Coinciding with a new season of baseball now underway in the Capital City, the Sacramento History Museum is excited to present an all-new Play Ball! Sacramento in the National Pastime opening May 1. Located in the R. Burnett & Mimi Glide Miller Gallery in the Museum, the exhibition is filled with historical baseball uniforms, bats, balls, and gloves from different time periods, along with programs, tickets, awards and trophies, an Edmonds field base, home plate and ticket box, along with scrapbooks, news articles, photos, and more.
Play Ball! tells the fascinating and fun story of Sacramento’s 175-year baseball history, stretching from the early days of the Gold Rush to the latest inning at Sutter Health Park just across the Sacramento River. Showcased in the exhibit are unique chapters such as the Cincinnati Red Stockings that arrived via the new Transcontinental Railroad to trounce the local nine, baseball under the lights years before the Major Leagues electrified their stadiums, and a stadium named for a young sports editor who died after rallying to keep baseball in town. The exhibit demonstrates Sacramento’s past and present as a baseball-crazed region alive with youth leagues of every kind, including Chinese, Mexican, and Japanese-American baseball, Negro League tribute games, high school and college heroes, and Major Leaguers by the dozens.
The Play Ball! Sacramento in the National Pastime exhibit will remain on display through October 18, 2026. Located at 101 I Street at the Old Sacramento Waterfront, the Sacramento History Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day). For more information about Play Ball!, other exhibits, and special programs offered by the Sacramento History Museum, please visit www.sachistorymuseum.org.
