Baseball treasures ... at the Museum of Natural History? New exhibit connects the dots

NEW YORK -- When you think about the American Museum of Natural History, your mind probably goes to dinosaurs, planetariums or the “Night at the Museum” movie franchise. Baseball might not be top of mind, and with good reason -- what do sports have to do with the history of the natural world?

That’s exactly what the venerable museum aims to answer.

“For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence” is a new exhibit at the AMNH that opens Friday and runs through early 2027. It is located in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery within the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, and entrance to the exhibition is included with museum admission. This exhibit, which has been in the works for over a year, will coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to New York and New Jersey in June, and you can learn more about the museum’s other World Cup programming here.

Inside “For the Win” are over 70 items spanning all walks of sports history, from a 2024 New York Liberty championship ring to one of Jesse Owens’ gold medals from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. MLB donated several objects to the collection, including the 2024 and 2025 Home Run Derby chains and the previous model (1967-1999) World Series trophy.

At a media preview of the exhibition on Tuesday, museum president Sean Decatur spoke about the role of the museum in preserving what humans have considered important throughout their history and how they have used minerals and gems as symbols of cultural greatness.

“The show brings together objects that are not just spectacular trophies of achievement,” he said. “They are also cultural touchstones, highlighting the ways sports interact with, influence and inform larger society and how we live together.”

You won’t find any jerseys or hats in “For the Win.” It is not a “memorabilia” exhibit, but rather a “crown jewels of sporting history” showcase. Every object is made from a gem or mineral, and the items were sourced from institutions, leagues and athletes around the world. These are pieces that fans can’t buy, or even normally see up close. And all of them represent not just athletes, but champions.

Take the Home Run Derby chains, for example. This genre of object has never been exhibited before. But next to jeweled rings and trophies, one can appreciate the dozens of carats of diamonds per chain, or the meaning behind which gems were used. It takes a certain swagger to pull off such a piece of jewelry, but Derby champs like Pete Alonso, Juan Soto and more have all donned a chain since it was introduced during the 2019 All-Star Week in Cleveland.

The man behind the chains, Kenny Hwang, was on hand on Tuesday as he saw his work behind museum glass for the first time. He is a born and raised New Yorker and recalled playing hooky as a kid to come to the AMNH and explore the gem exhibit. That childhood passion paved the way for a career in fashion, jewelry making and, more recently, the extremely niche art of Home Run Derby chain craftsmanship.

“It's amazing to make something that's a part of this collection of championship relics,” he said.

The two chains on display hail from the 2024 All-Star Week in Arlington and the 2025 festivities in Atlanta. Up close, one can see the resemblance between the 2024 chain and a belt buckle, and a stone of blue topaz -- the state gem of Texas -- is front and center. Next to it, the 2025 chain boasts a recreation of Hank Aaron’s handwriting and features 715 diamonds, one for every home run he hit to break Babe Ruth’s record.

Hwang estimates that these chains, and his other Derby creations, took a “couple hundred hours” to make over several months. He also teased that the 2026 Derby chain will pay strong homage to America250 and Philadelphia as All-Star Game host. And in case there was any doubt, he is the one doing most of the work on these chains.

“The details have to be right, so I really don't trust anyone else to touch it, a piece like this,” Hwang said.

In addition to the chains and the World Series trophy, the exhibit features other baseball artifacts. The Baseball Hall of Fame loaned Joc Pederson’s pearl necklace from the Braves’ 2021 World Series run, and the Mets donated a 1975 Old-Timers’ Day ring. One object that particularly fascinates guest curator Vikki Tobak is an NYPD Medal of Valor from 1877, designed by Tiffany and Co., that is one of the earliest examples of the Yankees’ interlocking “NY” and is said to have inspired their world-famous logo.

While it was challenging to convince some institutions to loan items to the exhibit, displaying baseball artifacts in “For the Win” was, by and large, an easy sell.

“I think MLB is really tapped in with their fanbase and understanding their reach and how people are interested in the culture of the brand,” she said. “Baseball, the culture of that as an amazing phenomenon across the world, was really important for us to have here. So luckily, MLB was a great partner with us.”

The museum was founded in 1869, the same year that the Cincinnati Reds became the first professional baseball team. Given that timeline, it’s perhaps unsurprising that “For the Win” is not the first example of baseball at the AMNH. A 2002 exhibit called “Baseball in America” was done in collaboration with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and explored the relationship between baseball and American culture.

But what differentiates “For the Win” is that it focuses more broadly on how humans have defined greatness through athletic champions. Several others discussed this topic on Tuesday, including astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, who moderated a conversation with world champion boxer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields and two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck. You can see one of Shields’ championship belts above the World Series trophy, and two of Tuck’s Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants are on display.

Throughout the panel, the athletes spoke about the work ethic and mental fortitude required to be a champion, and how the beauty of the exhibited items reflects the remarkable feats of the athletes who earned them.

As they put it, and as Tobak emphasized, “For the Win” is a “celebration of the culture of winning” and showcases “the weight of what's possible in human achievement.”

“This museum has spent more than 150 years telling the story of what humans value, what we celebrate and what we hold on to,” Tobak said. “And the objects in this space belong in that conversation.”