Wexler: Baseball Reliquary ceremony is a joyful celebration
From SABR member Sarah Wexler at The Hardball Times on July 20, 2017:
Last Sunday, a standing-room-only crowd of over 200 gathered in the auditorium at the Pasadena Central Library. The occasion was the Baseball Reliquary’s 19th annual Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day. It’s an event that attracts all kinds of baseball fans, as well as “baseball royalty.” Audience members included Ty Cobb’s granddaughter, Cindy Cobb, and Adrienne Bratton, the daughter of Emmett Ashford (the first black umpire in the majors).
Many attendees were dressed in baseball caps and jerseys. There was more Dodger gear than anything else — this is Los Angeles, after all — but plenty of other teams were represented as well, including many which no longer exist, like the St. Louis Browns (Tom Keefe, head of the Eddie Gaedel Society, was decked out in a “⅛” jersey, naturally).
If you listened in on any random conversation, you’d hear baseball talk, sometimes contemporary in nature, sometimes historical, often both. While one group was discussing how Aaron Judge was re-elevating the Yankees’ status in New York, another was laughing at a story about Tommy Lasorda’s indignation over Sandy Koufax taking his roster spot.
“You see Justin Turner?” one attendee asks his companions. “If he keeps this up, he’ll be the Dodgers’ first batting champion since Tommy Davis.”
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/a-joyful-celebration-of-baseball/
Originally published: July 20, 2017. Last Updated: July 20, 2017.