Baseball legend and Hall of Fame Member Ozzie Smith has joined the roster of former players, authors and experts who will be attending “The Tauck Baseball Event: America’s Pastime” in Cooperstown, New York, in June, Tauck reports.
The four-day event (June 27-30, 2013) is being designed and offered by Tauck in cooperation with Ken Burns, whose PBS film Baseball earned nearly 20 different awards and award nominations, and spawned a critically-acclaimed sequel, The Tenth Inning.
Tauck reports Burns will deliver the event’s keynote speech and greet Tauck guests during an exclusive, “after-hours” evening inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame that includes a cocktail and dessert reception, and the opportunity to tour the Hall of Fame’s exhibits when the facility is closed to the public.
Known as “The Wizard,” Smith is regarded by many as the best defensive shortstop of all time. Joining Smith will be fellow Hall of Fame member Phil Niekro and former outfielder Doug Glanville.
Also included are special lectures by baseball experts, including author Daniel Okrent, who was featured prominently in both of the Ken Burns baseball films (and who invented Rotisserie League or “Fantasy” Baseball), and baseball historian Tom Heitz. Attendees will also have an exclusive interactive experience with Niekro and Smith at Cooperstown’s iconic Doubleday Field.
According to Burns, the same elements that prompted him to create two films about baseball also make the sport a great basis for a Tauck travel experience. “So many of the things that have shaped America are also reflected in baseball, from race relations to women’s rights to multiculturalism,” said Burns.
Guests attending the Tauck Baseball Event will spend three nights in Cooperstown at the Otesaga Resort Hotel, Tauck notes. A member of the Historic Hotels of America, the resort overlooks Otesaga Lake and is approximately a half-mile from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Included in the price (from $$3,690 per person, double occupancy, plus air) are all daytime activities and evening festivities, all meals, all gratuities, airport transfers and ground transportation, Tauck notes.
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