the education of henry

Day 5: Baseball Hall of Fame and Saratoga National Battlefield

2023-09-18

This morning we didn't have to get up so early because our hotel was only a few minutes away from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown!

We parked in the Doubleday Field lot.

The field was open, so we went in to check it out.

Now that's how you decorate a pumpkin!

Some nice Pirates fans took this picture of us.

We took a lot more pictures than what I am going to share here. There were so many artifacts from baseball history - like all seven hats Nolan Ryan wore when he pitched his no-hitters, and the bat Hank Aaron used when he passed Babe Ruth for most home runs. And the plaques...we took so many pictures of the plaques...(maybe someday I will add those to this list, or even make a separate post for them). We started in the museum part of the building.

History about the "inventor" of baseball.

Learning about the early days of baseball.

Jackie Robinson's jersey!

A Walter Johnson signed ball and baseball card.

Who are those guys?

Who let the chicken in here?

A display for the 1991 World Series.

I really want one of these....

The entrance to the section on ballparks.

Me with the Philly Phanatic.

Two Henrys.

I think this is how we all feel about the Yanks.

Ted Williams's strike zone, and his average based on where the ball was thrown.

The women in baseball section.

More uniforms.

That was a taste of the museum. Then we went down to the Hall of Fame for a talk on how the selection process works, how the Hall has changed over the years, and some stories about the players. Before the talk started, the guide gave an extra little talk about the evolution of baseball bats - and we got to hold a replica Babe Ruth bat and actual bats used by Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts!

Me with the statue of Buck O'Neil.

Holdinthe Babe Ruth bat - it was very heavy - much heavier than the others.

Holding the Aaron Judge bat. The guy behind me wouldn't hold it - he's a Red Sox fan.

This is Mookie Betts's bat. It is an axe-handle style bat - and very light.

In the Hall, here are the first inductees.

A view from the balcony overlooking the Hall.

Here we are listening to the lecture.

That's me in the bottom right asking a question.

There's a whole room of stuff from baseball movies!

We've been to where this was filmed!

From the movie 42 about Jackie - go watch it right now if you haven't seen it!

"There's no crying in baseball!"

The chewed up ball from The Sandlot.

Ted Williams and The Babe.

A view of the Hall when it wasn't so crowded.

Lou Gehrig, Jackie, and Roberto Clemente.

Me with Jackie and Roberto.

One last look as we walked away. The Hall of Fame and Museum was amazing, And the guy who did the talk was fantastic - it was an excellent experience.

Back at Doubleday Field.

Since it was open, we had lunch in the stadium.

From Cooperstown, we drove to Saratoga National Historical Park. We took some windy, hilly, back roads again - and it was really fun to see the landscape and the farms and all the little towns.

If you don't remember Saratoga from history class, it was a pivotal part of the War for Independence. We handed the British Army it's first major defeat, which persuaded the French to declare war on Britain and send us money, arms, and men to fight. Without this victory and the French assistance than resulted - who knows how long the war would have gone on, and if we would have ever had a chance of winning.

At the Park.

A British cannon in the visitor's center.

Some information about the cannon.

A captured "trophy" cannon.

This nice volunteer told us about the layout of the American and British camps during the first and second battles of Saratoga.

The Park is HUGE. We drove around it and through it and Dad and I were both surprised at how big it was. Having read about the battles and seen reenactments on video, none really gave a good impression of the scale of the site. Just thinking about walking or riding a horse through the woods, and through ravines, across creeks, and across fields from one end to another...we both have a very different idea of the battles from before we came here.

We found a familiar name from back home - Kosciuszko prepared the defenses for the Americans at Saratoga.

The Neilsen House, which was the headquarters for some of the American officers at Saratoga.

The house is set up as it was when Benedict Arnold stayed here. Arnold and his men were the real heroes of Saratoga. Too bad he became a traitor, or he'd still be hero for what he did at Saratoga.

The American lines are marked with blue-topped posts, the British with red-topped posts. I am pretending to hold the line.

The monument to the unknown American soldiers who died at Saratoga.

Here's a close-up of the plaque.

A picture of the people who brought me here.

A view from Bemus Heights, where the American forces had their cannons set up.

Me with two of the cannons.

A closer shot of an American cannon.

The field where the British were camped.

A British cannon.

A close-up of some of the fancy engraving on the cannon.

Another view of the British camp site from between the two battles of Saratoga.

The Saratoga Monument, which was put up just before the Civil War to commemorate the battles of Saratoga that turned the tide of the War for Independence.

What an amazing day!

We had a short drive to Glens Falls and our hotel from the Saratoga Monument. We had some supper and then went out to get some supplies and dessert. Dad did laundry (and worked on the blog), Mom got everything set up and organized in the room, and then we had a chance to relax. Have to rest up for tomorrow's adventure!

Thanks for reading!