El Profe: Miranda’s Red Carpet Arrival
By Adrian Burgos
Before she could walk, she was on a red carpet in Cooperstown, entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to chants of “Baby! Baby!”
My family attended the 2006 Hall of Fame Weekend as guests of the Hall after I served on the Special Committee on Negro Leagues. It was an accident of kindness from Hall of Fame staff that got us that grand entrance that late July evening, yet it remains a magnificent and forever treasured memory in our household.
As is now tradition, Saturday evening featured a parade of Hall of Famers followed by a gala reception in the plaque gallery. All the returning greats participate in the parade. Fans reserve their spots for hours to get a glimpse of Willie Mays, Whitey Ford, Hank Aaron, and a host of other legends being transported to the steps of the Hall.
The trek from The Otesaga Resort Hotel to the Hall with a baby in a stroller would have been challenging under normal circumstances; it was made all the more so with fans lining both sides of Main Street. A Hall staffer arranged to shuttle us over in one of the cars used to transport Hall of Famers.
So, there we were, being dropped off at the front of the Hall with our six-month-old. Gratefulness for the lift turned into bemusement as we exited the car. The crowd outside was prepared to chant the name of whichever player was pulling up, but instead murmured, “Who’s that?” One of us answered, “Guests of the Hall of Fame.” That’s when the quick-witted chant arose from the crowd: “Baby! Baby!
It’s in the Genes
Miranda loves baseball. She got it from both sides of the family. It’s not just that I am a baseball historian and professor; her mom (my wife Dolly) is a diehard Yankees fan and baseball apologist. If there were no other sport in the world besides baseball, it would suit Dolly just fine.
Baseball was ingrained in Miranda’s DNA from the start. Among the baby shower gifts that she received was a Yankees uniform onesie. Naturally, that was one of the outfits she wore during Induction weekend in Cooperstown. It was a hit.
Miranda met her first Hall of Famer, Dave Winfield, on the veranda of the Otesaga while wearing that Yankees onesie. In fact, she kind of adopted Winfield — her papi’s favorite Yankee — as one of her favorite ballplayers.
She even got a repeat engagement with Winfield back home in Illinois. When the touring Baseball Music Project — an evening of baseball-themed music — visited the University of Illinois’ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in October 2010, we had occasion for a reunion. Winfield hosted the concert as the night’s emcee, and after the show, Miranda and I were lucky enough to spend backstage time with Winfield.
Hall of Fame Magic
Winfield is not the only Hall of Famer Miranda has met, just the first.
One night out of the year, the plaque gallery comes alive like no other time, just after the parade ends. There is no other moment when one can find that many legends gathered in the Hall.
In the alcoves where their plaques hang, one can find Hall of Famers sitting at tables with family and friends. Mays. Frank Robinson. George Brett. All of them milling about the gallery.
The highlight that night for our family was meeting the Latino Giants, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal. These were the pioneros who played during the first generation of baseball integration. They realized the major league dreams previously denied to most of their compatriots and, in Cepeda’s case, denied to his own father, due to baseball’s color line and Jim Crow segregation.
It was then that baby Miranda got to have her picture taken with Cepeda and Marichal. She was being hoisted by greatness in those photos, even if she did not yet comprehend it.
When we revisited Cooperstown a couple summers ago, we received a tour inside the Hall of Fame’s vault. The lover of baseball and history in Miranda was on full display. She relished being able to put on the white gloves and hold pieces of baseball history.
The checklist of what she can say she’s done as a 10-year-old baseball fan is impressive:
- Meet Hall of Famers
- Hold Babe Ruth’s bat
- Spot the stitches of baseballs on Ted Williams’ bat
- Hold Roberto Clemente’s cap
For Miranda, the magic of the Hall of Fame started that July evening when we shared a red carpet entrance with the greats. One day, the next generation of our family will have her stories — stories about her love of the game and her brush with the extraordinary giants who played it.
Featured Image: Jesús Jacobo
Inset Images: Adrian Burgos Jr.