Hall of Fame Military Classic Celebrates America in Cooperstown

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – The unofficial start of summer featured fall-like weather in Cooperstown.

But players and fans braved the elements on Saturday to celebrate baseball’s longstanding bond with America.

The Hall of Fame Military Classic Presented by New Era ended after one inning with a persistent rain that started before noon eventually leaving the Doubleday Field grounds unplayable. Pregame festivities went on as planned, however, with Jonny Gomes defeating Josh Reddick in the final round of the Home Run Derby.

Gomes, who was headed toward an enlistment in the Marines before being drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2001, totaled 162 home runs during his 13-year big league career.

“Are you kidding? I’m built for this,” Gomes said about battling raindrops to hit three Derby home runs. “Any time Cooperstown calls, you’re there.”

The score was 2-1 in favor of Team Stripes at the end of one frame. Team Stars began the scoring in the top of the first when Nick Ahmed scored on a groundout by Curtis Pride.

Team Stripes scored twice in the bottom of the first when Reddick touched home plate after a long single by Daniel Murphy, followed by an RBI double by Kevin Mench.

“It was fun. Unfortunately, the weather didn't hold up for us, but we had a good time,” said 17-year big league veteran Edwin Jackson, who started on the mound for Team Stars. “Every time you get a chance to come to Cooperstown, you’re coming into history. For us to get to come out and celebrate armed services this weekend, it’s a lot of fun. They’re out there putting their lives on the line for us, and a lot of us, we come from military backgrounds, so this is just kind of a way to say ‘Appreciate y’all.’”

The Hall of Fame Military Classic: A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice featured Hall of Famer coaches Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, Fergie Jenkins, Todd Helton, Tony La Russa, Jack Morris and Scott Rolen.

The Military Classic rosters consisted of Jeremy Affeldt, Nick Ahmed, Al Bumbry, Charlie Culberson, Ryan Dempster, Mark Dewey, Jonny Gomes, Mitch Harris, Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Jonathan Lucroy, Kevin Mench, Rick Monday, Charlie Morton, Daniel Murphy, Jake Peavy, Curtis Pride, Josh Reddick, Zach Reks, David Robertson, Shane Spencer, Alex Wilson, Todd Zeile and Brad Ziegler.

Brittany Apgar and Alyssa Zettlemoyer of the Women’s Pro Baseball League also participated in the game, as did Louisville Slugger Warriors Carlo Adame, Kenny Celeste, Lonnie Gaudet and Derrick Victor.

The Hall of Famers and players participated in Museum programming and an autograph session for ticket holders following the game.

CLASSIC NOTEBOOK: Because the game did not reach the official point of three-and-a-half innings, rain checks will be issued to ticket holders via information found on the reverse of the ticket…Benjamin Pomerance performed “The Star-Spangled Banner”…The ceremonial first pitch was delivered by U.S. Naval aviator Jim DiMatteo…The umpires for the game were: Steve Andrews (Air Force), Shawn Beckerink (Air Force), Tom Brigham (Air Force) and Joe Weaver (Army).

Hall of Fame Weekend 2026 will take place July 24-27 in Cooperstown, with the Induction Ceremony on Sunday, July 26. Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent will be inducted as the Class of 2026 on the grounds of Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center. For more information on Hall of Fame Weekend, please visit baseballhall.org/hofw.