In July 2025, Ichiro Suzuki was formally inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame after his legendary 19 year career starting and ending with the Seattle Mariners. Ray and Traci decided to attend the induction ceremony which occurs every year in Cooperstown, New York.
Cooperstown was founded in 1786 by William Cooper in upstate New York. As baseball grew in popularity during the last half of the 19th century, a private group studied the origins of baseball in 1907 and concluded that Abner Doubleday, a Union Army Officer during the Civil War, invented the game in 1839 while living in Cooperstown. In 1936 the Hall of Fame was inaugurated with the induction of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner. The actual museum opened in 1939 to mark “Baseball’s Centennial.” Later inquiries noted Doubleday was actually attending West Point in 1839, but the myth of baseball’s founding and creation of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown live on.
Unlike basketball, football and hockey which have their Hall of Fame located in cities near major metropolitan areas, Cooperstown is a logistic challenge to visit prompting Ray and Traci to share their experience for others to reference for future planning. The village has a population of about 1,700. “Downtown” has a single traffic light and most of the businesses are baseball related shops. It was estimated that 30,000 fans attended the 2025 induction ceremony posing quite a challenge for the small village.
Since Cooperstown is a 4 ½ hour drive from JFK airport, Ray and Traci decided to fly from Seattle to Syracuse instead, changing planes in Chicago. Hotels are sparse around Cooperstown, and having 30,000 people descend on the area for the annual weekend induction made lodging quite a challenge. Ray and Traci stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites in Utica. After picking up a rental car in Syracuse, they arrived in Utica after a 1 hour drive. Having visited New York City many times in the past, the rural farmlands and tiny villages that populate the area was quite a change for this visit to New York. After arriving at the Homewood Suites in Utica, the hungry travelers settled on a meal at the nearby Olive Garden.
After a pleasant night, Ray and Traci awoke Sunday morning for a 1 hour drive to Cooperstown. Driving from Utica to Cooperstown on rural highways could be challenging but Google Maps made the journey quite easy. Ray and Traci planned to arrive a couple of hours before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. The town has several free parking lots with shuttle buses for the many attendees and, as one would expect, most were full. Fortunately, enterprising town residents rented out their parking lots, lawns, and driveways. Ray and Traci met two charming church ladies who provided parking and conversation (directions, area information, airports, Seattle) at their church for $25, a veritable bargain by Seattle standards. Weather in late July was a major concern – often it is very hot and humid, and during this weekend the possibility of thunderstorms was raised in advance of Ray and Traci’s travel. The Hall of Fame warned visitors that if weather prevented the outdoor ceremony, it would be moved indoors and the public wouldn’t get to attend. As light rain began to fall, Ray and Traci decided to take cover inside the Baseball Hall of Fame. While perusing some of the exhibits, they ran into a fellow fan whose Mariners season ticket seats are next to Ray and Traci. 60 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to begin, they left the museum and took a shuttle bus to the Clark Sports Center located about a mile away where the induction ceremony was being held. The induction ceremony takes place in a huge field adjacent to the gym. A huge stage with large video screen showed coverage being shown on the MLB channel. Still raining, Ray and Traci found a tree to shelter under. Thousands of white chairs were set up in sections facing the stage. The front section was for friends, families and VIPs, the back area was for fans who paid for a Hall of Fame membership. And anyone could watch the induction from the surrounding grassy areas for free. Ray and Traci left their tree shelter at 1pm and walked into the seated area for members. Fortunately the rain subsided and no thunderstorms emerged. Because of the earlier rain, a decision was made to delay the ceremony by 1 hour and the weather stayed dry.
At 2:30, speakers played John Fogerty’s song Centerfield to start the induction ceremony. 52 Hall of famers were individually introduced and sat behind the podium facing the crowd. Seattle legends Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr were among those HOF players in attendance. Biographical videos preceded each induction speech. Houston’s Billy Wagner started the speeches giving a heartfelt address to the fans. Pittsburgh’s Dave Parker unfortunately died a month before his induction but his son gave a very entertaining and fun speech with stories his father wanted to share. Philadelphia’s Dick Allen was honored posthumously by his widow who spoke of the long journey and many challenges of a bygone era. New York’s CC Sabathia highlighted the influence of the many women in his family that helped him succeed. Ichiro ended the afternoon giving a quite humorous and fun address in English! It was clear from all the Mariners jerseys and Japan flags that much of the crowd travelled a long way to see their favorite player.
After Ichiro, the ceremony ended and Ray and Traci got back on a shuttle bus to downtown. Both Mariners fans were quite impressed by the organization and flow of thousands of people in such a tiny village. While the weather delayed the ceremony an hour, the rather moderate temperature and absence of rain was wonderful. Ray and Traci walked from the HOF to the church and had an uneventful drive back to Utica. For dinner they went to a
local Japanese restaurant Mitsuba which had a quite extensive menu of typical Japanese food. The hungry fans found the meal to be quite satisfying. Ray did some swimming in the indoor Homewood Suites pool to end the evening.
On Monday, Ray and Traci returned to Cooperstown for a question and answer session with three of the inductees – Ichiro, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner.
The second floor included exhibits dedicated to the 5 newest inductees including memorabilia as well as areas dedicated to Black, Hispanic, and Women in Baseball. The third floor houses a gallery with lockers containing gear from each of the major league teams, an area celebrating Hank Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record, and a special exhibit featuring Japanese players past and present including Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro.
Their baseball tourism completed, Ray and Traci made a short drive to the Fenimore Farm just outside of Cooperstown. It is a collection of two dozen authentic circa 1850 buildings recreating rural life.
Artifacts, animals, and personnel bring village life to tourists. The blacksmith shop has a working fire where visitors were treated with demonstrations of techniques used to forge metal tools.
The printshop had someone type setting – certainly a lost talent in the era of laser printing. A tavern merchant watched over the combination hotel / restaurant in the town. Ray and Traci also took a ride around the Empire State Carousel – a hand crafted merry go round which took 20 years to create. Visitors ride on wood carved animals that are native to the area. Ray and Traci’s visit to Fenimore Farm reminded them of Arbaer Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland – a reconstructed village providing a glimpse of early 19th century life.
From the farm, Ray and Traci crossed the street to the Fenimore Art Museum. Collections include American art, Native American art, and a large number of photographs. Ray and Traci returned to their car and completed the 1 hour drive back to Utica. Exhausted from tourism, they decided to pick up food at Panera Bread and rested for their return home.
On Tuesday, Ray and Traci drove two hours from their hotel in Utica to the Albany Airport – the flight schedule for Albany was more convenient with less layover in Chicago. Both Syracuse and Albany airports are small and easy to navigate. After returning their rental car, they walked across the street to the airport entrance and boarded the flight to Chicago followed by the final flight to Seattle.
