Hall of Fame Classic is Just That.

By:  Mike Lindsley

The Hall of Fame Game, played at historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, for years would feature teams with an "off day" from the big leagues during a road trip to another city. 

Most of the players rarely wanted to go. They rarely wanted to talk to the media. Some of them swung and missed on purpose during the game (you could tell), just to get the hell out of dodge and Doubleday and Cooperstown altogether. 

Well, this system has changed over the last few years, and it has worked magically. Instead of having two big league teams with no care in the world to be in the little village enriched in baseball nostalgia, the Baseball Hall of Fame powers-that-be decided to have an All-Star Game of former players called the Hall of Fame Classic. Some Hall of Famers. Some future Hall of Famers. And some plain old former big leaguers with enough name recognition to join the fun. 

2014? A home run. Pun intended. Pedro Martinez. Hideki Matsui. Roberto Alomar. Ozzie Smith. Jim Thome. Ivan Rodriguez. Phil Niekro. Andre Dawson. Steve Garvey. Rollie Fingers. Just to name a few. 

All of the players want to be there. They don't have to rush off to Boston or New York or Philadelphia or Toronto after the game they don't try in and don't have to waste the "off day" because there is no such thing.  These guys have already wrapped-up their careers and appreciate being in Cooperstown because they are removed from the game and look back and miss it, long for it and welcome new things within it. 

So, hats off to the Hall of Fame. Hats off to the Hall for bringing a new edge and idea to an event that easily could have died and never been replaced.  The Hall of Fame Game that big leaguers didn’t care about is replaced by a Hall of Fame Classic that everyone seems to care about.  Former players who are good with the media, are big enough names for the fans to relate to and some of whom can relate to the younger generation as well are a part of it. This event had 6,000+ people in the stands at Doubleday Field. Better than having no event at all, right? 

Oh, and just to top it off, the Hall brought in members of the military from Fort Drum during Memorial Day weekend so the fans could stand as one and honor our real heroes. 

The Hall of Fame Classic has become exactly that final word in the event's name in the little village we call Cooperstown. 

Classic.