MLB taking artifacts on the road in first-ever Hall of Fame tour
Major League Baseball used two iconic symbols of America’s pastime Thursday to introduce an unprecedented effort with the National Baseball Hall of Fame to share the game’s rich history with its fans.
Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully narrated a video reading lines from “Field of Dreams” and commissioner Rob Manfred visited the house where much of the movie was made to announce a multiyear effort to bring Hall of Fame artifacts to hundreds of cities around the country.
Not everyone can travel to Cooperstown, N.Y., to visit the complete museum and see all of its offerings, but baseball fanatics at least will be able to experience some of its history and artifacts, which are leaving the museum for the first time ever in the “We Are Baseball” tour.
[Elsewhere: Is Wade Boggs throwing shade at Red Sox with Yankees ring?]
The first-of-its kind traveling exhibit will visit six cities by the end of the World Series this season starting in Davenport, Iowa, July 3-10. The exhibit will include artifacts used in some of the most memorable and recognizable moments in the history of the game, including the bat used by Bobby Thomson when he hit a walk-off home run in the 1951 regular season playoff and the glove worn by Willie Mays when he made the famous catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
The exhibit will also travel to Milwaukee (July 15-31), Kansas City (Aug. 5-21), St. Louis (Aug. 26-Sept. 1), Minneapolis (Sept. 16-29) and Las Vegas (Oct. 7-23) before the end of the season. It will make stops in hundreds of other cities in the coming years.
Fans will be able to take in a new IMAX movie about the past, present and future of baseball as well as a variety of experiences using modern technology to experience the exhibit such as virtual reality and inserting yourself in some of baseball’s famous moments for a “History Selfie.”
[Elsewhere: Derek Jeter wants to own a team and help baseball grow]
The Hall of Fame has been around for decades and its somewhat surprising it has never taken artifcats on the road to share with fans in this fashion. It’s a great idea and better late than never.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports
Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed
– – – – – – –
Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
