National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Address:	25 Main St, Cooperstown, NY 13326, USA
Phone:	+1 888-425-5633
Site:	baseballhall.org
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Ryan Fisk

Whether youre a fan of the sport or not, this place is a MECCA for everything baseball and an absolute must-see if youre anywhere near Cooperstown, NY! We visited Friday afternoon (pro tip: if you enter/pay after 3pm, theyll stamp you for a free return visit the next day!) and followed their recommendation of starting our tour on the second floor. There, we took in a 13-minute video, perused baseballs beginnings, and enjoyed interactive exhibits highlighting Latinos, African Americans, and women in baseball. We capped off our day with a peek in the "locker room," comprised of every teams home and away jerseys, some memorabilia, important moments "this year" (2014 for us), and a short overview of each team. On the second day of our visit, we jumped right up to the third floor (my favorite) and took in the evolution of ballparks/technology, marketing, souvenirs, a special Hank Aaron exhibit, a post season room, and an area loaded with just about all the stats you could imagine, along with the stories behind them. Of course, no visit would be complete without a trip through the first floors hall of fame - what the museum is actually famous for in the first place! While Im not a huge history buff, this room, with its marble columns, oak walls, and etched plaques evokes a sense of class in the room, and immortality for all the inductees...certainly a sight to behold. The best part about the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum though, is that they must have over 200,000 artifacts, but each and every one of them - from the obligatory signed baseballs, to the 100-year old stadium seats, to the game-used batting gloves, to the pinwheel from Comisky Parks exploding scoreboard - has a well-written back story explaining its significance and framing it such a way that die-hards, casual fans, and curious tourists can all enjoy, understand, and appreciate. Americas favorite pastime is spectacular, and no one else does a better job at sharing it than the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.

Brian Caruso

The drive on Hwy. 28 from I-90 into Cooperstown is scenic as you pass through quaint villages built on the shore of Lake Otsego. Located on Main St., the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museums façade is smaller than it appears on the Internet. The original wing built in 1938 has been expanded 3 times to comprise the present structure. You begin the tour on the second floor in the Cooperstown room which depicts the chronological expansion of the building and displays the notable Doubleday baseball. After viewing the 13 minute The Baseball Experience film, you enter Taking the Field: The 19th Century", which explores baseballs beginnings in the 19th century. You the proceed through "The Game: 1900-1930 with displays of artifacts from Honus Wagner, the Black Sox scandal, etc., as you proceed through a chronology of baseball into the present. Along the way, you see uniforms worn by Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, etc. When you complete these exhibits on the 2nd floor, you proceed to the 3rd floor. Here are exhibits on baseball stadiums, Hank Aaron, and One for the Books, which exhibits the record holders in an extensive array of baseball stat areas along with artifacts such as Hank Aarons Atlanta Braves full uniform. You will then return to the first floor where the Hall of Fame gallery is located. The induction plaques are displayed here in a reverential atmosphere. Notably, one display indicates only 1% of all players since 1900 have been inducted. Also, only 10% of all museum artifacts are displayed at a time, the rest in storage. In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 hours (if you want to thoroughly view and read the exhibit commentaries). The town itself is delightful with shops and restaurants. Late winter/early spring is the ideal time to visit (I parked directly in front of the museum on Main St.; during the summer, and particularly on inductee week-end, you may have to park miles away). But still worth the walk!

Imran Khan

A slice of heaven! There are all sorts of baseball memorabilia and films on display. I go once every year and still unfortunately feel like theres so much more that Ive missed. Admittedly, if youre not into baseball, you will find the place a little boring after some time (at least, thats what the significant other says). However, nothing compares to this place. My only gripe is that some of the displays could be better organized and even expanded. For instance, theres a great display for baseball on film that still seems a little too condensed. And they could better organize some of the displays by period (they somewhat do, but also mix in modern pieces). Theres a nice wing in the Hall that shows a locker stall for every team with corresponding memorabilia, though having teams with long, illustrious histories like the Braves, Yankees and Reds share equal space with expansion teams like the Diamondbacks and Rays seems a little forced. But whats great about the Hall (and baseball in general) is that everything is open to argument and interpretation! Even if youre not at all into baseball, you should visit this place at least once in your life.

EB G

The museum is great and wonderful experience for any baseball fan but the way they manage tickets specifically for the induction ceremony as a whole was very unfortunate. There is a lack of organization regarding the event specifically where you can sit and most people working the event were not clued in on the seating protocol either. We were told its "open seating" in Section 3 but there are different colored tickets for Section 3. So we asked on 3 separate occasions if the different colored tickets had any significance in seating and we were told "there was no difference" all three times by event staff. After waiting in line for 4 hours and being the first to grab a seat in Section 3, all of us "Blue" Section 3 ticket holders were told we needed to move back 7 rows. By that time, Rows 8-12 were occupied thus relegating us back to Row 13. I know it sounds tedious but after paying $500 for a museum membership and seats for the induction, the Hall should at least supply an applicable seating chart and guidance. At bare minimum, the event staff should have an idea about the seating arrangement.

Floyd Parr

Great place to visit if you are a fan of baseball from the 1800s to 1960s. If you are fan if modern baseball from 1970 to present, you are wasting your time. Most of the memorabilia was from lesser players like Ron Guidry or Dave Stewart. You wouldnt even know you were at the Hall of Fame. Many modern Hall of Famers have nothing but a plaque, but scrub players are well represented. It was way too small. They need to add at least one if not two more floors. I wont be going back until they expand. I sure hope the newest members, Bagwell, Raines and IRod are loaning and not donating their memorabilia. If they gave it to the Hall, what a waste!!! Next year it will be stuck in a box and placed in a warehouse.

Rachel Garber

Just a dream come true. I became a baseball fan in 1973 when Mike Schmidt just started out with the Philadelphia Phillies, and got to see him inducted into the HOF in 1995, with the great Richie "Whitey" Ashburn. What a truly exciting never to be forgotten experience. I returned a few years later on a tour. So exciting to witness a sea of red and white, the team colors, as far as the eye could see. My one disappointment was that I wrote some poems about baseball which I sent to the HOF and received a letter saying they would be stored in the library, but was never able to find them. Great experience, every baseball fan should go at least once in their life.