On March 21,2024, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum presented by Dinsmore opened its 2024 feature exhibit, The Long Ball: A Home Run History of the Reds. The exhibit highlights great home run hitters and notable home runs throughout Reds history.
To better capture the feel of baseball’s most exciting play within the confines of the exhibit gallery, a 4’ X 9’ video wall featuring a running loop of over 100 home run clips was installed. The radio and television called of these notable home runs can be heard through a new surround sound system that envelopes the visitor at every spot throughout the exhibit space.
An interactive touch screen allows visitors to delve into Statcast, the technology that tracks every aspect of the home run from the moment the ball impacts the bat. Visitors can choose from a selection of home run clips from the 2023 Reds season, each of which shows the home run as it was hit followed by detailed animations that measure the distance the home run travelled, the angle from which it left the bat and the speed of the ball after impact.
The exhibit also features strategic placement of QR codes that direct visitors to the Long Ball Exhibit landing page on the Hall of Fame’s website. The page lives as a true extension of the exhibit, offering a wealth of Reds home run facts, a timeline of notable Reds home runs and much more.
The graphic motif of the exhibit combines a representation of an outfield wall that surrounds the space with impactful action images of Reds home run highlights. Embedded in this graphic presentation is a replica of an outfield wall at which visitors can try their hand at leaping “over” the fence to stop a ball from flying “out of the park.” This element incorporates museum-safe soft balls and replica gloves that are accessible to all visitors and adds an element of physical activity to the experience.
Finally, the exhibit is anchored by the themed display of over 180 artifacts highlighted by the presentation of bats used by each of the top-50 players on the Reds’ all-time career home run list. Each of the bats in the display originates from the Hall of Fame’s permanent collection as do the majority of the artifacts exhibited. In addition to the items from the Hall of Fame’s collection, the artifact assortment is augmented by loaned items from Reds Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and George Foster (the franchise career home run record holder and the club’s single season record holder, respectively) as well as important artifacts that have been placed on loan by a number of local collectors.
The Long Ball is on display in the Hall of Fame’s Changing Exhibits Gallery through February 2025. For more information, please visit https://www.mlb.com/reds/hall-of-fame/the-long-ball