By Troy Juhn
On a beautiful day in Cooperstown New York, a large crowd was forming around two coach buses outside of Doubleday Field. A roar from the crowd emerges as former Major League baseball players and Hall of Famers walk out of the buses, including most notably Ken Griffey Jr, Prince Fielder, Curtis Granderson and Ryan Howard. Hundreds of people have various kinds of memorabilia out for these players to sign autographs on.
The buzz was indeed palpable on the day of the East-West Classic Exhibition game and the opening of the newest exhibit: the Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball. The newest hall of fame exhibit showcases and honors the history of black baseball in America, starting from the 1880s all the way to today. What was impressive about the exhibit was showing that black baseball was very prevalent before the formation of the Negro Leagues. From reintegration to Jackie Robinson to today, the importance of this exhibit showing the history of baseball in Black America is not just important to show in a baseball context, but also in an American history context.
At historic Doubleday Field, an exhibition game between the East and West teams, captained by former Major League players Chris Young and CC Sabathia respectively, took place. The original East-West game was the annual all star game of the Negro Leagues between 1933-1962. Sabathia and Young drafted their own teams consisting of former major league players, including Adam Jones, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, the Upton and Hairston twins and Russel Martin. Mo’Ne Davis, the first woman to throw a complete game shutout at the Little League World Series, also participated in the game. The Home Run Derby before the game was won by Jones in a swing off against Fielder. Fielder hit the most HRs out of anybody with 7 total, but it was Jones who was able to hold on in the final round. In the actual game, Sabathia’s west team held a 3-2 lead going into the 5th inning aided by a Granderson HR, until Ryan Howard clobbered a Tyson Ross pitch to right field for a go ahead three run home run that eventually gave the win to Young’s East team. Howard was given the game’s MVP after hitting that HR.