This past week we were in Oneonta, pronounced oh-nee-AHN-tuh. A small city — more like a town, actually — about 175 miles north of the City of New York.
It’s home to a huge baseball complex called Cooperstown All Star Village, founded in 1999, and officially opening for baseball in 2004.
All Star Village was preceded by another complex nearby called Cooperstown Dreams Park, which opened about a decade earlier. Both locations host thousands of teams over the summer months.
As some of you know, we were in New York to watch Atticus play baseball.
On this trip, he played with a team from Hype Baseball, a competitive youth travel organization based in San Jose. We have a soft spot in our hearts for Hype because it’s where Atticus got his start in travel ball back when he was nine years old.
Of all of the places we’ve traveled to over the last few years, Cooperstown is pretty unique. While it’s not as competitive as some of the tournaments we’ve been to, it’s an incredible experience. Truly once in a lifetime.
Pin-trading is an obsession, and begins as soon as players arrive. In fact, over one million pins are exchanged at All Star Village and Dreams Park over the summer.
Moreover, players and coaches stay together in bunkhouses, break bread as a group, and establish a special fraternity over the course of six nights and seven days.
And if that weren’t enough, the boys got quite a surprise when YouTuber, @ColeAcheronti, whom I was not familiar with, showed up at their bunkhouse.
They went absolutely nuts!
Acheronti is well-known in the youth baseball world, so the boys were stoked when he also showed up to film in their dugout during one of their games.
While winning and losing matters at every tournament (we went 7-1, overall), in this case, I think the extraordinary experience of Cooperstown outweighs the win and loss column.
Now I’m going to make this about me for a second.
Traveling long distances on a plane is not something I enjoy. It’s even worse with a migraine. The five hour connecting flight to Albany via Baltimore felt like ten, and nothing was helping. Not the snacks, not the complimentary drink, not my easy listening Spotify playlist. Nothing. I thought a buzz might alleviate some of my discomfort, so I bought a Jack and Coke. Nope.
By day three, I felt much better. And hanging out with good friends and listening to their stories was a great way to get my mind off me.
Traveling back home came with a three-hour flight delay, and turbulence. Still, it was good to be in California.
Back to Oneanta, for a moment.
While I knew we’d be away from the hustle and bustle of New York City, I was taken aback by all of the greenery and woodland in upstate. It’s beautiful and extraordinarily vast. Too difficult to put into words, really.
The population in Oneanta is approximately 15,045, largely influenced by two major colleges: SUNY and Hartwick. Actor Bill Pullman (Independence Day) attended the former (1975), and cartoonist, Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, attended the latter (1979).
I learned that Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman, spent a few years in Oneanta (1957 to 1960), and performed with his siblings on a stage in the basement of their home.
For Dodgers fans: Clayton Daniel Bellinger, father of former Dodger, Cody Bellinger, was born in Oneanta in 1968.
The town is pleasingly old fashioned, replete with a downtown Main Street.
I’m a city boy, so visiting a place like this was enough for me, especially after experiencing thunderstorms and a lightning strike that almost reduced me to a pile of ashes.
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