Due to rainy weather and wet conditions, Saturday’s Hall of Fame Military Classic Presented by New Era ended after one inning. But that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the players participating.
The contest, pitting Team Stars versus Team Stripes at Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field, began with overcast skies and a constant drizzle that had started a few hours earlier.
The game featured 24 former big leaguers, with Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, Todd Helton, Fergie Jenkins, Tony La Russa, Jack Morris and Scott Rolen serving as managers and coaches.
“My dad was in the Army, my in-laws were in the Navy, my wife was in the Air Force, so I’m connected all kinds of ways,” said Team Stars starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, who totaled 107 victories over 17 big league seasons. “I feel like I was predestined for my baseball career from all the traveling I did growing up.
“I’m an Army brat, so I had to go with this Army jersey today. Raised in Fort Benning [Ga.], born in Germany, traveling around the world, so we appreciate everybody. Thanks, Dad.”
Righty Charlie Morton, who retired following the 2025 season with 147 victories, was the starting pitcher for Team Stripes and gave up a single in the top of the first when Nick Ahmed scored via an RBI groundout from Curtis Pride.
The bottom half of the first saw Team Stripes score a pair of runs. Knocked in by Daniel Murphy and Kevin Mench, the tallies proved to be the final ones of the day.
Prior to the game, a Home Run Derby took place featuring six participants. Jonny Gomes, who clubbed 162 homers during his 13 seasons in the big leagues, proved victorious over Josh Reddick after hitting one over the left-field fence in his first at-bat in a final round swing-off.
“Well, I didn’t come all the way out here to get second,” Gomes said with a smile minutes after accepting a special award for his victory. “Let’s be completely honest, going heads up with a guy I helped groom, Josh Reddick, I knew I had it in the bag. One swing, one homer there in the finals.”
Gomes also shared a unique story about his personal connection to the military.
“Back in June of 2001, I enrolled into the service and was on my way out to the Marines,” Gomes said. “I ended up getting taken in the 18th round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. So you talk about a switch going from throwing grenades to throwing baseballs.
“I’m a real big supporter of the military. Love this country. Happy birthday, America!”
Other players shared similar sentiments.
“It’s fun. This is my first time here,” said pitcher Ian Kennedy, who spent 17 seasons toeing the rubber in the big leagues. “I was a fan of a lot of these guys. It’s really cool to be alongside them here. And you played against a lot of these guys. It’s just cool to be on the same field.
“I appreciated [the military] when I was playing. I appreciate it being an American, just their service for our country.”
Rolen, the Hall of Fame third baseman from the Class of 2023, said it was about celebrating the Hall of Fame and celebrating America, adding: “It’s great to get an opportunity to salute our military troops. My dad served in the Navy, my brother-in-law, my grandfather. So it’s a great, great tribute that I can stand here in this uniform and honor my dad.”
Morris, the Class of 2018 Hall of Famer whose father served in the Navy during World War II, said, “More people should honor our veterans and what they do to protect our country and make America still the greatest place in the world.
“This is a way that baseball can do it. The Hall of Fame is just so wonderful in every which way for me, so anytime I get a chance to come back, especially to support this event, is great.”
Murphy was soaking in the whole Hall of Fame atmosphere with his son Noah.
“It’s my first time in Cooperstown, and it’s a chance to put some real-life pictures to those in some of the books I’ve been reading. I’ve kind of gotten into the Dead Ball Era, probably for the last four or five years, and so to see artifacts from Honus Wagner has been amazing,” Murphy said. “It’s just a cool place, and for my first time, it’s more than I could have hoped for.”
Ryan Dempster, a longtime pitcher currently working for MLB Network, said while visiting the Hall of Fame: “It’s beyond a special place. It’s like going through a time portal coming back here, and then just to go down memory lane as you walk through [an] exhibit. I’m speechless, honestly, even though I’m talking. You realize how lucky I’ve been to be around this game for 30 years … it’s pretty special.”
One of two players from the Women’s Professional Baseball League that played in the Hall of Fame Military Classic, Alyssa Zettlemoyer was relishing her time in Cooperstown. She was the starting catcher for Team Stripes and caught Morton.
“I got offered this opportunity and I jumped on it so fast. I got an email saying that, basically, would I email them back saying what my involvement is with military and baseball combined,” Zettlemoyer said. “And as soon as I saw that email, within 10 seconds I was already writing it out. This was an incredible opportunity for me, and I’m just so glad that I was chosen for it.
“Both my parents served in the military. My mom joined shortly after 9/11 and my dad had served for 20-plus years, but it goes way back on my dad’s side. There’s a lot of people that served, from my grandma to my great-grandparents. I actually considered, when I was in high school, going to the Air Force, but then my plans for my life changed, so it ended up not working out, but it was always kind of there.”
She then shared a story about becoming a catcher.
“I was 9 and I was playing in the Little League, and I asked my coach if I could catch. I was the only girl in the league at the time. He looked at me and said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Why?’ and he said, ‘You might get hurt.’ So I made it my life goal just to be this amazing catcher, and I honestly just fell in love with it. Ever since I put that gear on, I just loved it.”