In a small village like Cooperstown, we’re not used to downtown gridlock, bumper to bumper cars on Route 28, or crowds of 75,000 people in town at one time. Well, we experienced all of those big city symptoms over the weekend, when Cooperstown became Baltimore North.

As someone who experienced crowds of 50,000 in 1999, I can safely say that the 2007 turnout made that summer’s induction seem like a private party. Hall officials have a tendency to exaggerate the sizes of induction crowds, but 75 grand seems dead solid accurate to me. The fields of the Clark Sports Center were entirely filled–something I’ve never seen–with people jammed in so tightly that there were few open aisles to speak of. Thankfully, there were no major emergencies. If there had been, I don’t know how the EMTs would have made their way through the mass of lawn chairs and people to tend to the ailing…

I’m a former employee of the Hall of Fame, so pardon me for saying I cringed a bit when Gary Thorne, the emcee for Sunday’s induction ceremony, referred to the “Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.” It was always drilled into us that the Hall has no formal or contractual affiliation with MLB (though it works closely with MLB on numerous ventures). After all, the place is called the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Though Thorne was filling in for regular emcee George Grande, he’s a veteran baseball journalist who should know better and a broadcaster whose work I generally enjoy. It hasn’t been a particularly strong year for Thorne, especially given the Doug Mirabelli/bloody sock fiasco from earlier this season. According to Thorne, Mirabelli had told him that Curt Schilling’s bloody sock was a fake. Mirabelli denied ever talking to Thorne, resulting in an apology from the Orioles’ play-by-play man…

Someone asked me what I thought about the speeches delivered by Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. I thought they were OK, but nowhere near the top of the line of Hall of Fame speeches. Gwynn sounded sincere but unprepared, while Ripken sounded formal and stiff. Their messages were good, but their deliveries were not particularly smooth. Ripken is not a good public speaker to begin with, but his charisma and character make that a moot point in the eyes of most onlookers. Gwynn is also so likeable that his forgetting to bring his notes to the podium only made him look more human…

The VIP seating section at the Hall of Fame ceremony included John Travolta, wife Kelly Preston, Richard Gere, and Lynda Carter. That’s three A-listers and one 1970s icon who were part of the induction crowd here in Cooperstown. We’ve never seen that kind of Hollywood presence in Cooperstown previously…

One of my favorite local pastimes is keeping tabs on those non-Hall of Famers who visit Cooperstown over induction weekend. To the best of my ability, here’s a complete list of former big league players and managers who visited us during the big weekend in 2007: Joe Altobelli, Brady Anderson (ugh), Jesse Barfield, Ralph Branca, Paul Blair, Al Bumbry, Jerry Coleman, Mike Flanagan, Steve Garvey, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Mark Gubicza, Chris Gwynn, Jack McKeon, Denny McLain (double ugh), John “The Count” Montefusco, Graig Nettles, Joe Orsulak, Jeff Reboulet, Billy Ripken, Pete Rose (triple ugh), David Segui, Larry Sheets, George Shuba, Ken Singleton, Rusty Staub, and B.J. Surhoff… I had a chance to meet Montefusco on Saturday at CVS, where he was signing autographs for a local charity. The former Giant, Brave, Padre, and Yankee right-hander was scheduled to appear for only two hours, but continued to sign for an extra half-hour and didn’t turn down a single request for a personalized autograph or photograph. Having never visited Cooperstown before, Montefusco was surprised by the town, both in terms of the crowds and the sights. The Count hopes to return to baseball with the Giants, his first major league organization. Montefusco would like to work with young pitchers in San Francisco’s minor league system…

I was saddened to hear of the death of Bill Robinson on Sunday. Robinson was working as a minor league batting instructor for the Dodgers and had even been mentioned recently as a candidate to succeed the fired Eddie Murray in Los Angeles. Two things always come to mind when I think about Robinson. First, he was that rare example of a player who performed better in his thirties than he did in his twenties. After struggling to find himself as an outfielder-third baseman with both the Braves and Yankees, Robinson became a productive left fielder for the mid-1970s Phillies and the 1979 world champion Pirates. While most players reach their peak physically during their twenties, some need more time to adjust to the mental stress of playing at the highest level of professional baseball. That adjustment took several years for Robinson, who didn’t start to succeed until his age 30 season with the Phillies (1973). Second, I’ll remember Robinson being prominently mentioned as a candidate to become the first black manager of the Mets, but never receiving that opportunity. Though a highly regarded hitting coach during the Mets’ successful run in the late eighties, Robinson found himself out of work and took a job serving as an analyst for Baseball Tonight in the early 1990s. I don’t know if Robinson was the victim of racism, or whether he simply interviewed poorly, but it seems that he had the smarts and toughness to be a good major league manager. Sadly, that chance never came…

Here’s my initial reaction to the Braves-Rangers blockbuster involving Mark Teixeira: the Rangers brought in a huge haul of young talent for a guy who may have peaked two years ago. First off, I’m a big fan of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He reminds me of a young Ted Simmons, but with a much stronger defensive presence behind the plate. Switch-hitting catchers who have Saltalamacchia’s hitting and fielding portfolios are extremely hard to find. Given his ability to catch and the small size of his contract, I’d rather have Salty for the next five seasons, as opposed to possibly only a season and a half of Teixeira. With teenage shortstop Elvis Andrus and two pitching prospects added to the mix, this becomes a big winner for the rebuilding Rangers…

Let’s finish with some thoughts on potential deals. Kyle Farnsworth’s blowup with Jorge Posada on Sunday practically guarantees that the eccentric right-hander will be traded by Tuesday’s deadline. If his latest faux pas doesn’t result in him being shipped out of town, then the Yankees will never move the flaky Farnsworth… If the Yankees can acquire Eric Gagne without having to give up Melky Cabrera, they will be very happy. Gagne, who is quietly having a standout season for the Rangers, could be coming to the Yankees for a package of pitching prospects that might include Tyler Clippard and Matt DeSalvo… The Mets will make out very well if they finalize the rumored deal for veteran second baseman Luis Castillo, who has long been the object of New York’s affection. The switch-hitter’s ability to get on base will make him an ideal No. 2 hitter behind Jose Reyes. Castillo also has gobs of postseason experience, first with the Marlins and more recently with the Twins… Once the Jermaine Dye deal is completed, he will become a part of the most expensive platoon in major league history. As part of a new look right field configuration, Dye is expected to platoon with J.D. Drew, one of the few disappointments in an otherwise banner season for Boston.