OUNDED
M C
IA
JU
DG
E WIL
L
Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper
1808 BY
OOP
E
•F
IN
- ro c k o r t c E l E arty P E c n a D
R
founded in 1808
THERE’S MORE TO COOPERSTOWN THAN BASEBALL, page 5 | 7:30 PM 02.21.25 SORT HOTEL SAGA RE THE OTE
Volume 217, No. 6
VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, February 6, 2025
Newsstand Price $1
Yakyu | Baseball Exhibit Will Celebrate Shared Culture of Baseball in Japan, U.S.
T
Photo by Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
ICHIRO SUZUKI
COOPERSTOWN he multifaceted impact of the cultural exchange of baseball between Japan and the United States will be celebrated in a new exhibit opening at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this summer. “Yakyu | Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game” will explore the longstanding exchange of teams and players in the more than 150 years since baseball was introduced to Japan. The exhibit, which is scheduled to open in July, will feature artifacts and stories about a game that became the most popular sport in Japan fewer than 50 years after the United States and Japan established diplomatic relations. The exhibit is made possible by Guggenheim Partners, a global investment and advisory firm
managing over $335 billion in assets, with additional support from Peter O’Malley, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner and son of Hall of Fame executive Walter O’Malley. The exhibit will be housed in the newly created Guggenheim Gallery. The exhibit will open during a year when Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Among the many legends highlighted in the exhibit, Ichiro is one of three players—along with current and former Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and Hideo Nomo— who will be centerpieces of stories that will explore how the countries have connected through their shared love of baseball. Artifacts representing Ichiro scheduled to be included in the
exhibit include his batting gloves, wristbands, and elbow guards from his record-setting 261st and 262nd hits in 2004; his Team Japan batting helmet from the 2006 World Baseball Classic; his Mariners jersey from 2009 when he recorded his 200th hit for a record-breaking ninth consecutive season; and his spikes from the 500th stolen base of his MLB career in 2016. Ichiro has generously donated dozens of artifacts, many of which are on display throughout the museum, to the Hall of Fame throughout his illustrious career. An exhibit dedicated to members of the Class of 2025, including Ichiro, will open this spring on the museum’s second floor. The plaques for the newest Hall of Famers will be installed in Continued on page 8
CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner Elected to Hall of Fame
I
COOPERSTOWN chiro Suzuki, a veritable hits machine on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, became the first Japanese player to gain entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame when he was elected on Tuesday, January 21 to the Class of 2025 alongside pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and tabulated by Ernst & Young. Ichiro, who was on the ballot for the first time, came within one vote of being a unanimous selection, a feat achieved by only one player, relief pitcher Mariano Rivera in 2019, in 81 years of voting by the BBWAA. Ichiro, a multiple Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder, received 393 INSIDE ► ROWLEY TAKES OVER AS CFOC HEAD, page 2 ► IRON STRING HANGS ON AS PAPERS CLOSE, page 4 ► DEROSA TAKES UMBRAGE TO PRES PARDONS, page 4 ► BONDEROFF TAPPED FOR ROLE BY HOCHUL, page 6 ► TESSA DAVIDSON NAMED ed FOR leaf, page 6 ► bEST MYSTERIES MAKE US ASK BETTER QUESTIONS, page 9 ► hall’s fay vINCENT remembered, page 9 Follow Breaking News On
votes, which accounted for 99.746 percent of the electorate, second only to shortstop Derek Jeter’s 99.748-percent showing (396 of 397 ballots cast) in 2020 as the highest plurality for a position player in Hall of Fame voting. Sabathia, another first-time honoree, received 342 votes (86.8 percent), and Wagner, who was on the BBWAA ballot for the 10th-and-final time, got 325 (82.5). They will be honored during Induction Weekend 2025 July 25-28 in Cooperstown, at the July 27 Induction Ceremony on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center along with Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Continued on page 8
Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos
Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos
CC SABATHIA
BILLY WAGNER
CANO’s Chili Bowl Fundraiser Celebrates 20 Years
O
ONEONTA ne of Oneonta’s most popular events returns on Super Bowl Sunday this year, celebrating the big 2-0. Community Arts Network of Oneonta will hold its 20th Annual Chili Bowl Cook-Off & Fundraiser on Sunday, February 9 from noon to 3 p.m. Friends, families and neighbors are invited to the Wilber Mansion for music, chili, quilts, handmade bowls, craft beer and more. CANO members enter at 11:30 a.m., officials said, and receive their first pick of handmade bowls and chili. Twenty chilies created by local chefs will be available for tasting. According to a media release, more than 250 one-of-a-kind handmade and Photo provided hand-painted bowls have been created More than 250 one-of-a-kind bowls will be available for this year’s event. Potter Tim Gargash at CANO’s Chili Bowl Cook-Off on Super Bowl Suncrafted over 100 bowls that artists and day, February 9.
community members glazed or hand painted. Artist Joanne Lentner hand painted over 70 bowls, and CANO Art Studio Manager Diana Cozzens hosted several bowl-painting parties for locals of all ages and skill levels to paint bowls that will be available for purchase. Many returning restaurants and chefs will compete for People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice Awards, with awards by Flo Loomis and Joanne Lentner. Newcomers this year include Alex’s World Picnic, Baked & Brewed, and Ty’s Taco-ria. Azul and Social Eats will provide vegan chilies and there will be plenty of omnivorous options. Craft beer from award-winning brewery Wayward Lane Brewing will be available for purchase, along with wine, mimosas and non-alcoholic beverages provided by Stewart’s to help wash down Continued on page 6
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD