A walk among the gods.(Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY)(Brief Article)

Last week we had an off-day in New York. Instead of going to a show or to see David Letterman, I went to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. We made the four-hour drive Sunday and spent the night in a bed and breakfast.

I hadn't been there since 1989, my first year in pro ball. Rick Wise was my pitching coach that year, and he took us there. He is a lifetime member because he has something in there--he is the only person to throw a no-hitter and hit two homers in one game. He did it with the Phillies.

The new president of the Hall was born for the job. Dale Petroskey was born in Detroit and founded the Mayo Smith Society, a Tigers fan club. He worked as an assistant press secretary for President Reagan and was vice president of the National Geographic Society before he took over at the Hall. He rolls out the red carpet when players visit the Hall. He had his assistant give us a behind-the-scenes tour. We had to put on special white gloves. They took us down to the basement, where thousands of things are archived--and not lame things like somebody's high school jersey. I got to hold Babe Ruth's shoes, for crying out loud.

There were Cy Young Awards given to the Hall by Sandy Koufax; there were MVP trophies and World Series trophies just lying around. I held Roger Maris' jersey from 1961, Ted Williams' jersey from the year he hit .406, Mike Schmidt's jersey, Al Kaline's shoes and the first catcher's mask..

When we got to the main part of the museum, I was floored. They have everything, from Big Mac to the short dude who played one day in the big leagues for the St. Louis Browns. Babe Ruth has his own area, and so does Hank Aaron.

The part that was the most moving was the tribute to the Negro Leagues. The Hall consulted Mrs. Jackie Robinson on this section. The Hall had discussed having patrons ...