HOF exhibit coming to Mall of America soon

KANSAS CITY — Having been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, Bert Blyleven knows how special Cooperstown is with the countless artifacts and history housed within the Hall of Fame Museum.

But Blyleven also knows how difficult it can be for fans to make the trip to the quaint town in upstate New York. So before Friday’s game between the Twins and Royals, Blyleven made sure to check out the “We Are Baseball” traveling Hall of Fame Tour that’s currently being housed at Lot A at Kauffman Stadium through Sunday.

Blyleven, who has been broadcasting games for the Twins since 1996, was joined by Minnesota players Kennys Vargas, Michael Tonkin and Ryan O’Rourke on a tour of the traveling exhibit that includes five trailers filled with interactive displays, artifacts and an IMAX movie celebrating the game of baseball. Twins fans can get in on the action, as the exhibit heads to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. from Sept. 16-29.

“Everything here, it’s like, how could you not want to come see this?” Blyleven said. “From the virtual reality to watching the IMAX to going back in time to see how the game evolved: This is a traveling exhibition of baseball. It’s beautiful.”

Blyleven and the players were first brought into a trailer that featured virtual reality headsets that allowed the viewer to be in the heart of the action, such as watching the break of a curveball from Marcus Stroman from the view of a catcher to taking the field with the Royals. Tonkin was impressed by how real it felt with the full 360-degree views.

“It was pretty cool,” Tonkin said. “It’s kind of crazy spinning around. It feels like you’re really there. It’s impressive how they do that. Looking everywhere when you move your head, it’s natural. It’s …

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