29 June 2008

Baseball Novice Learns Batting Gloves Are Not Just Fashion

I like museums, but I wasn’t super-thrilled about going to the Louisville Slugger Museum with Matt and Nate. Of course, we showed up an hour before the museum even opened, which was lucky (eh-hem) because we could take undisturbed photographs of the 120 foot tall bat that decorates the entrance of the museum. We had just stopped at Waffle House for smothered and covered hash browns, but I already needed more coffee.

But, once we entered the museum, I caught a little of the bug. A wall in the lobby is covered in metal plates carved with the signatures of all the ball players who have signed contracts to carry Louisville Slugger bats. The museum has two of Babe Ruth’s bats on display, one of which (imagine this) was found in the back of someone’s closet. An interactive pitching exhibit shows what a 90 mph pitch looks like, but the thing is, you can’t see it. I admit it did make me gain a little more understanding for how difficult hitting a ball in the Major Leagues is.

I did head into the batting cages, but my pitches were only at 40 mph. Or was it 20 mph? All I know is that I whined the whole time because my hands hurt each time I hit the ball (yep, that’s right – EACH time I hit the ball). I only saw the gloves afterwards.

And yes, even though I thought I would have rather looked for knick-knacks with a latte in my hands, I ended up chock full of questions for my tour guide and very happily took my free mini-Louisville Slugger.

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