On Safari: Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

"To the pioneers who were the moving spirits of the game in its infancy and to the players who have been elected to the Hall of Fame, we pay just tribute. But I should like to dedicate this museum to all America." - Kenesaw Landis on July 12, 1939

National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

Main Street Cooperstown, NY

Cooperstown Pizzeria

Rickey Henderson was one of the recent 2009 inductees

Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers

Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants

Hank Aaron, Atlanta Braves

All of the inductees have a plaque like this. These are but a few of the great players in the Hall of Fame

Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 -1956

"Rapid" Robert Feller, Cleveland Indians

Joe Di Maggio 1936 - 1951, "The Yankee Clipper"

Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees 1951 - 1968

Babe Ruth, New York Yankees

I assume the runner was "safe"

Note the location of this game, Fresno, California

Lou and Babe

Hank Aaron, Atlanta Braves

The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 showed up for the game, a Brave attendance record. In the 4th inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off L.A. Dodgers Al Downing.

While cannons were fired in celebration, two white college students sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's mother ran onto the field as well.

Every kid that played baseball had their favorite baseball player, mine was Jackie Robinson.

When I was fourteen (14) years old, the movie “The Jackie Robinson Story” played at our local theater where I saw it two times in one day.

We all know the story of how Robinson broke into baseball at a time of the segregation era, to us, who cared; we loved him as a baseball player. Growing up in Ventura, California, we didn’t care what you were as long as you could hit and field the ball. However, if you played for Lincoln School, we didn’t care much for you until we came together in Junior High School.

Jackie Robinson's #42 is retired in the Dodger organization

Stan "the man" Musial, St Louis Cardinals

When the first Hall of Fame vote was taken in 1936, Ty Cobb was named on 222 of the 226 ballots cast, to lead all candidates for enshrinement.

The kids in Cuba love their baseball too.

Baseball fans are from all walks of life world wide.

“Field of Dreams” released in 1989, is a movie that has inspired millions and became an Academy Award nominee for "Best Picture of the Year." Donna and I drove to Dyersville, Iowa to see and experience the charm and magic of the field.

As said in the movie “build it and they will come”, that was 20 years ago and they are still coming….