Busy Weekend in Cooperstown

Mike Timlin goes down the line after being introduced at the 2011 Hall of Fame Classic. Far left is Rick Lancellotti, far right is Reggie Sanders, both CMC set members.

Where to begin on our weekend trip to Cooperstown.

We walked Main Street, I picked up some cards while my wife patiently waiting on my selections.

We went on a boat tour of adjacent Otsego Lake, got to see the town and countryside from the water.

We also took our bikes with us, riding around town, with one very cool glide down the length of Main Street, the slight hill taking us, traffic permitting, directly to the front of the Hall of Fame.

Then, of course, there was the Hall of Fame Classic, a showing of retired players and Hall of Famers back on the field and in uniform.

Reggie Sanders follows through on a swing during the pre-game hitting contest.

The Classic was the reason for the trip, and punctuated it. Punctuating the Classic, was catching up with Rick Lancellotti again for a couple minutes after the game.

I first caught up with Lancellotti back in February. (The Interview) That ended up turning into a four-part post on Lancellotti's long and very much interesting career.

The quick interview after the game should turn into a fifth part, or postscript. A Baseball instructor outside Buffalo, Lancellotti did himself well, fielding a couple tough hops and getting a couple good swings, though none dropped.

Andre Dawson waits for an in-game interview after coming out of the contest.

There was also the kind of drama with Lancellotti's Classic manager being Dick Williams. Check out the interview for the full back-story on that.

I should have the Lancellotti postscript up maybe tomorrow.

Also at the Classic was Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, my favorite player as a kid. And there was Reggie Sanders, the other CMC set member.

Sanders did well, coming in second in the pre-game hitting contest. He also made a good effort at a diving catch, but it got past him.

I got a bunch of good pictures from the game. A few are in this post. I might just do another one later of just pictures. We'll see.

And, about those cards. I got way too many, mostly packs and a couple grab bags. There's packs of '81 Fleer (2), '88 Score, '89 and '93 Upper Deck, '90 '92 (2) '93 and '94 Topps and '94 Flair, along with two small grab bags that appear to be '88 Score and a larger grab bag with assorted cards.

If anyone has any preferences on what I should open and write about first, let me know.