big picture. The fans, the workers that benefit.” NANCY EGERTON: “Shameful – once again the fans lose out.” ANNETTE GURDO: “Please save the Hall of Fame Game!!! These games are so important to the Tradition of Baseball and of Cooperstown. It would be a real shame to curtail this wonderful annual event. Especially after so many years.” THOMAS ADAMS: “It would be nice to maintain the tradition in baseball... except for the illegal drug use.” SHELDON J. SEGAL: “Let’s get beyond the steroids and 30 million dollar contracts and preserve some of the traditional aspects of our great game./This is no time to jettison a 70 year tradition just because it doesn’t make any money or because today’s millionaire players need to get paid handsomely for everything they do” DONNA C. VEEDER: “Yes! Save the Hall of Fame Game! It is one of the lifelines of Cooperstown. People come from all over the globe to see it. I used to go there to draw on the sidewalk when it was on. I’m too old for that now but would hate to see the tradition end. It is the little people who make your game possible. Do this for them! HENRY J. NICOLS: “There is no reason why the game can’t and shouldn’t continue. Save the Hall of Fame Game!” DR. NORMA HUTMAN: “What a disgrace it would be to move the game from Cooperstown or to discontinue it. You should be ashamed of yourself!” AL MAIKELS: “ I think it may be time for Congress to look at baseball’s anit-trust exemption. I think Senator Schumer would do well to represent his constituents on this matter.” KYLE ANDREWS: “Please play the annual Hall of Fame baseball game in C’town!” RICHARD SIEBEKING: “ LET’S NOT LOSE ANOTHER TRADITION.” ALMA CURTIS: “Save the Hall of Fame Game!” DAVE LaDUKE: “My Dad was one of the umpires for the 1939 HOF game... one of the things he talked about most before his death this past Dec. 19...” 2-8-08  Editor’s Note: Kristian Connolly, CCS ‘95, developed these for the Web site www.savethefamegame.com. 1 The Bigger Picture: The Hall of Fame Game has survived a world war, player strikes, steroids and more for almost 70 years in order to help maintain what is right and true about our national game. Bud Selig has always been fond of noting all of the many accomplishments he has achieved during his tenure as commissioner. One very black mark on his legacy will be the death of the Hall of Fame Game. It doesn’t need TV ratings, ad revenue or 24-7 news-cycle hype to survive. It only needs 10,000 baseball fans – young and old – and two Major League teams for one day a year to remind us baseball is a glorious game, and an undeniable part of American culture and identity. 2. This is What We Mean: Read an email (linked) from one concerned fan and parent. 3. The History: Since 1940, 124 Major League teams have played in Cooperstown, there are amazing stories about future Hall of Famers, rookie debuts, called shots, unique moments and more, and none of it would have happened if not for the Hall of Fame Game. 4. The Local Economy: The village receives about $30,000 from ticket sales for the Hall of Fame Game, which also provides local stores with their second-most-profitable weekend. 5. The Kids: Cooperstown High School students could lose $9,000 to $11,000 earned by running the concessions. 6. The People of Cooperstown and Central New York: Don’t allow Major League Baseball to flex its corporate muscle and kill a good thing without even discussing it with the folks that it will affect the most. 7. The Connection: When Yankee Stadium closes, Doubleday Field, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park will be the only ballparks left where today’s players compete on the same turf as the game’s icons. 8. The Icons: Here’s just a partial list of those who played in Doubleday: Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente, Joe Dimaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Harmon Killebrew, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Cal Ripken Jr., Robin Roberts, Brooks Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Ozzie Smith, Duke Snider, Willie Stargell, Lloyd Waner, Paul Waner, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, Carl Yastrzemski, Robin Yount. 9. The Home Run Derby: The left field line is 296 feet, the right field line is 312 feet, and the gaps are anywhere from 336 to 350 feet. If you’ve never been to the Hall of Fame Game’s Home Run Derby and seen the houses of Cooperstown getting bombed by big league blasts, then you’ve been missing out. 10. It’s Not About the Schedule: MLB can schedule games in Japan, China, Mexico, Memphis, Orlando and Puerto Rico, so isn’t it likely that they could find a way to hold a game in Cooperstown? 11. Don’t Let Greed Win Out: MLB has had unprecedented growth and popularity in recent years, and every decision is made with an eye focused squarely on the financial gain of such a decision. 12. The Stories: During the 1961 game, Brooks Robinson, the Orioles third baseman, learned that he was a father for the first time; the first time the son visited was at Brooks’ induction. 13. 1941: In just the second year of the game, National League president Ford C. Frick ordered the game to go on in driving rain, so fans would not be disappointed. 14. 1943: Because of the strain that World War II was putting on the nation’s gasoline reserves, the Brooklyn Dodgers rode into Cooperstown on horseback. How difficult must that have been on scheduling? 15. The Ticket Line: Before the internet, people would line up for blocks and camp out in order to get tickets to the one-time-a-year event. 16. The $10-12 Seats: Where else in America can close to 10,000 people sit and watch a game from seats that are practically on the field and only cost $10-12? 17. The Batboys and Ballgirls: Every Cooperstown Central School senior baseball and softball player looks forward to the chance to interact with the big leaguers for just one day. 18. It’s Simple: You love the game of baseball, and you respect its place in American history and culture. As MLB Halts 7-Decade Run 2-1-08 Johnny Damon, fresh off the Boston Red Sox’ 2004 World Series miracle, came to Cooperstown the following May 23 for a memorable Hall of Fame Game against the Detroit Tigers. Who won? Who cares. Damon played a couple of innings before worshipful fans. He coached third base for a while. Then he took off his shirt and threw it to a young fan in the Doubleday Field stands. He ended up at Cooley’s for a couple of brewskis. Savor those memories. Because there will be no more. After this summer’s Hall of Fame Game – Monday, June 16, between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres – there will be no more. The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum announced Tuesday, Jan. 29, that Major League Baseball has decided to do what it’s wanted to do for years: Scratch Cooperstown off its exhibition-game schedule. While the news was a shock to many, HoF President Dale Petroskey as well as others who follow MLB machinations said they had seen it coming for years. And with the loss of the last MLB in-season exhibition game, there’s nothing to do but cope. “There are a lot of opportunities we haven’t taken advantage of in the past,” Petroskey said in a Tuesday, Jan. 29, press briefing at 25 Main St. “We’re going to look into a lot of them now.” For instance, he said, the HoF is seeking to schedule a Doubleday Field game between the Japanese and South Korean national teams. And why shouldn’t the state high-school baseball championships be played here? Or games between top college teams? The International League will be celebrating its 125th anniversary Sunday, May 18, at Doubleday, when the Syracuse Chiefs will vie against the Rochester Red Wings. That the MLB kept the Hall of Fame Game going as long as they did “shows they recognize us as an important part of their heritage,” said Petroskey. As the Major Leagues expanded, pro teams have fewer and fewer days off during the season, going 18 days without a break. Fitting in Cooperstown got tougher and tougher, as indicated when the game was broken away from Induction Weekend festivities in 2003 to provide more scheduling flexibility. “Evolution means new traditions,” said Petroskey, putting the best face on it. “With challenges come opportunities. Things evolve.” Hall of Fame officials had conferred with Village Hall and the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce before the news became public, and Petroskey’s sentiment was echoed in those venues as well. “It’s certainly disappointing news,” said Mark Kingsley, Inn at Cooperstown proprietor and Chamber of Commerce president, who remembered the “huge bump” the Red Sox gave the May lodging business in 2005. “But it does present some opportunities.” “Hey, it’s a disappointment,” said Chamber executive director John Bullis, “but what are you going to do? Major League baseball did all of us a great service by coming here for so many years. It’s a great opportunity to find new and different ways to celebrate baseball. We’ve already begun to sit at the table with the Hall of Fame and the Village of Cooperstown to discuss the potential.” Even Jane Forbes Clark, HoF chairman of the board, was quoted using the term “creative and innovative” in the official press release. “We’re just going to have to go forward from here,” said Mayor Carol B. Waller, “to find other things to do at Doubleday Field. I think we have to be thankful for the years we had it.” The first mention that professional ballplayers might play here – according to Tom Heitz, Otsego town historian, who researched the question while in the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies – dates back to 1916 and the dedication of the Delaware & Hudson passenger station, that stone building set back in the trees northeast of Bruce Hall Hardware. “Major League teams will one day come to Cooperstown, presumably by train, to play games in tribute to baseball’s pastoral birthplace,” John K. Tener, National League president, declaimed from the podium, according to an account in The Freeman’s Journal. A stadium would be needed, of course, and Tener was shown the site of the future Doubleday Field, where the nationally beloved ballpark was completed in 1920. In 1939, a National League vs. American League All-Star Game was played in Cooperstown as part of the dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The following year, a National League team and an American League team played during Induction Weekend, beginning a tradition that expires with this year’s game, the 70th. Beyond merchants’ concerns – last May’s Hall of Fame Game parade, held on a temperate and sunny day, packed the streets with families (i.e., customers) from around Central New York and beyond – it was pointed out that Cooperstown High School students depend on revenues from Induction Weekend and HoF Game Weekend to finance their two senior trips, a day in New York and three days in Washington, D.C. Hot-dog and soft-drink sales on Game Weekend alone raise between $6,000 and $12,000, according to High School Principal Gary Kuch, although Induction Weekend can generate eight or nine times that. Petroskey, whose three children – Clare, the youngest, will be graduating from CCS this June – have participated in those activities, was keenly aware of the potential impact, and said talks had already begun with the schools on how to minimize the effects.. Trustee Jeff Katz, chairman of the trustees’ Doubleday Field Committee and a baseball fan and published author, echoed the theme of sadness. “I think it’s tragic,” he said.  Editorial ‘Opportunities’ Just Won’t Happen. Goal, Plan, Action Needed 2-1-08 Major League Baseball’s unilateral decision to end the annual Hall of Fame Game, a tradition going back to Year One – 1939 – is yet another example of how Cooperstown has allowed its “mecca status” to put it at the mercy of the National Pastime’s bunts and lightning bolts. Nobody asked Cooperstown, the historic enclave of 2,000 souls, whether Dreams Park should locate a half-dozen miles down Route 28, bringing in 55,000 people a summer, distorting the housing market, offering only minimum-wage jobs, snarling traffic, polluting the Susquehanna... the list goes on. Nobody asked Cooperstown if the recently intact downtown – with hardware stores, a newsstand, a market and other amenities of village life – should be replaced with a virtual mall of baseball brick-a-brack. As nobody asked before injecting the negatives, no one asks before extracting the positives, which the Hall of Fame Game has been to many, many locals. And it’s been a second boon to downtown businesses since it was broken off from induction weekend five years ago. We can’t expect the tail – tiny Cooperstown, however large it may loom in the national imagination – will wag the dog – the $4 billion MLB. But we villagers need to take a clear-eyed view of our relationship to baseball, and how we might interact with it, not hit and miss, but consistently and assuredly for the greater good of our locality and its quality of life. • The Hall of Fame, Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce and Village Hall had their talking points down: The demise of the Hall of Fame Game creates “opportunities” to do something new. The local tourism industry that many of us depend on certainly would benefit from significant, yet smaller-scale, activity at Doubleday Field from, say, April into October: the state high-school baseball championships, key minor league games and anniversaries, and international competitions. But it isn’t just going to happen. Right now, the management of Doubleday Field is the part-time version of a Mom-and-Pop – or rather, Pop-and-Pop – operation, directed by a committee of the Village Board that meets once a month. It’s made up of considerable individuals – Trustees Jeff Katz, Paul Kuhn and Eric Hage, ex-mayor and former HoF director Howard Talbot, HoF President Dale Petroskey and groundskeeper Joe Harris – but the occasional attention of volunteers, however able, just isn’t going to do it. Two summers ago, there were two concerts – Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. Last summer, none. Next summer, who knows? Rental rates were hiked from $400 to $1,000, then cut back. Billboards were explored, then set aside. There are occasional outstanding duels that generate considerable interest, but again, hit and miss. In this milieu, we can talk about “opportunities” – Doubleday Field is a huge national landmark, for sure – but are we equipped to take advantage of them? It was Einstein who said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The genius had it right. The Hall of Fame Game was real. “Opportunities” are not. They are not going to be realized without a plan, funding, probably a staff, a parcelling out of responsibilities, and accountability. Does a Doubleday Field Development Authority make any sense? • Mayor Carol B. Waller’s planning commission, delayed for a month while the roster is developed, is an important first step. If this commission can help us decide, as a community, what we want, then craft a plan to get us there, we could expect no more. There are “opportunities” in the Hall of Fame Game’s disappearance, for sure, but wishing won’t make it so. What’s needed is a vision and the wherewithal – money and expertise, dedicated professional expertise – to get us there. If recent past is prelude, there’s no guarantee the future will be rosy. The future can be different, but only if we think through today where we want to be tomorrow. 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