Stars not on par with baseball in Cooperstown

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (Map, News) - A rumor circulated around Cooperstown that John Travolta strolled the streets with wife Kelly Preston during induction weekend and no one noticed the Hollywood couple. True or not, who knows. (Personally, I think I would have noticed John Travolta!)

But send a former Oriole player — and a teammate of Cal’s — walking down Main Street in the midst of the mayhem and excitement (with the greatest baseball players in history somewhere in town), and fans sniffed him out in seconds.

“Mr. Singleton! Can we take your picture?”...”Would you sign this ball?” ... “Hey Kenny! I’m a big fan.”

People did not flock to Cooperstown to see Hollywood. Not Travolta, not Richard Gere (who we did meet) or any other whispered celebrities rumored to attend the Hall of Fame festivities during the muggy weekend in a lakeside town.

Fans showed up to envelop baseball.

The slew of admirers dressed in orange and black cared more about scoring a players’ autograph than sighting a movie star. They thrust out balls, bats, shirts and posters, counting themselves lucky that one Kenny Singleton happened to be walking through the thick crowd with his family, a souvenir T-shirt bag in hand.

The kids and I always feel proud when Oriole fans continue to pick my husband’s face out of a crowd to convey their admiration 23 years after he set down his right-fielder’s glove.

Our son tried to count the number of times Ken shook a hand, posed for a picture, signed an autograph, waved to a fan, or returned a greeting. He lost count.

Who knows if John Travolta signed any autographs or not while visiting Cooperstown. Maybe someone finally noticed him. Or maybe he would have had better luck dressed in an Orioles jersey.

Later, I entered the Baltimore Orioles private “Lawn Party” on Otsego Lake. I carried a digital camera in my tan purse in spite of the invitation’s verbiage: “No photographs and no autographs.”

I suppose party organizers in the Orioles’ office figured us baseball families have seen enough of the sport’s greatest moments not to care about capturing them.
If I had wanted to act like a baseball fan, I would have pulled out my silver Kodak Easyshare sooner. But I let it remain dormant in spite of my itch to do so.

Then Cal walked in. If you’re at a private party with Cal Ripken Jr. on the day before he is to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, you have to take his picture, whether or not he’s kissed your cheek countless times since being Mrs. Singleton for 16 years.

Then Eddie Murray walked in. And I knew I’d have to snap a picture of Eddie, whether or not he’s our friend - or maybe because he is. It’s Eddie.

Then when Cal, Eddie and Ken stood together talking baseball, I could wait no longer. On the pretense of “C’mon, honey, pose with your teammates!” I quickly unzipped my handbag and whipped out the digital to click a few: Ken posing with Eddie and Cal, Eddie posing with Ken and our kids, Cal shaking our daughter’s hand, and Ken with his arm slung over Mike Flanagan’s shoulder.

It was a quick two-hour party and it was time to leave. But wait honey ... there’s Peter Angelos ... and look, over there is Earl Weaver ...

Suzanne Molino Singleton (or “Mrs. Singy” as nicknamed by Al Bumbry) is a freelance writer and editor, and staff writer for The Catholic Review newspaper. She can be reached at MrsSingy@SuzanneSingleton.com. Her husband, retired Oriole Ken Singleton, is a TV broadcaster for the New York Yankees on the YES Network.

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