Our next stop in the Hall of Fame was the gallery where plaques of all its members are hung. They are arranged by year of induction. Pictures of two of our favorites, along with their inscriptions, are below.

THEODORE SAMUEL WILLIAMS "TED" BOSTON RED SOX A.L. 1939-1960 BATTED .406 IN 1941. LED A.L. IN BATTING 6 TIMES; SLUGGING PERCENTAGE 9 TIMES; TOTAL BASES 6 TIMES; RUNS SCORED 6 TIMES; BASES ON BALLS 8 TIMES. TOTAL HITS 2654 INCLUDED 521 HOME RUNS. LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE .344; LIFETIME SLUGGING AVERAGE .634. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER 1946 & 1949. PLAYED IN 18 ALL-STAR GAMES, NAMED PLAYER OF THE DECADE 1951-1960.

CARL MICHAEL YASTRZEMSKI "YAZ" BOSTON, A.L., 1961-1983 SUCCEEDED TED WILLIAMS IN FENWAY'S LEFT FIELD IN 1961 AND RETIRED 23 YEARS LATER AS ALL-TIME RED SOX LEADER IN 8 CATEGORIES. PLAYED WITH GRACEFUL INTENSITY IN RECORD 3,308 A.L. GAMES. ONLY A.L. PLAYER WITH 3,000 HITS AND 400 HOMERS. 3-TIME BATTING CHAMPION. WON MVP AND TRIPLE CROWN IN 1967 AS HE LED RED SOX TO "IMPOSSIBLE DREAM" PENNANT.

One thing that surprised me the first time I visited is that the plaques listed all the teams each player had played for. There's always such a big fuss made about which team's hat the player will choose to wear into the Hall of Fame. I always thought that the players' hats were on display there, too. Instead, all their teams are listed, and the only hats are the ones in the pictures on the plaques. But some of the players weren't wearing hats, and some were turned at an angle so you couldn't even see what was on the front of the hat. It turns out to be just another example of the media making more out of something than they should.