Baseball As America Opens at the Museum of Nature and Science

Includes interviews with Baseball Hall of Fame Players

by Justin Smith

Why is it that we crave heroes? From comic books to television shows, sports arenas to movie theaters, we have the desire for stories of one man overcoming all odds to save the day, win the girl, and bring their team from ruin to championship. At The Museum of Nature and Science you can see the relics of real superheroes on display during the “Baseball As America” exhibit. When I went to the press conference for the exhibit opening, not only did I get to see the relics of legendary American gladiators, I also got to meet some of them. On the panel were Baseball Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Jim Palmer, George Brett, and Dale Petroskey, President of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ubermench, Supermen. Well, not Petroskey, but you get the picture. He's more like the Charlie to their Angels.

Accompanied by Pegasus News photographer Laura Seewoester, we listened to opening speeches as I hurriedly went over my notes trying to remember everything that I could about the ball players. Afterwards they took us into the exhibit and we were allowed to talk with the ball players who were there.

One thing I noticed about these guys that I didn't expect was that you normally only hear baseball fanatics rattle off obscure sports stats, lost in a world made of names and numbers. What I didn't expect was the players to be like that too. But they knew everything about everyone—batting averages, on base percentages, slugging percentages—the whole gamut.

At the exhibit you will be able to see the single season home run record breaking bats of Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Maris, the shoes of Shoeless Joe Jackson, and the ball from Nolan Ryan’s seventh no hitter—a must see for Rangers fans. All in all, I felt like I had been in the company of heroes worthy of worship, and although the people who will see this exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science may not be able to actually speak with these modern day superheroes, they can still go and see their capes and masks. And that’s still pretty damn cool.

"Baseball as America" opens at the Museum of Science in Nature in conjunction with the opening festivities at the Texas State Fair. During the fair, you can view the exhibit for $1 (in addition to the State Fair ticket price, of course). The exhibit runs through Jan. 13.