On the Bright Side: State enacts Cooperstown kids' proposal to make baseball official sport

Jul. 31—A proposal by a group of Cooperstown children is now state law.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on Friday, July 30, designating baseball as the official sport of the state of New York. This bill was proposed by a Cooperstown Elementary School fourth grade class. Cooperstown is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and is believed by some to be the birthplace of the sport.

"Growing up a Queens boy, a love of baseball was instilled at an early age. From the '69 and '86 Amazin' Mets to 27 world championships by the Yankees and even having been the home of the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson and the Giants, New York is steeped in an expansive and diverse past with our great national past time," Cuomo said in a media release. "The fervor of the sport is as reflective of our great state as a sport can be, bringing together diverse crowds for the love of the game. New York is the birthplace of baseball and I'm proud to finally make it our official state sport."

State Sen. Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said, "Baseball is known as our national pastime, but the game has deep roots and a rich history here in New York state. Fans from around the globe flock to Cooperstown, in my Senate district, to celebrate the game at the storied National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and we have teams of all levels — the Mets and Yankees, countless college, high school, and Little League teams — proving that New York state's connection to baseball is undeniable."

The bill was originally introduced by Oberacker's successor, former Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, in 2017.

Oberacker thanked teacher Anne Reis and her students at Cooperstown Elementary, who researched the impact of baseball on the state and developed the idea for the legislation.

"While studying New York State government and state symbols, the students realized that we lack a state sport. They immediately decided that baseball would be the perfect fit to fill the void," Reis said in a June 2021 interview.

"As a former high school and college player, I learned great life lessons on the baseball diamond and those same messages of teamwork, tradition, and dedication are still being taught today," Oberacker said. "Formally recognizing baseball as New York's official state sport is a home run."

The bill was sponsored in the Assembly by Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, D-Bronx.

Cooperstown is where Abner Doubleday is said to have created the sport. New York has been home to four of the most popular franchises in the sport — the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, as well as the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, which moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, in 1957.

As the state sport, baseball joins a list of New York state symbols that includes milk as the state beverage, apple as the state fruit, the snapping turtle as the state reptile and yogurt as the state snack.