9 must-see Milwaukee artifacts in the Hall

From the Braves to the Brewers, there’s much to be savored about Major League baseball in Milwaukee.

It’s where slugger Hank Aaron began his record-setting career. It’s where Warren Spahn dominated the National League for what seemed like generations. Whether your hero is Robin Yount or Christian Yelich, Milwaukee baseball is a treasure. And plenty of memorabilia exists to prove that.

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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s collection of more than 40,000 three-dimensional pieces contains artifacts that tell the story of the game’s legendary players, moments and triumphs. Whether you’ve visited before or you’ve always wanted to check it out, there's always a great reason to plan a visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum -- the spiritual home of America’s Pastime in beautiful Cooperstown, N.Y.

Paging Mr. Aaron: Another run, please
Fun facts: Aaron made a habit of breaking Babe Ruth’s records. Nothing personal, Babe, but I have a job to do. This is the ball that Aaron smacked for a single on May 1, 1975, to score Brewers teammate Sixto Lezcano and notch RBI No. 2,210 of his career. This pushed Aaron past Ruth for the top spot in this prestigious category.

Fingers gets doubly solid grip on success
Fun facts: Here’s how good Rollie Fingers was in 1981: He won both the MVP and Cy Young Awards in the American League. Fingers wore this Brewers jersey during this charmed season, which hastened his entry into the Hall of Fame.

It’s Trevor Time -- again
Fun facts: Trevor Hoffman wore this cap on Sept. 7, 2010, to secure his 600th career save in Milwaukee’s 4-2 triumph over St. Louis. Hoffman collected save No. 601 before he retired from baseball three weeks later.

Molitor keeps mashing
Fun facts: This is the bat that future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor used during his club-record 39-game hitting streak. It lasted from July 16 to Aug. 26, 1987.

Spahnie soars to top spot
Fun facts: Remember -- Milwaukee was a Braves town from 1953-65. And no Brave, with the possible exceptions of Aaron and Eddie Mathews, distinguished themselves more than Spahn, who donned this jersey on the final day of the 1962 season, when he recorded his 327th career victory. It enabled Spahn to pass Eddie Plank on the all-time wins list for left-handers.

Yelich scores pair of round-trip tickets home
Fun facts: It’s difficult enough to hit for the cycle once. Yelich wowed observers by doing it twice in one season. Here are the shoes and batting gloves he wore when he accomplished this feat in 2018.

Robin knew how to rock
Fun facts: This was the batting helmet that Yount used during the 1989 season, when he won his second AL MVP Award for the Brewers. He also won it in '82. Yount played for 20 seasons, all with the Brewers.

Let’s have a ball
Fun facts: This ball symbolized the rebirth of baseball in Milwaukee. Team owner (and later MLB Commissioner) Bud Selig tossed it as he made the ceremonial first pitch at County Stadium before the Brewers’ inaugural game in Milwaukee, welcoming the city back to the big leagues after four seasons without baseball.

Part of the family tree
Fun facts: This is the cap worn by the Seattle Pilots in 1969, their first year as an AL expansion team. Though the Pacific Northwest ultimately got behind baseball, the Pilots’ attendance lagged, prompting big league officials to pull the plug on the Pilots after one season. Thus the Brewers were born, because the AL needed a 12th franchise.