Red Sox baseball and Boston area baseball museums

With baseball history and museums the most obvious name to surface is the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. This is a great visit for the diehard fan, casual fan or those that may be dragged along to see baseball and American history.

For the Red Sox fan, you will see much centered on your team, but there are other options in the greater Boston area that have baseball history and Red Sox history.

The Cape Cod League Baseball League Hall of Fame is located at the John F. Kennedy Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The CCL is the premier college league in the nation and has a list of major league players that is extensive. The exhibits are fascinating as you can see the very beginnings of some talented players.

“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” – Jacques Barzun

If you want to attract attention from an MLB player at a ballpark buy a CCL jersey. Go down to the front by a dugout and a player will spot you and often come over to just say hello. I’ve seen it happen many times.

In Concord, Massachusetts there is the Concord Museum which will have a summer exhibit called “The Art of Baseball,” which will focus on over 50 articles of fine and folk art on baseball from private collections. Doris Kearns Goodwin, is the Honorary Curator.

The New England Sports Museum is now located at the TD North Garden. The exhibits focus on sports in New England and, quite naturally, the Red Sox are a big part of it. If you are in Boston for a game this may be an enjoyable side trip. Just check the schedule as the museum has to open around Garden events.

Fenway Park tours are a must and are available year round. You will see the park from the inside out with interesting stories and anecdotal insights from the very knowledgeable guides. I have taken many ballpark tours and consider this the best I have ever been on. The guides know baseball and Red Sox to a baseball PhD level.

Never been to Braves Field? For you can still go since part of it still remains at Boston University. B.U. is just a short walk from Kenmore Square and the field is now called Nickerson and has been almost totally rebuilt. However, there are some portions that remain along with commemorative plaques.

Before Fenway there were the Huntington Street Grounds that were the original home of the Boston Red Sox. The park was located where Northeastern University now stands and there is a statue of Cy Young on the original site of home plate. N.U., like B.U., is a very easy walk from Kenmore area and there is actually some very reasonable ballpark parking if you don’t object to a 20 minute walk.

In Kenmore Square is a great boutique hotel called the Buckminster. I usually go there before games for the bountiful and reasonably priced appetizers. The hotel is where the plot for the Black Sox scandal was fermented and there is a plaque in the lobby depicting that sorry point in baseball history.

A visit to the Boston area this summer will offer some baseball history of the Red Sox and baseball itself if you dig a little.

More from BoSox Injection

Home/Red Sox History