A GRAND SLAM ADDITION

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House steps up to the plate

By Heather Turk

One of only 50 Tiffany crystal baseballs made to commemorate the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2016 trip to Cuba to play the Habana Cubans

One of Tampa’s newest attractions is sure to hit a home run with baseball fans.

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House opened in the Ybor City Historic District last September, approximately one mile from the home’s original location where Tampa’s first Major League player, manager and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee lived for more than 50 years. The restored house features 1,200 square feet of permanent and rotating exhibits that cover Tampa’s baseball history over the past 135 years.

“Tampa has always been a baseball town,” said Chantal Hevia, president and CEO of the Ybor City Museum Society, which owns and developed the museum. “From the first team formed in Ybor City by the Cubans in 1887, to the spring training tradition, to the latest Major League Baseball inductee, to the Tampa Bay Rays’ record-setting accomplishments, there is unique living history that represents the area’s passion for the game.” Visitors to the museum can learn more about Tampa’s robust history with the sport by watching “Baseball from the Beginning,” a series of historical videos produced by the Tampa Bay Rays. Hevia noted that Tampa has one of the highest numbers of MLB players per capita in the country, and the museum actually features a collection of baseballs signed by each of the 89 players from Hillsborough County who reached the Majors. Other artifacts on display include an original team jersey circa 1950 from the city’s first Minor League team, the Tampa Smokers, and a representation of Al Lopez Field, Tampa’s spring training and Minor League ballpark that operated from 1955 to 1988.

Artifacts from Tampa’s first Minor League team, the Tampa Smokers

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is recommended that guests give themselves approximately 45 minutes to visit. tampabaseballmuseum.org

The Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House