Scott Green's Blog

In 1994 I started playing in tournaments in Cooperstown, usually in July. The town was certainly very busy with tourists, mostly middle aged men and women, going to the HOF, checking out the shops with over priced memorabilia, and standing in a line for a sandwich or a table in one of the few restaurants. 15 years later, I bring my own small group there in mid September, and the town has taken on a completely different feel. It has been heading this way the past few years, but this season in particular for me anyway, Cooperstown just didn’t appeal to me the way it used to. My favorite store “The National Pastime” where one could buy an oil painting of a Hall of Famer, or an old patty cake glove, or great authentic items from your favorite team, was closed, and had become an ice cream store. Like many of the stores in town, many have changed to accomodate the new demographic, youth baseball players and there young families. I decided years ago not to trek to Cooperstown in the summer to avoid the massive influx of Dreams Park players, and there families. Don’t misunderstand me, I am all for youth baseball, but it has taken this quaint town for the adult tourist and turned it into a a town with shlocky merchandise, metered parking, over crowding, unattainable lodging, and terrible service at the few good eateries. Even going up this past week, the eveidence of an understaffed town was very visible. After having perhaps the worst meal I have ever endured on Saturday night, at a restaurant I have been bringing business to for years and I am known at, I kept telling the guests at the table, “this is Cooperstown”. On Sunday morning . I strolled into one of the shops and had a long conversation with the owner about the changing face of this little hamlet. He told me he expected at least 3 or 4 more stores to go under this winter as the frivolous dollar becomes even more precious to consumers. The economy has hit this town hard, and the new demographic has changed it, enough so, that we will take a long look at coming back next year. I love Doubleday Field, the people who work there, and the same with Beaver Valley. But the rest of the place is leaving a big sour taste in my mouth. It just isn’t 1994 any longer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 3:26 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.