Laker Blogger Dave Visits the Baseball Reliquary

 

These are anxious times for Lakers fans. In a matter of days we'll know where the team stands in the NBA draft lottery. And about a month later the actual draft will take place, and a new player or two will be brought into the franchise.

Despite the fact that the team has been absent for two years from that NBA cash cow known as the playoffs, the sans-Lakers postseason has been mildly entertaining. Even so, it's always better when my favorite team is out there holding court on the hardwood during the playoffs. 

But you know what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.

But since the Lakers weren't invited to the final dance of the season, and because the lotto and draft are pending, I've decided to do something radically different with this post. I'm going to talk about baseball! Specifically something that celebrates baseball and the culture of the sport. 

The Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth

So my biggest problem was to figure out how to segue a baseball story into a Los Angeles Lakers blog (I'm sure you're thinking the same right?.....................or not).

 
Aside from being a huge Lakers fan, I'm also a longtime Dodgers fan.

Checking Out a Dodgers Game with My Brothers in 2008

My first love in sports was baseball. I couldn't play it to save my arse, but I loved to watch it. My father and I regularly attended around 10-12 games a year at Dodgers Stadium from the mid-1970's through the early 80's.  

Additionally we spent many an enjoyable evening by the tube listening to Vin Scully, Ross Porter and Jerry Doggett weave their stories during the Dodgers broadcasts.

Ross Porter, Vin Scully, and Jerry Doggett

However, my foray into playing the sport was not as fruitful. During the one season I played baseball I managed to scrap my way to a batting average of .000. I quite literally stunk. Oh I managed to get on base. I was hit by a pitch twice, I managed a few walks, and somehow I even managed two or three stolen bases. Those are stats unworthy of gracing a modern-day baseball card. Mostly I just helped the umpire exercise his vocal chords: 

A Typical At Bat During Lone My Baseball Season

Despite all this, I still loved watching baseball. I loved collecting cards in those early years, and I was a stat freak who could tell you how many home runs, hits, and RBI's my favorite player Steve Garvey had in any given season. I used to gobble up statistics so much, it's a wonder I was so bad at math.   

Baseball was my gateway drug to other sports. It would eventually lead me to basketball, my sport of choice, and life-long passion. But I never gave up my love for baseball. Among other things, I’ve always been fascinated with the stories that swirl around the sport. Being the national pastime, it's created a unique lore, and a colorful, if not sometimes, controversial history that has stamped its imprint into American culture. 

Countless books, movies, and various forms of art, including a host of Norman Rockwell paintings are just some of the cultural manifestations of baseball in the USA. Those examples by the way aren’t even the tip of the iceberg of baseball-influenced art and literature. Ah yes, time for my next segue.

My interest in baseball was recently rekindled by my introduction to an institution known as the Baseball Reliquary. What is the Reliquary? Why reinvent the wheel? Here is the description from their website: 

The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities. 

The Reliquary is run by a walking-talking-baseball-encyclopedia of a man by the name of Terry Cannon. Terry serves as the executive director, chief storyteller, and lead Wikibaseballiac (I love blogging; you can make up words as you go!) of the Reliquary. If Terry and Vin Scully were out having dinner on a Friday night, the two of them would still be swapping stories at the restaurant Sunday morning. 

Terry Cannon - Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary

The Reliquary itself is a full-fledged organization with members, who among other things, annually elect influential figures from baseball's past into a hall of fame known as the Shrine of the Eternals. Every July the Reliquary hosts a ceremony for the inductees for the Shrine at the Central Library in Pasadena, California.

2014 Shrine of the Eternals Inductees

Some of the things you’ll find on the Reliquary’s Internet site include: information on current and former projects and exhibits, an overview of the organization, information about past inductees into the Shrine of the Eternals, and how to become a member.

The "brick and mortar" portion of the Reliquary exists in the Institute of Baseball Studies which is housed at Whittier College in Whittier, California. The Institute has an impressive booty of books, periodicals and artwork on baseball. Among its many uses, the Institute is utilized as a research facility for scholars, students, and baseball aficionados alike.

  

I was in attendance for the Institute's inauguration back in January, and I recently paid a 2nd visit to the establishment.

I was joined on my 2nd visit with my buddies Eric, and fellow blogger Stealing Home.

Terry filled our baseball-thirsty minds with various stories of some of the sport's more colorful characters, and he shared some of the Institute's artifacts and artworks that are housed in the facility. 

Terry Discusses the Rennie Stennett "6th Hit Ball" from Stennett's Record Breaking Night on September 20th, 1975

He even shared some basketball lore and artwork during our trip. He knew of my love for the sport, and his knowledge of hoops was just as impressive as it was for baseball.

I wouldn't want to cheat you by retelling the stories here. You'll have to pay a visit and ask the man yourself. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Needless to say, my fellow sports lovers and I were highly impressed. 

For a more detailed review of the Reliquary and the Institute of Baseball Studies, check out these posts from Stealing Home:

http://alltradebait.blogspot.com/2015/04/have-you-heard-of-other-baseball-hall.html

http://alltradebait.blogspot.com/2015/04/wallet-card-visits-institute-for.html

http://alltradebait.blogspot.com/2015/04/visiting-institiute-for-baseball.html

In the near future, Terry and his Reliquary cohorts hope to inherit a larger space in their current building, but there's still plenty to discover if you stop by. If you would like to visit the Institute, the facility is open to the public every Friday from 12 to 5PM on the third floor of the Mendenhall Building at Whittier College (or by appointment). 

The Mendenhall Building at Whittier College

I hope you enjoyed this temporary diversion from the world of Lakers basketball. Tune in later next week as I attempt to devote a full column to the Lakers lotto position (or lack thereof!).

 

Till then, stay healthy.