Beer Pong on Snob Hill

The following are the highlights of this past weekend's 22nd Annual Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown.

Friday night (7/25):

1. Learned of the Yankees' acquisition of Xavier Nady in the presence of Mets' fans, one of whom expressed disappointment because he was convinced the Mets were going to get him, while the other stated that Nady is over-rated. Maybe he is, but he's a solid acquisition regardless, as is Damaso Marte.


2. It appears we were surrounded by one huge frat party, as there was a massive game of beer pong, which lasted until 3 in the morning, at a nearby camp site.

Saturday (7/26):

1. Saw Ron Guidry walking around town. Of course, I saw other more famous players, but they were all sitting at tables for autograph signings. I probably spent less time experiencing the typical scene in town than in any other year in recent memory, mostly due to the next highlight.


2. Drank four pints of local brew in Cooley's Tavern: three Ommegang Rare Vos' and one Old Slugger from Cooperstown Brewing.


3. Had an extremely nerdy baseball conversation with Joe and Tony. Though it's certainly not unusual for me and Joe to partake in such a conversation, this was the first time I did so with his son Tony, and I quickly realized that son is ably following in his father's footsteps. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, only time will tell.


4. Due to the previously mentioned four afternoon pints, plus the lack of sleep from the night before, I spent most of the rest of the night passed out in the Williams' motel room, while everyone else watched the end of the Yankees' game and most of the Mets' game, waiting out the massive thunderstorms that the weather forecast was calling for.


5. With the Mets' game in extra innings and the storm warnings seeming to have passed, the Clark family (no relation to Jane Forbes Clark) and I piled in their mini-van and headed back to the camp site, only to have it start downpouring on our way.


6. While experiencing what one local would later call "the worst thunder and lightning storm I've seen here in years", we decided it would be safer to sleep in our cars than in the tents. The Clarks would eventually move into their tent, but I spent the entire night in my reclined passenger seat, and slept better than I had the night before. This was despite the fact that the frat boys were not deterred by the storm, although being inside the car with the sound of rain pelting it incessantly pretty much drowned out most of the noise.

Sunday (7/27):

1. Overheard the previously mentioned local refer to the tent area of the campgrounds as "Snob Hill". When I say local, what I mean is, there is a contingent, at just about every campground, of campers who've rented trailer sites for the entire season. They have permanent awnings built up around their trailer/RVs, sometimes with fenced-in porches, and many of them have signs advertising who they are and where they're from. I find it pretty cool, to be completely honest, but I'm guessing the weekend campers generally look down their noses at them.


2. At the actual induction ceremony, George Grande mentions that this year there is a record 56 of the 64 living Hall of Famers in attendance. So, of course, Joe and I decide we're going to figure out who the missing eight are. I have to say that I'm quite impressed with us that we pull it off in less than an hour: Robin Yount, Stan Musial, George Kell, Nolan Ryan, Carl Yastremski, Duke Snider, Lee MacPhail, Rod Carew.