When Jeff Idelson, the retiring president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, calls–you pick up the phone. Fast. When he pitches you an idea for a talk about a new baseball book at the Museums on the Green, you don’t hesitate. You say, “Absolutely, what date works for you?” When he asks if he can bring a celebrated sportswriter and an award-winning photographer along, you go straight to baseball heaven. On June 27, we’re going on a grassroots journey of baseball–from sandlots to big-time ballparks–with three baseball aficionados.

Jeff  Idelson began his professional career with the Boston Red Sox in 1986, then spent five years as director of media relations and publicity for the New York Yankees from 1989-1993. In 1994, he joined the Baseball Hall of Fame as director of public relations and promotions before being named president in 2008.

Peter Gammons was a national baseball columnist for The Boston Globe and the newspaper’s  main journalist covering the Boston Red Sox for many years. He spent twenty years with ESPN as a columnist and in-studio analyst.  The Baseball Writers’ Association of America  has honored him for outstanding baseball writing.  He’s also authored numerous baseball books, including Beyond the Sixth Game.

Jean Fruth’s been shooting baseball for the past 15 years, covering the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s.  Now, she’s helping to build the NBHF Museum’s profile and photo archive. This new book features more than 250 of the best images from amateur games across the country and hotbeds of baseball around the world. Each chapter opens with a portrait of a baseball legend and a first-person essay recounting his early memories of playing the game. Some of the stars highlighted include Whitey Ford, Vladimir Guerrero, Hank Aaron, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Ichiro Suzuki. An introduction by Cal Ripken, Jr., a foreword by Steve Wulf and an afterword by Johnny Bench, hit this book out of the park. Grab a seat in the stands.

We’ll be talking about this talk for years.