The baseball world is descending upon Cooperstown for Hall of Fame induction weekend.
“The pulse of the game is the strongest in this village.”
Craig Muder is Director of Communications at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of visitors through Sunday’s ceremony.
Muder says fans from across the country are expected to cheer for the Class of 2024 inductees.
“See, we can tell that there's going to be a huge compliment of fans here for Joe Mauer from Minnesota, from Todd Helton, who played for Colorado Rockies for his whole career, Jim Leyland, who managed the Pirates and the Tigers. We're going to see folks from those cities. And, of course, Adrián Beltré of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers won the World Series last year, and the World Series trophy is going to be here in Cooperstown this weekend, on display in the museum. So, this is like Ranger heaven for Rangers fans,” said Muder.
This year also marks the 13th iteration of the Parade of Legends, set for Saturday evening.
“People were setting up chairs along the parade route. So, 96 hours in advance of the parade, we were seeing folks for this,” said Muder. “And it's just such a unique chance for fans to get up close and personal with the Hall of Famers.”
The museum expects 54 Hall of Famers and 25,000 to 30,000 visitors.
Village Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh encourages all traveling to the small lakeside community to take in all it has to offer.
“I think people who come and think of our village only as baseball are always surprised. We have a very public lakefront park just a block from our main street with a beautiful vista of nine-mile-long, Otsego Lake, which is gorgeous,” said Tillapaugh.
Tillapaugh reminds visitors that Main Street and the village’s central parking lot will be closed during the long weekend. Trolleys will be running throughout the weekend to shuttle guests to their destinations.
Not far from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum.
Director of Exhibitions Chris Rossi says the institutions can offer a break from the excitement and expected crowds.
“The Farmers’ Museum is a perfect place to take the kids to get away from everything for a little bit, see the animals, ride the carousels and enjoy the historic village. And then over at Fenimore Art Museum, we've got great exhibits. The Banksy exhibit with the Haight Street Rat is a lot of fun. The whole family will love it,” said Rossi.
Sunday’s ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m.
