Tag Archives: baseball

Skirball — Baseball

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Skirball Cultural Center
Sepulveda Pass
April 9, 2016

We took Margaret on her first museum outing for nearly three months, since our January visit to the Southwest Museum. All three of us love baseball, so we were pleased that the Skirball has just opened a pair of baseball themed exhibitions.

Skirball_Greenberg

Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American pays tribute to the American Jews and other immigrants and minorities who played baseball or contributed to it in other roles. Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax feature prominently, as do Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Fernando Valenzuela, and many other ethnic minority players. The exhibit includes many pieces of historic memorabilia, such as jerseys, bats, mitts, baseball cards, among other things. We were impressed by the four baseballs autographed by Sandy Koufax to Walter O’Malley after each of his four no-hitters, including his perfect game. Meredith was puzzling over a large photograph of Hank Greenberg with a Yankee player, wondering who the Yankee was, and Margaret recognized immediately that he was Joe DiMaggio. This exhibition will run through October 30.

Skirball_sakoguchi

In a separate gallery we enjoyed seeing vibrantly colored paintings by artist Ben Sakoguchi, The Unauthorized History of Baseball in 100-Odd Paintings. Each painting is done in the style of the old orange crate labels popular from the 1920s through 1950s. Various different baseball players, personalities, and themes are illustrated, some humorous, others poignant. There is an excellent short video featuring the artist, discussing his work and describing his inspiration. A baker’s dozen of images can be seen on the museum’s website: here. This exhibition runs through October 2.

Both of the baseball exhibitions are included with the museum admission, as is the museum’s permanent collection, Visions and Values, Jewish Life from Antiquity to America. Prices are $12 for general admission; $9 for seniors, students, and children over 12; and $7 for children 2–12. Parking is free and generally ample.

We enjoyed our lunch at Zeidler’s Café, possibly our most favorite in-museum restaurant of all the museums we have visited. Margaret and Bob each had sandwiches; Meredith had the spinach and cheese empanada. Margaret was a little befuddled when presented with her options for side dishes, saying simply “too many choices.” We reminded her that she likes the fresh fruit Zeidler’s serves, so she ordered that, and she particularly enjoyed the pineapple. All the food was tasty, service excellent, and the portions were generous. The cost was reasonable considering the quality of the food and service.

Northridge Baseball

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CSU Northridge Matadors
Northridge
April 25, 2015

Our most recent visit to see Margaret did not involve a museum outing. Instead, we took her to a baseball game, and watched the CSU Northridge Matadors play at home against UC Riverside. The trip turned into a nice family outing. We met up with Meredith’s sister Kathleen, our two younger daughters, and our son-in-law at Maria’s Italian Kitchen. We love both the food and the service at Maria’s, and this visit did not disappoint. Margaret savored her calzone. Then the group, minus Kathleen, went on to the baseball game.

Northridge_MatadorStadium

Margaret has always been a baseball fan. At the first major league baseball game she ever attended, around age 10, she saw Satchel Paige strike out Ted Williams at Fenway Park. Margaret and her late husband Eli were Dodgers season ticket holders for a number of years. She taught Meredith how to keep score. We all enjoyed today’s game, although it was cool and there was a slight drizzle. Unfortunately, the home team — our son-in-law’s alma mater — lost, but they did have an exciting rally in the bottom of the ninth inning and finished 5 to 3.

Reagan Presidential Library

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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Simi Valley
April 12, 2014

We took Margaret to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. We have always known it was there, of course, but did not think going to it until we picked up the Passport 2 History recently. We found out about the Passport through the link on the Leonis Adobe website, and purchased one of the booklets at the Chumash Indian Museum.

Driving the 118 west to Simi Valley was a welcome break from the usual Los Angeles traffic. We do not know what it is like during rush hour, but during mid-day Saturday, the traffic on the 118 was very light.

We spent the first part of our visit looking through a special exhibition of baseball memorabilia. (The exhibit is open April 4, 2014 through September 4, 2014.) Margaret impressed a docent by telling about seeing Satchel Paige strike out Ted Williams. We had heard that story before, but never tire of hearing it again. Margaret also recalled that Paige was playing for the Cleveland Browns at the time; we were looking at a display commemorating his major-league career. The strikeout occurred during the first major-league game Margaret ever saw, when she was 10, and her father took her to Fenway Park. Other highlights of the exhibition included material about Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, and a host of very old memorabilia, such as very early baseball cards, including one of the rare Honus Wagner cards.

We went on from the baseball exhibit to the permanent collection. It is quite extensive, covering Reagan’s entire life, not just his presidency. There is a good mix of photos, videos, and tangible memorabilia throughout the exhibit. The display near the end in the post presidency gallery is poignant when it touches on Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease, quoting Nancy Reagan referring to the experience as the “long goodbye.” Reagan’s last speech, announcing his diagnosis, is displayed there in written form and audio excerpts can be played.

We ate at the museum café, where the food was good but the menu somewhat limited: sandwiches, burgers, soups, and salad. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. We enjoyed the view from the café as we ate.

reagan-berlinwall2

Nearly all of the museum is wheelchair accessible, although one has to backtrack in a few spots to get to an elevator to go down or up to another level. The docents are ever present and very eager to help. The interior of Air Force One is the only area we could not access, because the interior is too narrow to permit a wheelchair.