Cold and Rain Can’t Dampen Hall of Fame Memorial Day Weekend Baseball Celebration

By CHARLIE VASCELLARO
COOPERSTOWN

Like the proverbial carriers of the U.S. mail, “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” was going to keep visitors and participants in the Hall of Fame’s Memorial Day Weekend celebration of the national pastime from having a good time here in Cooperstown.

Leading off with the first annual Hall of Fame Film Series—running from Thursday, May 22 through Sunday, May 25—“Diamond Diplomacy: U.S. Japan Relations Through a Shared Love of Baseball,” directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer, was screened in the Fenimore Art Museum theater and was the first of the six-film series.

According to Romer, “The history of Japanese baseball is the history of Japan/U.S. relations.”

Kerry Yo Nakagawa, executive director of the Nisei Baseball Research Project, said that for the first and second wave of Japanese immigrants in the U.S., “Putting on a baseball uniform was like wearing the American flag.”

Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch used his introduction of the film to announce the opening of the Hall’s new Yakyu Baseball exhibit in conjunction with the 2025 Induction Ceremony, which includes Japanese superstar Ichiro Suzuki.

With a considerable array of archival footage, running from the late 1800s right up until current times, the history of Japanese and Japanese American involvement in baseball is depicted, explored, and examined in the film, including early professional Japanese teams, Negro League and Major League barnstorming tours, leagues that were created at Japanese incarceration camps during World War II, and the experiences of American “Gaijin” ballplayers participating in the Japanese professional leagues. The film’s soundtrack employs numerous Japanese stylized versions of the dual national pastime’s theme song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

“Just A Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers,” co-directed by Sean Hannish and Kelly Kahl, is a nostalgic, emotional, and heart-wrenching reflection on the almost World Champion Brewers that lost the World Series in seven games to a St. Louis Cardinals team that might not be quite as memorable as the charismatic and loveable assemblage of the ‘82 “Brew Crew” that had five future Hall of Famers on its roster, including Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Don Sutton, Ted Simmons, and Rollie Fingers. Other memorable members of the team that also made major contributions include Pete Vukovich, “Stormin Gorman” Thomas, Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie and Charlie Moore, all of whom are interviewed in the movie.

The animated commentary retrospectively delivered by the former Brewers players is personal and intimate. Catcher Ted Simmons discussing his work relationship with pitcher Pete Vukovich and how it developed into them becoming best friends exemplifies the close-knit nature of this team.

The film follows the wild ride and high-flying escapades of a raucous Brewers bunch, culminating in a tear-jerking conclusion that had Rollie Fingers all verklempt during the post-film panel discussion.

“I was just proud to be on that team,” said Fingers, while choking up.

The culmination of the first annual Hall of Fame’s [six] Film Series, “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” (2014) is a documentary about the independent minor league Portland Maverick’s baseball team (1973-1977), owned by actor Bing Russell, father of actor Kurt Russell, who also played for the team and served as its vice president.

A rag-tag bunch of rejects and cast offs from Major League Baseball’s franchises and organized affiliates operating on a shoe-string budget, the Mavericks took the Class A-Short Season Northwest League by storm, nearly winning the 1977 league championship. Pitcher/author Jim Bouton, of “Ball Four” fame, was also on the team, using it as a springboard to resurrect his major league career. Bouton helped teammate Rob Nelson create the “Big League Chew” brand of bubblegum while they were with the Mavericks in Portland.

Other Memorial Day weekend activities included the grand opening of the “Getting the Nod” bobblehead collection exhibit gifted to the Hall of Fame by former Miami Marlins owner and art collector Jeffrey H. Loria and his wife, Julie.

The return of the “Night at the Museum” program presented fans with an opportunity to meet with seven Hall of Famers and former major league stars—including Lee Smith, Harold Baines, Wade Boggs, Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, Jason Kendall, and Rollie Fingers—stationed at various exhibits throughput the museum.

The group also trudged through a cold, cloudy and misty Hall of Fame fundraiser golf tournament over the weekend at the historic Leatherstocking Golf Course on Otsego Lake.

Despite the inclement weather, a good time was had by all.