CNN - TravelGuide: Pursuits - Baseball camps let adults live out fantasies

COOPERSTOWN, New York (Los Angeles Times Syndicate) -- 'Tis the season for millions of baseball fans. Love of the game and team loyalty are primary motivations for travel -- to follow favorite teams, to root at playoffs and, eventually, to watch the World Series up close and personal.

This year, baseball travelers receive added motivation from several sources: a film, an exhibit and major memorabilia auction.

First, there's "For Love of the Game," the new baseball film starring Kevin Costner as an aging Detroit Tigers pitcher. Shot at Yankee Stadium and other New York locales -- as well as in Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida -- the film is something of a baseball travelogue, with a story that pushes all the right buttons.

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Then, too, there's a monumental display of baseball memorabilia -- belonging to New York Yankees part-owner Barry Halpern -- on view at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The exhibit, "Memories of a Lifetime: The Barry Halpern Collection," features, among other items:

Babe Ruth's 500th home-run bat, his polo coat and the 1919 agreement transferring the Babe from the Red Sox to the Yankees;

Shoeless Joe Jackson's 1919 Black Sox uniform and "Black Betsy" bat;

Ty Cobb's 1946 diary;

Hank Aaron's batting helmet and glove from 1974 (when he broke Babe Ruth's home-run record); and

Jackie Robinson's 1947 Dodgers cap with hard leather patches to protect against bean balls.

The exhibit is displayed in the Hall of Fame's new gallery, designed to replicate the basement of Halpern's New Jersey house, where the collection was kept. It's all part of a larger, 180-item acquisition purchased from Halpern's cache by Major League Baseball and donated to Baseball Hall of Fame. The exhibit runs until next summer.

Cooperstown is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Albany. The National Baseball Hall of Fame is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through September 30. After October 1, the hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $9.50 for adults, $8 for seniors, $4 for children ages 4-7. For further information, call the National Baseball Hall of Fame at (800) 425-5633; or visit the Web site at www.baseballhalloffame.org.

The remainder of Halpern's collection is scheduled to go on the auction block with a live sale of some 2,500 lots to be conducted by Sotheby's New York showrooms from September 23-29. The remaining 5,000 to 6,000 lots will be auctioned this fall on the Internet, with site and dates not yet announced.

You can view a free traveling exhibit of Halpern memorabilia at Sotheby's showrooms in New York from Friday through September 23. Call Sotheby's at (800) 444-3709 for more information.

Play with, learn from baseball greats

If you're moved to meet and interact with baseball legends -- Robin Roberts, Bob Feller, Brooks Robinson and others who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame -- you might consider participation in an annual baseball training camp in January or February.

Philadelphia-based Dream Weeks conducts five-day, four-night camps for:

the St. Louis Cardinals (in Jupiter, Florida, January 15-19);

the New York Mets (Port St. Lucie, Florida, January 15-19);

the Philadelphia Phillies (Clearwater, Florida, January 22-26 and 26-30);

the Atlanta Braves (Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, February 2-6); and

the Kansas City Royals (Baseball City, near Orlando, Florida, February 2-6).

Each session accommodates about 130 fans. You don't have to be a great player to participate. You're outfitted with an official uniform (your name and number on the back -- and you get to keep it), given your own locker and coached by the teams' retired pros who, after watching you play for a day, conduct a round-robin draft to establish fairly well-balanced teams and coach you in playoffs. You must be at least 30 to participate. Most "campers" are in their mid-40s; some are in their 80s.

There's plenty of time for enjoying baseball chat with your heroes. This year, the Phillies camp boasts players from five decades of baseball history -- ranging from Robin Roberts, who played in the 1950s, to John Kruk and Mitch Williams, who played in the 1993 World Series. The Mets camp features Al Jackson, Ed Charles and Wayne Garrett from 1969's "Miracle Mets" M-team. Current players -- including Colorado Rockies' hitting coach Clint Hurdle and Toronto Blue Jays' coach Jim Fregosi -- drop in for special appearances.

Dream Weeks has been in business since 1983 and has a wonderful reputation. The fee is $2,795, covering air fare, hotel, uniforms, breakfasts and lunches, and a party with the pros. For information and booking, call 800-888-4376; or visit the Web site at www.dreamweek.com.

If your favorite team is not included among Dream Weeks' offerings, call the office, and ask for information about its baseball camp.

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