Navy Commissions Warship That is Also Floating Baseball Museum

IBWAA

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The USS Cooperstown at her berth in New York Harbor on May 6, the day of her commissioning.Photo byU.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kevin C. Leitner

By Dan Schlossberg

So much happened on Saturday morning, May 6 that it’s hard to believe two weeks have passed since.

For King Charles, it was Coronation Day. For millions of horse-racing enthusiasts, it was the running of the Kentucky Derby — called the most exciting two minutes in sports for good reason.

For Willie Mays, for the State of Israel, and for me, it was a birthday celebration.

And for the United States Navy, it was prime time to unveil the USS Cooperstown, a warship named for the 70 Baseball Hall of Famers — including 27 Navy veterans — who served in combat during the Second World War or Korea.

Under sunny skies at Pier 88 in New York Harbor, a band played Anchors Aweigh and The Marine Hymn while crewmen and officers dressed in white performed well-choreographed dedication ceremonies.

Speakers included Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark and president Josh Rawitch plus Hall of Famer members Joe Torre and Johnny Bench, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, among others.

Bench’s father Ted served in North Africa and Italy during World War II while Torre’s older brother Rocco served in the Navy.

Hall of Fame legends Ted Williams, Bob Feller, and Gil Hodges also served in the Navy during wartime, with Feller winning eight battle stars as a tailgunner aboard the USS Alabama.

A floating “Field of Dreams,” the sleek warship — the first to be named Cooperstown — carries a crew of 98 and staterooms outfitted with replica plaques from the Hall of Fame gallery, as well as other baseball memorabilia. Several medallions and a baseball were placed into the base of the ship’s mast last fall as good luck symbols.

The ship is the newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), designed for close-to-shore battle with adversaries.

Its home port will be in Florida.

Here’s The Pitch Weekend Editor Dan Schlossberg is a veteran too, serving as a broadcast specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve for five years. He’s now a veteran of writing baseball books. E.mail him at ballauthor@gmail.com.

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