WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. – Baseball in the Berkshires and the West Stockbridge Historical Society will host “Hitting to All Fields in West Stockbridge,” a special exhibit in the society’s Main Street building, April 27 to 30.

 

Baseball can be traced back in West Stockbridge to at least 1870 but later grew in popularity as a spectator sport during the 1930s and ‘40s with Garrett Troy’s Troy’s Garage team playing at Keresey Field. Imagine more than 3,000 people crowding into West Stockbridge at one time, let alone into one baseball field.

 

Talking about fields, there were at least four fields that amateur and semi-pro teams called home, not including numerous other spots the townspeople enjoyed playing with a bat and a ball. Come enjoy this exhibit as it hits to all fields, telling the stories of not only baseball in the Berkshires but baseball in West Stockbridge.

 

The special exhibit at the West Stockbridge Historical Society Building opens on Thursday, April 27, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m.

 

It then will be on view on Friday from 5 to 8 and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. with special events each day.

 

On Friday from 6:30 to 8, Larry Moore and Kevin Larkin will give a presentation on Baseball in the Berkshires, the Troy’s Garage team and Keresey Field.

 

Saturday features a hands-on presentation on the history of gloves. Come learn about the evolution of gloves, learn the difference between a glove and a mitt and try real and replica gloves from the 20th century.

 

Sunday, the attention turns to bats, with explanations of the reasons for variation over the years in length, weight, materials and barrel size. Attendees will be able to handle replica bats from the 1860s to today, including replicas of the bats that were used by Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, David Ortiz, Aaron Judge, Miguel Cabrera, Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper.

 

All events are free and open to the public.

 

Baseball in the Berkshires since 2015 has been dedicated to preserving the history of the game in Berkshire County, which dates back at least to the first mention of baseball in a government document - the broken window law of 1791 in Pittsfield.

 

Since that time, Berkshire County has seen 40 Major League players born, raised or settled here. More than 210 minor league players called the Berkshires their home and another 100 didn’t play this game professionally but still worked in the industry of professional baseball.