Mik’s Mini Bat Collection: Babe Ruth

At the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Mik got a Babe Ruth mini bat. The mini bat has a photo image of Babe Ruth and a Yankees logo on it. It also has the National Baseball Hall of Fame logo. Basically it is the design that they sell at the Hall of Fame, so it is not like it is unique to this attraction, but it was better than the Louisville Slugger that just said Babe Ruth and also did not say anything about it being from the Babe Ruth Museum.

Smashed Pennies: Sports Legends Museum

At the Sports Legends Museum I got two smashed pennies and Mik got one smashed penny. The design we both got has an image of the museum’s building. It says Sports Legends History Heritage Heroes. The other design that only I got is of Orioles Park at Camden Yards, although the penny just says Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD. It has an image of the park and little Orioles logos on it.

Smashed Penny: Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum

At the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Mik and I got the same smashed penny design. The design we both choose is of Babe Ruth holding a baseball bat ready to hit. Underneath Babe Ruth it says Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Baltimore, MD.

Baseball Museum 14: Sports Legends Museum

The second museum we visited before the Orioles game on July 10, 2009, was the Sports Legends Museum. This museum is located in a building on the same block as Orioles Park at Camden Yards and is located the near Eutaw Street entrance to the park. The museum focuses mostly on the history of baseball and football in Baltimore, although it does have a little bit about other sports in the Baltimore. Mik and Dad have seen this museum before and since I am not into football, we skipped that half of the museum and just saw the baseball exhibits. By the way this museum is fully accessible and you still get to see some Babe Ruth history, so until the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is remodeled to be accessible this is a decent only stop if accessibility is an issue.

On the first floor the baseball exhibit is mostly organized by inning. Basically the history of baseball in Baltimore is broke into nine innings, which is a great themed way to organize the exhibits. One of the most amazing items on display is an 1895 Championship Banner that honored the team being a championship team in 1895. Another interesting display was things salvaged from the rubble of Old Orioles Park, which was destroyed in the July 4, 1944 fire. Some of the other displays include the closing of Memorial Stadium, the current ballpark, and Cal Ripken Junior and Senior memorabilia.

The most amazing part of the first floor, though, is the Hall of Fame area. The Hall of Fame displays are presented in a unique way. The displays are square glass cases broken into three or two triangle displays depending on the amount of players per pillar. For each player there is some memorabilia and below is a trading card or two on display. A few of the Orioles honored are Cal Ripken Sr, Cal Ripken Jr, and Brooke Robinson.

The second level to explore is actually the lower level of the building. On this level there are displays about the old stadiums of Baltimore. In this area there are a few items from Memorial Stadium including benches. There is also a model of the current Orioles Park at Camden Yards. The other displays on the lower level are about Maryland baseball from sandlot to the show (includes high school and college ball) and the Negro League history of Baltimore.

Overall the Sports Legends Museum is a fun place to visit and certainly better than the Babe Ruth Museum since this place is fully accessible. It has some overlap with a similar display, although on a small scale, of Babe Ruth memorabilia. The organization of the history of baseball in Baltimore by innings is very well done. The Hall of Fame is more interesting than just plaques, as they are actually cases with memorabilia. Plus, there is some other sports things to see if you want to, especially related to football, but we were not interested and skipped that.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Today, July 14, 2009, is Mom's birthday. Originally she was to join us in Atlanta for her birthday and to go to the Braves game on the 16th, but she got stuck working. At least it is something we knew about not happening a while back and instead she was able to join us for the Cardinals game back in June. We are sorry she is missing the World of Coke with us today, but are thankful she stayed home to work and paid for our trip. Well, Mik might not me so thankful about him ending up on what he calls the Summer of Hell, but he loves mommy just the same.

Since we will not see her on her birthday, here is a photo of her present that she will have to wait until August to get. Mik spotted the Chicago Bears gel candle when we were at the Jockey Lot Flea/Farmer's Market on July 12th. I had already spotted the Coke glass gel candle when he spotted the Bears one. Instead of choosing between the two we just got both.



Later at the grocery store Dad saw a card that he thought was funny. It says "Blimey, we have covered a lot o' high seas to fetch this fer ye..." It is a good one since we got Mom's birthday present 13,000 miles into the trip and there is still about 9,000 more miles before it gets to her. However, it was a music card and I did not let Dad spend $8 on a card.

Baseball Museum 13: Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum

On July 10, 2009, before going to the Orioles game one of the museums we visited was the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. The Museum is easy to find just by following the baseballs painted on the sidewalk from the Babe Ruth statue in front of Eutaw Street to across the street from the museum. Thus parking at the Orioles Park at Camden Yards is a good place to park to see the museum if you are also going to a game that day, especially since it did not seem to have any parking next to it other than maybe a little bit of street parking.

We got to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum and discovered that it is not accessible. There is not even an accessible way into the museum. However, there are only a few big steps up into it. Dad and I just lifted Mik up into the museum. The museum does have a second floor, which was impossible for Mik to get to, but at least he was able to experience most of the museum. They even let him in free since he could not experience the whole museum and we had to lift him up the steps to get him to even the first floor. Note when you buy admission they ask if you want to donate $1 to the future remodel of the museum and that remodel is to make the museum accessible. We donated a $1 and encourage all other visitors to do so in order for Mik and other physically disable people can enjoy the whole museum, especially since some cannot even enjoy the amount Mik was able to.

The bulk of the museum is on the first floor. This includes a re-creation of the house Babe Ruth grew up in that originally stood where the recreation now sits. In the re-creation they also have a small display about the bars his father owned, which included some items from the bar he owned that once stood where Orioles Park at Camden Yards is now. The items were found when they were excavating to build the Orioles Park.

One of the most interesting things at the museum is the wall of plaques commemorating all the home runs Babe Ruth hit. There is a small plaque for each home run. It is kind of like the giant wall of balls at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame commemorating Pete Rose’s hits. Of course, the 714 home run display is quite a bit smaller than the 4,256 hits display, but still impressive even though it is not the record anymore.

Other exhibits on the first floor include one on other ballplayers that have hit over 500 career home runs and a room that chronicles Babe Ruth’s professional baseball career. In the room about his career they have memorabilia such as Babe Ruth uniforms, Babe Ruth bats, and balls signed by Babe Ruth.

The second floor of the museum does not have much, so Mik did not really miss the big stuff at least. The main thing on the second floor is the recreation of the second floor of the house Babe Ruth grew up in. The main display on the second floor includes artifacts related to him playing at St. Mary’s school.

Overall the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum was worth stopping at even though it is not exactly accessible. It does a good job of showing the career of Babe Ruth, as well as recreating the house he grew up in, which actually stood where the recreation is.

Car Sticker Update: Independence National Historical Park

We found a bumper sticker at the Independence National Historic Park and added it to the back of the car. The bumper sticker has an image of the liberty bell on the left side. It says Philadelphia Birthplace of Liberty Independence National Historical Park.