A Home Run of a Museum!

Today is National Museum Day.  Betcha didn't know that!  ;-)

No, we didn't go to a museum today but we did a couple weeks ago while we were in Louisville.

Yes... we went to the Louisville Slugger Musuem!

The iconic "Big Bat" is 120 feet long and weighs 68,000 pounds.  It is hollow and could hold 30,000 gallons of water.  It was built locally by a tank company and is made of carbon steel.  Big Bat is a replica of Babe Ruth's bat.  The signiture is that of Bud Hillerich - who made the first Louisville Slugger bat in 1884.

Just in case you don't know where you are!

Loved it that there is a female batter on the building!

As soon as we bought our tickets, we zipped in to catch the next factory tour.

This room is a mock-up of a factory area.  You are not allowed to take photos inside the factory.

A few bat facts.

OK, as we left I noticed there were windows directly into the factory.

Not covered... there for anyone walking by to look through.  Including people who had not paid good money to go inside and be told not to take photos...

So I took photos!

This area is where they burn in the Louisville Slugger logos (the yellow framed area on the left).  The place next to it is a basket where the 'tabs' from the lathe held the bats for cutting are dropped when cut off.

This is an order of bats... loaded and waiting on fabulous wheeled carts.

After the factory tour we headed into the museum.

Look at all those bats!

The displays were very interesting.  This one held bats belonging to different major league players.

There were many informational displays.

Have you ever seen the movie "Field of Dreams"?  

If so, you know the name "Shoeless Joe".

And do you remember what the character of Shoeless Joe said about Ty Cobb in the movie?

~smile~

Then another nod to a baseball movie, "A League of Their Own".

"There's no crying in baseball!"

In this area, you can stand behind "the catcher" (and behind a fence) as a baseball is fired off at you at 90 MPH.  It gets to the catcher in the blink of an eye.

Have you ever wondered just how they get bats from the trees?

This is it!

Sure didn't know they did all that to a bat!

This was really interesting!

A braille signed bat!

There were several displays dedicated to my childhood hero Johnny Bench.

I would have been over the moon doing this as a child!

Here's one for the home team...the St. Louis Cardinals.

Big J... if you ever visit, you need to do this! 

Is this not the coolest bench!  It's carved from Kentucky limstone and at 12 feet long, 9 feet wide and 4 feet high, it weighs 34,000 pounds.

Not only can you buy your very own Louisville Slugger here... you can have it personalized too.

Going to cost you though...

There was another display at the museum that was oh-so baseball...

Topps baseball cards!

Ever wonder how they got started?

Ahhhh... a very good year!  For me and Willie!!

Not all the cards put out by Topps were about baseball.  They have a very popular line featuring TV and movie stars.

Isn't that old TV fabulous?

Were you a Lost in Space fan?

Or was Star Trek your cup of tea?

That really is one of the bull whips Harrison Ford used.

Even something for Little Bird!

And for her Auntie too!

However, I think THIS baseball card will be my all time favorite!