Perrotto: The Trip Isn’t Easy but Cooperstown Is Worth It

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – I have a longstanding joke about where I grew up.

Go to the middle of nowhere and stop. Then make a left turn and go another 10 miles.

I say that from a place of love about Ohioville, Pa.

However, those same directions can be followed to get to Cooperstown. It is a village in Central New York that is truly off the beaten path.

Cooperstown is not just off a major interstate or highway. It is not close to a major airport.

You’ve got to want to visit Cooperstown to get there. However, visiting Cooperstown is worth any travel hassle.

I can be as hard-bitten as it comes after covering baseball for 37 years and living life to 60. Yet Cooperstown is truly magical.

It is an idyllic little village that seems forgotten by time. Think of Bedford Falls, the fictional setting for the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Though the film was released in 1946, it is reminiscent of Cooperstown in 2024.

Of course, the biggest reason to visit Cooperstown is the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It is an absolute must-see for baseball fans.

The museum does a wonderful job of presenting the sport’s history with its large array of artifacts and displays of the national pastime. Yes, I know the NFL is now the true national pastime but baseball holds that spot in my heart.

And there is nothing like the plaque room. The plaques of every inductee are on display, and it is truly awe-inspiring to walk through and read the accomplishments of so many of the greats.

That all the greats aren’t represented, with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens being Examples A and B, is a bit sad. However, that is another column for another day.

I had the privilege of spending the weekend in Cooperstown for the latest induction ceremony. It was an experience I will never forget.

It was an emotional time on some levels because the late, great Gerry Fraley was honored with the Baseball Writers Association of America Career Excellence Award. He was a mentor, a dear friend and a fellow Beavis and Butt-Head aficionado.

The Carnegie Mellon graduate covered the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers at various points in his career and was a national baseball writer at the Dallas Morning News. He was a truly one-of-a-kind reporter, writer, person and – most importantly – friend.

Visiting with his twin sons Tyson and Sam and embracing them brought tears to my eyes.

Speaking of tearing up, it happened again on Sunday at the end of Jim Leyland’s induction speech.

Leyland was one of four inductees along with Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer and my primary reason for being here. He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986-96 and the last nine of those seasons coincided with the beginning of my baseball writing career.

Leyland’s closing remarks were enough to put a lump in the throat of anyone who loves the game.

“No matter which Hall of Famer you’re here to support today, or which team you cheer for, your presence is always felt,” Leyland said. “On your feet in the ninth with the home team clinging to a one-run lead, turning on your television for the first game in the World Series and seeing 50,000 fans hoping and praying that this may be their year, or a little boy or girl getting their first autograph scurrying back to the stands to show mom and dad what they just did. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s you. That’s baseball. And this is the Hall of Fame.”

A place worthy of making a difficult trip.