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Home Page   Local News   Local Sports   Community Calendar   Opinion   Editorials   Columns   Letters to the Editor   Archives   News Archives   Sports Archives	1-31-2008 Game will be missed The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this week announced the end of an almost 70-year tradition in Cooperstown - the annual Hall of Fame Game. Needless to say, it was sad news. The culprit was not the Hall of Fame or Major League Baseball, but what has become a more and more complex job of scheduling a season's worth of baseball games. In 2002, Major League Baseball did away with all other in-season exhibition games. And since 2003, when the game was separated from the annual Hall of Fame Induction weekend, Hall officials have often remarked about the difficulty of scheduling teams. "Scheduling became more and more complicated," Hall President Dale Petroskey said Tuesday morning during a press conference. "We've known it's been a challenge for them for several years. We were the last one standing." "We hope that the wonderful fans of Central New York can understand the practical considerations that contributed to this decision.áCooperstown remains a beacon for our national pastime. We will continue to work with the Hall to find ways to promote it and Cooperstown throughout our season," said Major League Baseball President and Chief Operating Officer Bob DuPuy. The game will be missed by Cooperstown and fans in central New York who filled historic Doubleday Field each year for a chance to see major league ballplayers in a much more intimate venue. Players took the time to sign autographs for countless fans. Everyone will miss the home run derby and the cheers as baseballs bounced off the rooftops of homes outside the stadium. The game will also be missed by Cooperstown Central School whose senior class used concession sales as a major part of their fundraising for decades. And, of course, there are the Main Street merchants who could look forward to an extra influx of visitors anxious to take home souvenirs of their visit to the Home of Baseball. When the game was separated from the Induction weekend, the community came up with a new event complete with a parade that has quickly become a community favorite. Now the community is faced with another challenge. Officials from the Hall of Fame and village, the business community and residents will need to work together to find a way to fill the gap created by the loss of one Cooperstown's long-standing traditions.
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