While these days the only thing the Cubs and Padres are talking about is a possible trade for Jake Peavy, earlier this summer the two teams spent their time talking about how much they hated playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown. You may or may not remember, but after dealing with too many complaints from organizations and the players, both the player's union and the owners decided that 2008 contest between the Cubs and Padres would be the last time the exhibition game would be played with Major League teams. Then, as a final kick to the junk, the game was rained out.Now while my initial suggestion of just moving the game to the end of spring training made a lot of sense in my mind, the Hall of Fame has decided it wants to do something different. I mean, they are the Hall of Fame right? Why not make the Hall of Fame game an event featuring actual Hall of Famers?
Baseball's legends and old-timers will play in a new Hall of Fame Classic, a creation deemed insufficient by the group opposed to the elimination of the annual exhibition between major league teams.
"We're honored to be a part of this," said Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which is working with the Hall of Fame to put on the Hall of Fame Classic.
"There's a lot we can do to promote the game of baseball. This will be a great success and hit here in Cooperstown. It will be a lot of fun-autographs, family entertainment. That's what it's all about," he added.It will also be about a lot of old guys slowly running to first base after hitting a dribbler back to the pitcher's mound. The game will be held on June 21st -- which happens to be Father's Day and the first day of summer -- and feature four Hall of Famers and an assortment of other retired players who haven't been named yet.
I'm not sure how successful a venture this will be, but I suppose it would be pretty cool for all the people who didn't get the chance to see guys like Brooks Robinson actually play baseball. Now we can all say we saw him break his hip diving for a ground ball.
