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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Baseball Hall of Fame Visit October 2014

It's been awhile.

I know it's been some time from the last time that I posted... almost six months.  Yikes.  If you are an avid follower, I apologize.  Where have I been?  Well, I'll explain that more below.

My boyfriend and I in front of Baseball Hall of Fame
Right now, I want to share my experience at the National Baseball Hall of Fame from this weekend.  If you have not had a chance to get to the Hall of Fame and museum, you need to get there.  Seriously, it has something for every baseball fan, whether an avid fan or a novice.

Baseball Experience at Hall of Fame
Baseball Experience Room

We started our experience with a short, 15 minute or so movie in the "Baseball Experience" room.  It started with the presenter asking the crowd who we are all rooting for to win the World Series.  The crowd was pretty much split in thirds between the Orioles, Royals, and Cardinals.  When the presenter asked about the Giants, you could almost hear crickets through the silence.  The short movie showed the history of baseball (very quickly) and some highlights throughout the years.

Ted Williams, .406, highest average, baseball stats, hall of fame
Ted Williams .406
2 Grand Slams, Bill Mueller, opposite sides of the plate
Bill Mueller, 2 Grand Slams in One Game Opposite Sides of the Plate
Jason Varitek most no-hitters caught by a catcher, Kevin Youkilis most consecutive errorless games at first base, hall of fame
Jason Varitek, most no-hitters caught; Kevin Youkilis- most consecutive errorless games by a first baseman

The photos above are the records held by former Red Sox players.  As you can see from the photos, the Red Sox are well represented in the Hall of Fame.  Whether it's Ted Williams and his .406 average, Bill Mueller hitting two Grand Slams in a game on opposite sides of the plate, Jason Varitek catching a record 4 no-hitters, or Kevin Youkilis setting the record playing 238 errorless games at first base.  

2013 World Series Ring, Red Sox World Series Champions
2013 World Series Ring
2013 World Series, Memorabilia, Red Sox
2013 Red Sox Memorabilia
Johnny Gomes, 2013 World Series Champions, Boston Strong
Johnny Gomes, Boston Strong
2013 Red Sox World Series Roster
2013 Red Sox World Series Champions
2013 Red Sox World Series Memorabilia
2013 Red Sox World Series Memorabilia
We were lucky to get the the Hall of Fame before the 2013 Red Sox World Series exhibit was going to be history.  Last year was such a special year for the Red Sox- worst to first.  Of course, they now have gone from worst to first to worst again, but maybe we'll continue the trend next season.

Barnstormers, Bustin Babes, Laurapin Lous, 1927 Barnstorming
Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth, 1927 Barnstorming Tour
1927 Barnstorming Tour Des Moines, Bustin Babes, Laurapin Lous
Photo from LegendaryAuctions.com
The first photo above is from the Hall of Fame and shows Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth during the 1927 Barnstorming tour.  This photo was taken in Fresno.  This photograph meant a lot to me because my great-grandfather, Al Van Camp, played on the Bustin' Babes barnstorming team during that year.  The second photo above is a photograph of the barnstorming teams in Des Moines, Iowa.  My great-grandfather is just to the left of Babe Ruth.

Ted Williams Batting Average, differences in batting position
Display of how Ted Williams believed he batted
Ted Williams Bat and ball, Hall of Fame
Ted Williams Bat
Ted Williams Memorabilia, Ted Williams cleats, Ted Williams glove, Ted Williams hat
Ted Williams Memorabilia 
Red Sox Locker Hall of Fame
Display of Red Sox locker at Hall of Fame

Above are some of the Red Sox memorabilia throughout the Hall of Fame museum.  There was tons of Ted Williams displays, rightly so.  The above photograph shows the "Red Sox" locker in the room displaying a locker for every team.  Inside the locker are Curt Schilling's shoes from the "Bloody Sock Game," Koji Uehara's glove, Jason Varitek's captains jersey, and a 100 Years of Fenway Guitar.
Greg Maddux Hall of Fame Display
Greg Maddux

Frank Thomas Hall of Fame Display
Frank Thomas
Tom Glavine Hall of Fame Display
Tom Glavine
Tony LaRussa Hall of Fame DIsplay
Tony LaRussa
Bobby Cox Hall of Fame Display
Bobby Cox
Joe Torre Hall of Fame Display
Joe Torre
Above are the displays for the 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees: Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Joe Torre.  I linked up each person's Baseball-Reference page for your reference.

Cooperstown
The Hall of Fame
Carl Yastrzemski Hall of Fame
Carl Yastrzemski

Carlton Fisk Hall of Fame
Carlton Fisk

Dennis Eckersley Hall of Fame, Wade Boggs Hall of Fame
Dennis Eckersley and Wade Boggs

Jim Rice Hall of Fame
Jim Rice

Ted Williams Hall of Fame
Ted Williams
Joe Cronin Hall of Fame
Joe Cronin

Jimmie Foxx Hall of Fame, Jimmy Foxx Hall of Fame
Jimmie Foxx
Tris Speaker




The above photographs are at the plaques of former Red Sox players who have made it into the Hall of Fame.  I included Dennis Eckersley in this, even though he went in as an Athletics, for the reason that I believe his stats are pretty 50/50 between the two teams.  Who will be the next Red Sox player inducted?  My bet is on Pedro Martinez.  (I apologize for the weird spacing above; the website won't let me delete the space.)

Now... where have I been the past six months?  My former job made me pretty exhausted.  I would leave for work between 7:00-7:30 and not return home until about 5:30-6:00.  My job exhausted me to the point that I was falling asleep on the couch before 9:00 most nights.  I had no energy to do anything besides work really.  This past summer, my boyfriend and I moved from Connecticut to Western Massachusetts.  After the move, I quit my job and am currently looking for something local.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a career change, but that's a scare step for me.  

I know these are not excuses to not continue to write, as I really do love writing.  Let's just forget this past season happened- the Red Sox season and me not writing.  Fresh start for all involved.