“Hitting to All Fields in West Stockbridge” Show

“Hitting to All Fields in West Stockbridge” is a multimedia display on the history of baseball in the Berkshires presented by Baseball in the Berkshires and the West Stockbridge Historical Society. The exhibition will focus on the history of baseball in West Stockbridge including the famous semi-pro Troy’s Garage team.   

The exhibit will be held in the Old Town Hall, 9 Main Street, home of the West Stockbridge Historical Society, on Thursday, April 27, through Sunday, April 30. This exhibit is supported by the West Stockbridge Cultural Council.   

A special program, “Baseball in the Berkshires and Troy’s Garage,” will be presented on Friday, April 28, from 6:30 to 8 pm by Larry Moore, director of Baseball in the Berkshires, and Kevin Larkin, author of Big Time Baseball in a Small Berkshire Town: A History of Troy’s Garage Semi Pro Baseball Team.   

In addition, on Saturday and Sunday there will be hands-on presentations on the history of baseball gloves and bats. On Saturday, visitors will see the evolution of gloves from the earliest days of the game. At first, the ball was caught with bare hands because the ball was soft and smaller, but as it got harder, more protection was needed, thus the need for a glove. Visitors can try real and replica gloves and see what it was like to play baseball in the 1900s (or if your name happened to be Ruth or Gehrig).   

On Sunday, visitors will be able to handle replica bats from the 1860s up to today’s modern bats, including replicas of bats used by Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, David Ortiz, Aaron Judge, Miguel Cabrera, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, and others. They will learn why they were different in wood, handle, barrel, weight, and length.