Cooperstown is calling you and everyone else interested in seeing some of the greatest symbols of baseball history.

The Minnesota History Center is hosting the “Baseball As America” exhibition displaying artifacts from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit is on a nation-wide tour and currently in St. Paul until March 4.

This is a great opportunity for any baseball enthusiast to experience Cooperstown without having to travel there. It features over 500 items of baseball history including the bats of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire from the home run race of 1998, along with Jackie Robinson’s jersey, expensive baseball cards and the “wonder boy” bat from the movie, “The Natural.”

In addition to the national artifacts, the exhibit contains memorabilia from the Minnesota Twins. Frank Viola’s hat from the 1987 World Series, Kirby Puckett’s bat from a 6 for 6 day at the plate in 1987, a ball from game 7 of the 1991 World Series autographed by Jack Morris, a 1991 World Series ring, a Harmon Killebrew jersey, and the glove Torii Hunter used to win his fourth consecutive Gold Glove award.

The Twin Cities have a long and storied history with baseball through the minor league teams of the St. Paul Saints and the Minneapolis Millers. Some of the game’s greats got their start in this area playing in the minors. Ted Williams and Willie Mays each played for the Minneapolis Millers before going on to star in the Big Leagues. Roy Campanella played for the St. Paul Saints before being called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Then in 1961, the Twins came to town and Minnesota finally had its own major league club. The Twins found success quickly, reaching the World Series in 1965, but lost to a dominating Dodger squad.

The exhibit explains how baseball truly is the national pastime and what it has meant to this country throughout the years. Reaching the major leagues resembles the American Dream because both are attainable through hard work and determination. Yes, the finer points of those ideas are debatable, but repeatedly we encounter people who embody those tenets. We see the ball player drafted in the 60th round of the draft persevere to reach the “The Show” and we see people who start with so little in life achieve success.

America maintains certain peculiarities that the rest of the world does not seem to understand and baseball has always been one of them.

Jacques Barzun, a French historian, once said, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Baseball remains the one sport the whole family can enjoy together, where quality time can be spent. No other sport offers the tranquility and camaraderie that baseball brings.

The support for baseball may wane from time to time, but when the support is there, there is no greater unifying effect. The home run race of 1998 reminded us of the greatness of the game and created a common sentiment for fans watching every night to see if McGwire hit one or if Sammy slammed another.

Baseball has acted as a healer to America in the past by allowing us to focus on the dramatics of pennant races, hit streaks, home run records and pitching performances. The World Series in 2001 offered us a distraction from the terrible events occurring in the world. That series proved to be one of the best in the history of baseball with an unexpected game winning hit that decided the series.

America rose up by defeating a heavy favorite and baseball lets us remember that by giving us great moments through one event. The Boston Massacre, the Tea Party, the Stamp Act, the Declaration of Independence were all single acts that led to greater victory. A runner on first base steals second, the batter hits a run-scoring single, the game is tied, then the slugger for your team hits the game-winning home run. These individual events lead to a World Series championship. Baseball resembles the struggles the country has faced and through this game, we gain a glimpse of a country. Baseball is America.

The exhibit runs through March 4th and the hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for students.