The Hall of Fame Military Classic and other events that weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y., will celebrate baseball and America’s semiquincentennial.
Veterans can receive free museum tickets when they purchase tickets to the Hall of Fame Military Classic on May 23 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The May 23 event, part of Memorial Day Weekend activities at the Baseball Hall of Fame, will include a home run derby and a seven-inning Legends game at Doubleday Field. Veterans who use the code “BHOF250” when ordering tickets at 888-326-0470 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at https://baseballhall.org/visit/hall-of-fame-military-classic, will receive free tickets to the museum.
The additional activities this year come as the nation approaches America’s 250th birthday.
Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, Todd Helton, Fergie Jenkins, Tony La Russa, Scott Rolen and Joe Torre are scheduled to participate in the Classic as managers and coaches, and some two dozen other former major leaguers with military ties will also participate. Also scheduled to participate are members of the Louisville Slugger Warriors, a baseball team of amputee veterans.
Former major leaguer Rick Monday, noted for saving the American flag from being burned by protesters during a game in 1976, is also scheduled to participate in the weekend’s events.
Other Memorial Day weekend events around the Baseball Hall of Fame include the Cooperstown Classic Clinic, a clinic for children ages 7-12 led by former major leaguers on May 22; Night at the Ballpark, when Hall of Famers and Military Classic participants will interact with fans following Saturday afternoon’s game; and the Memorial Day Weekend Golf Tournament on May 24 at Leatherstocking Golf Course.
Traditionally, the Memorial Day Weekend events at the Baseball Hall of Fame have included an invitation to attend to the previous season’s American Legion Baseball George W. Rulon Player of the Year. Last May, 2024 Player of the Year Cayden Smith from Midland (Mich.) Post 165 called the trip “amazing.”
“You’re kind of starstruck at first,” Smith said after meeting Hall of Famers at a Friday night reception. “It’s pretty cool. Not many people get to do that, I feel honored I got the opportunity.”
For more information: https://baseballhall.org/visit/hall-of-fame-military-classic.
- Baseball