Hall of Fame Classic Tickets on Sale Today for Museum Members

Cooperstown’s Legends Game Returns to Doubleday Field on May 27; Weekend Features Tribute to ‘Homer at the Bat’ Episode of THE SIMPSONS

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Baseball’s mythical home is also America’s Most Perfect Village. So when the National Pastime and Americana intersect in Cooperstown, it’s a weekend guaranteed to be a Classic.

Tickets for the 2017 Hall of Fame Classic, scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend, are now available online and via phone for participants in the Museum’s Membership Program. Hall of Fame members Wade Boggs, Goose Gossage, Phil Niekro and Ozzie Smith will be joined by recently retired players representing all 30 major league teams for a seven-inning legends game on Saturday, May 27 at Cooperstown’s historic Doubleday Field.

Classic Weekend will also feature a tribute to the “Homer at the Bat” episode of THE SIMPSONS, which aired for the first time on Feb. 20, 1992 and featured future Hall of Famers Boggs, Smith and Ken Griffey Jr.

The 2017 Hall of Fame Classic, presented by Ford Motor Company, highlights a weekend of family entertainment programs designed to celebrate the timeless connection of baseball across generations.

Tickets are now on sale via phone at 1-877-726-9028 or at www.baseballhall.org. Tickets for the Hall of Fame Classic are $12.50 for first and third base seats and $11 for general admission outfield seats. Tickets for non-Museum Members will go on sale March 13. A maximum of eight tickets are available per transaction.

The Classic, now in its ninth year and fueled by assistance from MLB, features the pregame Home Run Derby at noon, followed by first pitch at 1:05 p.m.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will pay tribute to THE SIMPSONS’ place in American culture by honoring “Homer at the Bat” on Saturday, May 27 prior to the annual Hall of Fame Classic. Boggs and Smith, who were portrayed in the unforgettable episode that featured Homer Simpson winning the championship softball game for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with a walk-off hit-by-pitch, will be featured in a roundtable discussion from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Museum. The Home Run Derby will follow at noon at Doubleday Field as a lead-in to the ninth annual Hall of Fame Classic. THE SIMPSONS will also be honored as part of the pregame ceremonies prior to the Hall of Fame Classic.

The roundtable will also feature Homer Simpson’s “induction” into the Hall of Fame and introduce a year-long Museum exhibit dedicated to THE SIMPSONS. In “Homer at the Bat,” Hall of Famers Smith, Boggs and Ken Griffey Jr. were three of the nine “ringers” brought in by the owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, C. Montgomery Burns, to ensure his team’s victory. But almost all of the stars were fated not to play, each having suffered a separate and unique misfortune leading up to the game. The voices of the actual players were used in the episode.

Hall of Famers Niekro and Smith return to the Hall of Fame Classic as team captains and managers. They will be joined by four additional Hall of Famers: Boggs and Gossage, along with two to be announced. Each will serve as coaches for the teams. The full roster of Classic players will be announced later this spring.

In addition to the Classic, Hall of Fame Classic Weekend features additional family events designed to promote interactivity between fans and their baseball heroes. Following the game on Saturday, the Hall of Fame will reprise its Night at the Museum program, now in its fifth season. Hall of Fame legends and former players will greet fans throughout the Museum on Saturday evening beginning at 6 p.m. Legends participants will be stationed throughout the Museum during the course of a two-hour event that will bring the Museum to life with special programs and interactions.

While the Night at the Museum program is not an autograph session, fans should remember to bring their camera to capture their special family memories.

Tickets for Night at the Museum are priced at $50 for participants in the Museum’s Membership Program and $100 for non-Members. A ticket to Night at the Museum also includes a ticket to the Hall of Fame Classic. For information on Museum Membership, please visit www.baseballhall.org/join.

All tickets purchased online or via phone will be shipped starting Friday, April 28. Tickets purchased online or via phone prior to May 21 will be sent via U.S. Mail. Tickets purchased May 22 through May 25 must be picked up at the Doubleday Field Will Call tent beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 27.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ticket Booth starting March 6 (for Members; March 13 for non-Members) through Friday, May 26, and again at the Doubleday Field Will Call tent beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 27.

The Cooperstown Classic Clinic will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, May 26 at Doubleday Field. The Clinic, for children 7-12 years of age, gives youth participants a chance to receive hands-on training from several former major leaguers at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has teamed up with Sports Travel and Tours to offer baseball fans a one-stop opportunity to purchase Classic Weekend travel packages. For more information or to plan a trip to Cooperstown, please call 1-888-310-HALL (4255). Membership participants receive a 5% discount on all their baseball travel packages.

Also as part of Classic Weekend, Hall of Fame members will lead an exclusive golf outing, with a limited number of spots available for golfers, at the beautiful Leatherstocking Golf Course on Otsego Lake. For more information on supporting the Hall of Fame through this exclusive golf outing, please call 607-547-0310.