Incredible story of 2017 season told through artifacts in Cooperstown

From Opening Day until Game 7 of the World Series, perhaps the best way to relive Major League Baseball’s greatest milestones from the 2017 season is to take a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame, where artifacts from those moments will live forever.

Thanks to MLB, its Clubs and its players, more than 50 artifacts – just a fraction of the overall number of artifacts donated to the Hall of Fame this year – were generously donated during the 2017 season. Several more artifacts came to Cooperstown from the World Baseball Classic, held during MLB’s Spring Training.

“This has been one of the Hall of Fame’s best years ever for artifact acquisition. We received 54 game-used artifacts from 48 different players and 28 of the 30 MLB teams,” said Erik Strohl, the Hall’s Vice President of Collections and Exhibitions. “Every year special and crazy things happen in the world of baseball, and we had an awesome year documenting these moments. No matter how long someone has watched baseball, it always seems that we see things we have never seen before.”

The first donation to the Baseball Hall of Fame came from an event on the first day of the baseball calendar. The San Francisco Giants’ Madison Bumgarner knocked two solo home runs in a loss to Arizona, marking the first time any pitcher hit multiple home runs on Opening Day, April 2. His batting helmet from that moment arrived in Cooperstown shortly thereafter.

Opening Day in Atlanta took place a dozen days after Bumgarner’s feat. A new season for the Braves, but also their first game at new SunTrust Park. Atlanta center fielder Ender Inciarte, who earned his first All-Star Game appearance and would bring home a Gold Glove Award, went 2-for-4 as the leadoff hitter. His single and home run were the first hit and round tripper, respectively, at the Braves’ new ballpark. He also scored the first run at SunTrust Park. Inciarte’s batting helmet will live at the Hall of Fame to commemorate those moments.

Not only does Inciarte’s helmet mark milestones on the stat sheet, but it also is an example of technological innovations in baseball. The batting helmet was the first use of a new “carbon fiber” design pattern.

“The pattern fits on our navy helmet and doesn’t really mess with the design too much,” Braves equipment manager Ben Acree told ESPN.com’s Paul Lukas in April. “It’s a subtle pattern, not too crazy. That’s important because we wanted to walk a fine line between our very strong team tradition and being innovative.”

Other parts of the uniform new to Major League Baseball found a home in Cooperstown. A pair of “Stars and Stripes” themed socks worn by Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon on July 4 marks 2017 as the first season MLB provided players with themed socks to be used for select games.

Continuing with the theme of celebrating national holidays, the Blue Jays’ Russell Martin, a native of Canada, donated the alternate jersey he wore during the team’s Canada Day celebration on July 1. Toronto wore red jerseys featuring a special maple leaf patch to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday.

Some new lumber was collected by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cincinnati’s Scooter Gennett and Arizona’s J.D. Martinez each connected for four home runs in one game. Gennett did so in June and Martinez in September, adding their names to an exclusive list and sending their bats to Cooperstown. Robinson Cano’s bat which he used in August to hit his 500th career double also traveled to Cooperstown.

Headgear seemed to be a common theme among donations this year. Aside from Bumgarner’s and Inciarte’s helmets, some of 2017’s offerings included: Batting helmets worn by Carlos Gomez and Evan Longoria when each hit for the cycle; Adrian Beltré's batting helmet worn on July 30 when he joined the 3,000-hit club; Edinson Volquez’s cap (as well as his shoes and a baseball) from his June 3 no-hitter; and a cap and protective cap insert worn by Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker during the 2017 season.

Other guys simply (and literally) gave the shirts off their backs. Albert Pujols reached the 600-home run club with a grand slam on June 3 and donated another uniform shirt he wore in that game. Minnesota’s Miguel Sano offered the jersey he wore as runner up in the 2017 Home Run Derby, while Washington’s Anthony Rendon gave the jersey he wore while going 6-for-6 with three home runs and 10 RBI on April 30. Major League Baseball offered players a weekend for themselves in August, allowing them to put a name or nickname of their choice, as well as honor a special someone on a “Thank You” sleeve patch, on a specially designed team jersey. The Yankees’ Gary Sanchez opted for his moniker, “Kraken,” and he and MLB released the Kraken jersey to the Baseball Hall of Fame. St. Louis’ Yadier Molina donated his Players’ Weekend jersey, as well. But his also was worn during the inaugural Little League Classic, played on Aug. 20 in Williamsport and featuring the Cardinals and Pirates. This was the first time an MLB game took place there during the Little League World Series. The Cleveland Indians pulled off an American League-record 22-game winning streak in August and September en route to an American League-best 102 wins. Items from the Indians' historic run include: a baseball thrown by starter Corey Kluber on Sept. 12 when the Indians captured win no. 20 to tie the record; the jersey worn by starter Mike Clevinger the next day for win no. 21, setting the new record; a Danny Salazar-model bat used by Jose Ramirez on Sept. 5 to hit five extra-base hits in one game, tying a major league record; and tickets for the games against Detroit and Kansas City in which the streak was set, culminated, and ultimately broken. Though the Indians fell short of a championship, the Houston Astros captured the franchise’s first World Series title in a rollicking and memorable seven-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many artifacts from both teams will see their way into the “Autumn Glory” exhibit, which will transition during the offseason. Astros pitchers Justin Verlander and Charlie Morton donated a road jersey and a cap, respectively. Houston’s third baseman, Alex Bregman, gave the glove he used to make many defensive plays during the Series. From the Dodgers, Los Angeles’ Chris Taylor and Joc Pederson donated their uniform tops, and pitcher Brandon Morrow, who became the second pitcher to appear in seven World Series games in one season, offered his cap and spikes. “We are most appreciative of the generosity of teams and players that allow us to share these moments with the hundreds of thousands of fans that visit Cooperstown each year,” Strohl noted. “We can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!”

Matt Rothenberg is the manager of the Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum