Baseball Hall, old-timers start tradition

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – This was a baseball game for the ages – from 90-year-old Bob Feller to 11-year-old Zach D’Errico.

The Hall of Fame began what it hopes will become a new tradition Sunday, with five Hall of Famers and more than 20 other former major leaguers staging an old-timers’ game at Doubleday Field.

“I think it’s a tradition the fans want to see, the nostalgia of the game,” said Feller, who received a warm standing ovation when he was announced and again after he walked to the dugout after facing just two batters, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor and Bobby Grich. “Baseball has a lot of history.”

The Baseball Hall of Fame Classic came about to replace the annual Hall of Fame Game exhibition between major league teams. Commissioner Bud Selig said it had become too difficult to fit the extra game in to a season that already featured 162 games in 183 days.

A legends game had been talked about before, and it quickly came to fruition.

“For us, it seemed to make sense,” Hall president Jeff Idelson said. “I’m excited for these guys enjoying themselves.”

Feller took the mound for the home nine, Team Wagner, and although “Rapid Robert” wasn’t nearly so rapid as he was in his heyday for the Cleveland Indians, no one in the near-sellout crowd of 7,069 seemed to be bothered, even when a brief shower buffeted the field in the fifth inning.

In the first, when a pitch from Feller came a little too close, Grich took a few strides toward the mound and waved his bat menacingly as the two exchanged words.

“I feel real good. I almost worked up a sweat,” said Feller, who drove to Cooperstown with his wife from their home outside Cleveland. “I missed the plate a couple of times, but I need more outfielders. About 10.”

That it was Father’s Day made the game even more special, especially for D’Errico and his dad, Rich, who live in Schenectady. Steve Lyons grabbed Zach out of the stands and stationed Zach beside him at shortstop, and D’Errico helped turn a 6-4-3 double play in the first inning with a nifty stab of a hard one-hopper.

“He saw me and said, ‘Get on my shoulders,’ ” an incredulous Zach said afterward, still in apparent disbelief. “I thought that was cool.”

It was just as special for a father-son duo on the field.

“This is a dream come true, being on this field,” said 23-year-old Ryan Robinson, whose dad, former major leaguer Ron Robinson, pitched batting practice and played for the visitors, Team Collins. “It gives me goosebumps. It’s the best Father’s Day ever.”

The game was more of what Hall of Fame officials had in mind – players mingling with fans and gladly signing autographs before and after the game.

“It’s a new tradition we’re really excited about,” Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said as she leaned on the batting cage during pregame warmups. “These guys here today are so excited about being here. They’re excited about the crowd, the parade, and wanting to play. There’s much more fan participation. It’s what we want.”

“I think the players all want to be here, and that’s a nice thing,” said 40-year-old Drew Ward of nearby New Hartford, N.Y., who was accompanied by wife Jennifer, their three children, and grandparents. “I sure hope this is the start of a nice tradition.”

Although Steve Finley finished second to Jeff Kent in a pregame hitting contest in which Kent smacked six homers, Finley was ecstatic, too.

“I played in a couple of Hall of Fame Games,” Finley said. “We were out here for an inning or two, but you’re concentrating on the season, you don’t want to get anybody hurt.

“I think the fan experience is going to be a lot better bringing all these guys back,” Finley said. “I mean, where else would you have the chance to see Bob Feller face Paul Molitor? It’s a great experience for everybody. Once all the players start seeing how well it’s received, you’ll start getting more and more players.”

For the record, Team Wagner beat Team Collins 5-4 in seven innings (the teams were named after Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins) on Mike Pagliarulo’s tiebreaking hit.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll be bigger and better next year,” said Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and a key organizer of the event. “It just kind of perpetuates itself. I’m happy to see the players that came today. They’re enjoying it, and that’s what it really is all about. I haven’t seen some of these guys in 30 years. I just think it’s something to build on.”