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Popular Joe Mauer, Baseball Hall of Famers make Cooperstown weekend a hit for autograph chasers
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.—A visitor to Cooperstown on the weekend of July 20-21 might have thought they took a wrong turn and ended up in Minnesota from the sight of all the Twins caps and Joe Mauer jerseys that flooded the streets and shops of the small village.
Although the Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend featured fours new inductees—Mauer, Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Jim Leyland—it was Mauer, the popular hometown hero of the Twins, who drew the largest contingent of fans in a crowd estimated at 28,000 by the Hall of Fame.
One fan who had a connecting flight on Saturday morning through Minneapolis-St. Paul reported that every seat on his flight was filled with joyous Twins fans sporting team colors and Mauer gear.
Not so much for the other three new members of baseball’s exclusive fraternity. Beltre’s turnout was bolstered somewhat by a contingent of enthusiastic fans who identified with his roots in the Dominican Republic, but Leyland and Helton seemed only to have family and friends in attendance. The lack of a sizable turnout for Helton was particularly surprising as he was touted as “the face of the Colorado Rockies” from his 18-year career with the team.
The weekend followed the typical pattern of induction activities, a familiar routine after reporting on 33 of the last 34 events. As always, it presented autograph collectors a rich array of opportunities to purchase signatures from almost all of the 51 Hall of Famers in attendance as well as a dozen or more lesser stars who came to town for the party.
It was also an unparalleled opportunity for quick-footed and well-organized collectors to garner free signatures on two occasions. First was the Saturday morning golf tournament popular with the Hall of Famers, where golfers intersect with fans at a few locations. This year yielded good results with new inductees Beltre, Leyland and Mauer stopping to sign along with Chipper Jones, Paul Molitor, Alan Trammell and others.
The next opportunity, the arrival of Hall of Famers to the entrance of the museum at the conclusion of the Main Street parade of legends, provided an even richer yield for collectors. The Hall of Fame encourages players to sign for the waiting crowd and this year almost all but the very oldest (Juan Marichal, 87, and Billy Williams, 88) or those with disabilities (Rod Carew, 78) obliged.
As usual, Cal Ripken, Jr. was a prolific signer, as was Mariano Rivera. Both went up and down the street signing hundreds of autographs. Considering his fee for a Main Street signing session was a whopping $300 for a flat or a ball, Rivera’s willingness to sign freely was a boon to frugal collectors.
Beltre also earned accolades from fans for spending a generous amount of time satisfying the crowd.
Other signers included: Helton, Jones, Craig Biggio, Bert Blyleven, George Brett, Rollie Fingers, Tom Glavine, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Rollie Fingers, Jim Kaat, Tony La Russa, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, Eddie Murray, Mike Mussina, Jim Rice, Pudge Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, John Smoltz, Jim Thome, Joe Torre, Alan Trammell, and Dave Winfield.
Also signing a few autographs before retreating to the Hall of Fame reception were Dennis Eckersley, Fred McGriff, and David Ortiz.
The ranks of Hall of Famers in town was depleted somewhat due to the unfortunate timing of a computer meltdown that cancelled thousands of flights just as the weekend began. Whether related or not, regular induction weekend attendees who weren’t present included Roberto Alomar, Jeff Bagwell, Wade Boggs, Bobby Cox, Andre Dawson, Carlton Fisk, Ken Griffey, Jr., Rickey Henderson, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Bill Mazeroski, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, and Frank Thomas.
Though only an occasional presence in Cooperstown— and only appearing on stage and never signing anywhere in town—Sandy Koufax was a no-show this year. Carl Yastrzemski kept his record of avoiding induction weekends intact since his 1989 induction.
Of course, there were also plenty of ways to drain your bank account collecting autographs in town. In the last few years the Cooperstown commercial autograph scene has been captured by Hall of Fame Signings. This year the company lined up 31 of the 51 Hall of Famers in town for autograph sessions at their Main Street location, along with a few other lesser stars.
Three of the four new inductees were on their weekend roster—Beltre, Helton and Leyland. Beltre’s fee of $250 (flat or ball) was the steepest of the three and second only to Rivera, who took the top spot at $300. Helton collected $150 to wield his Sharpie, while Leyland was the bargain at $80.
Other Hall of Famers ranged from the low end of $50 for Gossage, $55 for Fingers, and $60 for La Russa and Perez. Joining Helton at the $150 level were Rolen and Torre. The majority of others hovered around the $100 mark.
Pete Rose was on the block at his annual perch, the Safe at Home Ballpark Collectibles card and memorabilia shop, signing for $75 (flats and balls).
Other players outside the Hall of Fame who signed during the weekend included Doc Gooden, Gary Sheffield, and Andy Van Slake. Hall of Fame Signings also brought in D. B. Sweeney, the actor who played Shoeless Joe Jackson in the “Eight Men Out” movie about the 1919 Chicago Black Sox.
The announced crowd of 28,000, a total that was met with some skepticism by veteran HOF watchers, was something of the calm before the storm, which will overtake Cooperstown in 2025 with the inevitable induction of Ichiro Suzuki.
Make your reservations now if you want to be part of that party.
