Basegirl: Dennis Eckersley Has a Bronze Mullet

You only wish you were that cool.

I mean, honestly, one of the coolest things about the Hall of Fame is seeing how well the players likenesses translated to the bronze plaques. Marianne noted that all Orioles inductees were sporting the cartoon bird which is funny looking on such a fancy schmancy plaque. Ted Williams looks less grumpy than he evidently was (I'm rubbing his hat for luck, of course), and Pudge Fisk has some bizarre dental relief going on. Of course, as Amy pointed out, you have to be some kind of badass to overcome a name like "Carlton Ernest Fisk."

The Hall of Fame is just a really fascinating place. And one, I would guess, that warrants repeat visits considering that they keep changing and adding new things to the museum component. And, of course, there's always the new inductees to see. I really like that they let you walk up and touch the plaques. It's interesting to see who the favorites are just by how shiny and worn the faces are. (For what it's worth, nearly all Red Sox inductees are well-loved.)

As for the museum, there's some really fascinating stuff. I was looking forward to seeing the bloody sock and Curt's cleats and they were there, of course. But, truthfully, the sock is kinda gross. I mean, it's a sock. With blood on it. Were it not behind glass, I'm guessing it would probably smell too. Which is not to say that I'm not incredibly ecstatic about the fact that it's there, and which doesn't mean that I didn't dearly love the look on the face of Matt, the Yankee fan who attended with us, but still, it's all about this.

Oh, heh, and the ball is there too. You know THE ball. This one. "Donated by Doug Mientkiwicz." Awesome.

Last year's Gold Glove was also on display with pictures of all the winners. I had to take a picture to prove that, in some capacity, Jason Varitek is in the Hall of Fame. Of course, so is Khalil Green in a Padres display so I'm not really sure what that means but there you have it.

In one display, the room is set up to look like a locker room with a different locker housing memorabilia from each team. The Sox locker has Manny's jersey, Pedro's hat (with scundge all around the brim), Johnny Damon's bat, Orlando Cabrera's glove, a piece of the Green Monster signed by David Ortiz and, inexplicably, the hat and sweatshirt Jimmy Fallon wore in "Fever Pitch." Inexplicably because there is an entire other room for "Baseball in the Movies" and also because I didn't like "Fever Pitch" at all and think that Fallon's shirt has no business next to Pedro Martinez's hat. Anyway...

Of note in other lockers: Eric Gagne's goggles, Curt Schilling's Phillies hat (that thing is disgusting and would make Trotter proud), Jim Thome's jersey, and Barry Bonds' normal-sized head. Okay, I'm kidding about that last one but it is worth noting that it's impossible to find a picture of Bonds in his Pirate days in the Hall of Fame. Just sayin'.

There is also an interesting display with a bunch of other Ted Williams' stuff which consists of a strike zone-sized case of baseballs, color coded and sporting numbers. The numbers represent what Williams believed his average would be if all the pitches were pitched in that particular area. The picture is kind of fuzzy but it's fascinating to study that and realize how intensely Williams studied hitting. He knew the ins and outs of his swing and was well aware of his own weaknesses. I wonder if today's hitters study hitting that much. I imagine that a similar display for Jason Varitek's strike zone would have a bunch of balls with .000 written on them in the upper part of the zone. Mark Bellhorn's might just be a big, black hole.

I would highly recommend the Hall of Fame. We spent hours there without even realizing it. It's extremely comprehensive with displays on women in baseball and the Negro Leagues as well. It could use a few more feathered, bronze mullets but then, isn't that pretty much a truism in life?