Baseball may not be quite the yardstick by which kid-dom is measured, but that doesn't mean the National Pastime does not permeate into the collective consciousness of most children. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is unquestionably a destination spot that any lover of baseball will enjoy, regardless of age.
It is perhaps more important than ever to taken kids to Cooperstown, however. After all, the current state of baseball is not one that is inclined to inspire idol worship and heroism the way it used to. Steroids, salary disputes and strikes have tarnished much of the glamour of the game, and for those reasons, it behooves the parent of any baseball fan to take their child to Cooperstown so they can see what baseball players used to be like.
The Babe, Jackie Robinson, The Mick, Dizzy and Daffy. These names are threatening to disappear off the face of the playground, not just because they are old and dead, but because baseball as a social force in America is dying. It is very hard to teach kids about how vital the game of baseball used to be to the very fabric of America when the home run king's tally is tarnished by allegations that his well-sculpted body may not entirely be the result of good old-fashioned workouts. But baseball really did used to mean something special to kids, in part because baseball players were special. There was something elemental about a man knocking out 60 home runs in a season or tossing a perfect game in the World Series. Those days may be gone, but they will exist forever at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
