Saving a spot

When the Major League Baseball All-Star Game debuted on July 6, 1933 in Chicago, the National Baseball Hall of Fame was not yet a part of the American lexicon.

But over the next nine decades, the connection between All-Stars and the Hall of Fame has become a yearly summer celebration for the National Pastime.

Twenty-four of the 75 All-Stars named to date to the July 14 Mid-Summer Classic in Cincinnati, Ohio, are represented in Cooperstown by artifacts in the Hall of Fame’s permanent collection. The Museum’s unparalleled archive features more than 40,000 three-dimensional artifacts, each telling a memorable story from the National Pastime’s glorious history.

Members of the 2015 All-Star Game roster with artifacts in the Museum’s collection include:

Jose Altuve (Astros) – Spikes worn on June 29, 2014 when he recorded a multi-steal game for the fourth straight contest, the first player since 1917 to reach that level; bat used to record MLB-most 224th and 225th hits of 2014 season

Miguel Cabrera (Tigers) – Team Venezuela batting helmet from 2009 World Baseball Classic; bat used to hit home runs No. 39 and 40 during 2012 season; spikes worn on Oct. 3, 2012 when Cabrera clinched the AL Triple Crown; jersey won on Aug. 23, 2013 when he hit his 43rd home run of the season

Nelson Cruz (Mariners) – Batting gloves worn when he hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS; Jersey from Game 6 of the 2011 ALCS when he hit his sixth home run of the postseason

Prince Fielder (Rangers) – Bat used in 2007 when he became the youngest player in history to hit 50 home runs in a season; jersey worn in the 2011 All-Star Game

Felix Hernandez (Mariners) – Cap from Team Venezuela at 2009 World Baseball Classic; jersey and game-used ball from Aug. 15, 2012 perfect game

Russell Martin (Blue Jays) – Bat used on August 25, 2011 to record a grand slam home run, one of a record three New York Yankees players to hit a grand slam in New York’s 22-9 victory against Oakland

Albert Pujols (Angels) – Jersey worn on Sept. 19, 2001 when he broke the National League record for RBI in a season by a rookie; bat and batting gloves used on August 24 and 29, 2004 to hit his 39th and 40th home runs of the season; bat and batting gloves used to record his 30th home run of the season on Aug. 16, 2011, becoming the first player in history to hit 30 or more home runs in each of his first 11 seasons; shoes worn during Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, when he hit three home runs; shoes worn to record his 500th career home run on April 22, 2014

Madison Bumgarner (Giants) – Cap worn during his win in Game 4 of the 2010 World Series; cap worn during his three appearances in the 2014 World Series

A.J. Burnett (Pirates) – Game-used baseball and cap worn on May 12, 2001, when he recorded a no-hitter; cap worn on final day of 2012 season, when he finished with a 16-10 record and 3.51 ERA

Aroldis Chapman (Reds) – Cap worn on July 11, 2014 when he recorded his 40th straight appearance with a strikeout to set a MLB record; cap worn on April 10, 2015 when he earned his 115th career save and established a new record for Cuban-born MLB players

Gerrit Cole (Pirates) – Cap worn on Sept. 9, 2013 when he helped the Pirates earn their 82nd win of the season, marking the franchise’s first winning season in 21 years

Brandon Crawford (Giants) – Cap worn during the 2012 postseason and World Series

Zack Greinke (Dodgers) – Game-used baseball from Aug. 25, 2009 when he struck out 15 batters; road jersey worn on Sept. 27, 2009, when he earned his 16th victory of the season; game-used baseball from Sept. 25, 2012, when he and four other Angels pitchers combined to strike out 20 Marlins batters

Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) – Jersey worn on July 7, 2011, when he recorded his ninth win of the season; spikes worn during the 2013 season when he won his second NL Cy Young Award with a major league-best 1.83 ERA; game-used baseball from his no-hitter thrown on June 18, 2014

Andrew McCutchen (Pirates) – Road jersey from 2012 season, when he finished with a National League-best 194 hits

Yadier Molina (Cardinals) – Catchers mask worn during 2006 season and World Series

Jonathan Papelbon (Phillies) – Glove used in the 2007 World Series; game-used baseball from Sept. 1, 2014, when Papelbon and three other Phillies pitchers combined to no-hit the Braves

Buster Posey (Giants) – Catchers mask and spikes worn during the 2010 World Series; jersey worn in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series

Francisco Rodriguez (Brewers) – Ball and jersey from his record 58th save on Sept. 13, 2008; ball from his 57th save of the season on Sept. 11, 2008; ball from his 50th save of the season on Aug. 24, 2008

Max Scherzer (Nationals) – Jersey from Sept. 20, 2013 when he recorded his 20th win of the season

Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins) – Batting helmet worn on Sept. 28, 2011 in the Marlins’ final home game at Sun Life Stadium; spikes worn on Sept. 29, 2013 when he scored the only run of the game on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the no-hitter of teammate Henderson Alvarez