Relive historic World Series at HOF exhibit

January 30th, 2021
Photos: Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

The Dodgers and Rays squared off in a historic World Series last October, the first neutral-site Fall Classic on the heels of a shortened season played under strict health-and-safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, parts of that history are in the Hall of Fame.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Autumn Glory” exhibit, telling the story of postseason baseball, will feature several artifacts from the Dodgers’ six-game triumph over the Rays at Globe Life Field. The 2020 World Series exhibit will be on display in Cooperstown through the end of the 2021 postseason and is included with admission, according to an announcement from the Hall of Fame.

Among the pieces of Dodgers equipment on display: the ball Clayton Kershaw threw for the first pitch in Game 1, the first neutral-site World Series game; a bat used by Corey Seager, the National League Championship Series and World Series MVP, in Game 6; Mookie Betts’ road jersey, which he wore in Games 3, 4 and 5; and Max Muncy’s World Series batting helmet.

There is further equipment on display from the Dodgers’ coaching staff, some of it with a distinctly 2020 twist. That gear includes the jacket worn by Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts throughout the Fall Classic and masks worn by Roberts and third-base coach Dino Ebel.

The Rays’ contributions to the exhibit include three pieces of equipment from the World Series: a bat used by record-setting rookie Randy Arozarena in Game 4, when he set the high mark for most home runs in one postseason; Ji-Man Choi’s jersey from Game 2, when he became the first Korean-born position player to start a game in the World Series; and the cleats Brett Phillips wore when he drove in the winning run during the wild conclusion of Game 4.

Those artifacts will join three more still preserved from the Rays’ first World Series run in 2008: then-manager Joe Maddon’s cap, Carl Crawford’s road jersey and B.J. Upton’s spikes. Additionally, the Hall of Fame’s exhibit features the bat that the Rays’ Mike Brosseau swung when he hit a tiebreaking homer off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of American League Division Series Game 5 at Petco Park in San Diego. The bat responsible for Brosseau’s game-winning shot was donated during the playoffs.