If you’re anything like me, I have a tendency to get museum-ed out in about a half hour. Oh sure there are exceptions, such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York (which I’ve been to several times and discovered new things with each visit) and the absolutely breathtaking  “Baseball!” exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley in 2014. But for the most part, if you’ve seen one old baseball jersey you’ve seen them all, right?

Wrong.

Have you ever seen Don Drysdale’s jersey from his minor league days with the then Class-C Bakersfield Indians?

Many Dodger fans are unaware that Hall of Famer Don Drysdale once played for the Bakersfield Indians, the once Class-C minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who played their home games at historic Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield, California. (Photo credit: Ron Cervenka – Click on image to enlarge)

Or better still, have you ever seen an actual ticket stub from Jackie Robinson’s major league debut at Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947? How about an actual Sandy Koufax game-used glove?

If you haven’t, you can; plus many other incredible Dodgers artifacts from the priceless (and peerless) collection of renowned baseball memorabilia collector Gary Cypres at Dodger Stadium every Friday, Saturday and Sunday now through March 5, 2017 (excluding Christmas Day and New Years Day but including Christmas break week of December 26-31).

If I had to pick one item at the Dodger Stadium pop-up museum that was my favorite, it would have to be this actual ticket stub from Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut on April 15, 1947.
(Photo credit: Ron Cervenka – Click on image to enlarge)

“Gary’s place I always describe as, you know when people say ‘You can’t see everything in a day?’ You couldn’t see everything there in, honestly, you could probably spend a week there,” said Dodgers Tours and Special Events Supervisor Brett Searson.

Unfortunately, Cypres was recently forced to shut down his Sports Museum of Los Angeles due to what Searson called “a lack of traction,” a kind phrase for low attendance. But while having an off-site Dodgers museum may not generate significant attendance numbers, having something like the current pop-up museum at Dodger Stadium on a permanent basis most certainly would – especially before home games during the regular season. In fact, anyone who has been to new Yankee Stadium since it opened in 2009 has probably seen their outstanding museum located within the stadium, this in addition to its famed Monument Park located just beyond the center field wall.

Born in the Bronx and a lifelong Yankees fan, 73-year-old Gary Cypres has always been a huge Brooklyn Dodgers enthusiast. His collection of Dodgers memorabilia – Brooklyn and Los Angeles –  is without question the greatest in the world. (Photo credit – Mae Ryan)

“I don’t know the inevitable goal [of the pop-up museum] but I would say our stadium tour program is second to none and I can only imagine if we had a permanent museum, our tour program would add to it,” said Searson. “And that’s what we’re doing right now [during the off-season]. If the museum is open, basically you are paying for access to the museum when you go on a Dodger Stadium Tour, it’s included in the ticket cost for the days that the museum is open.”

The difficulty with having an on-site permanent museum at Dodger Stadium is the space that it requires. And while the Left Field Reserve Level Team Store currently housing the pop-up museum is an ideal location, the obvious drawback to having it there on a permanent basis – at least from the Dodgers’ perspective – is that it takes out one of their busiest (i.e. – most profitable) in-season retail stores. Chances are that even if this were to become the permanent location for a Dodger Stadium museum, it would not generate nearly the income (profit) that a fully-operational retail team store does, and somebody has to pay for the combined $192 million salaries of recently re-signed Dodgers Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen and Rich Hill (to name only a few).

It is impossible not to be impressed with this actual game-used Sandy Koufax glove.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But do fans even want a permanent museum at Dodger Stadium?

“It’s definitely great. This is the first time that they brought this out [to Dodger Stadium],” said Carlos Gonzalez, a lifelong Dodger fan from the West San Fernando Valley. “It’s great to just kind of take in all the history and just be a little more knowledgeable considering the fact that I wasn’t even born when a lot of this happened. It’s great to know a little bit more about baseball overall.”

Gonzalez said that he has been a Dodger fan since he was born in 1986. And even though he was two years old when the Dodgers won their last World Series title, he obviously doesn’t remember anything about it. As such, he is grateful to be able to visit the pop-up museum at Dodger Stadium to fill in the gaps in his memory and to learn more about Dodgers history. What was the best part of the pop-up museum for Gonzalez?

“Seeing the evolution of the game, especially with the Jackie Robinson part, breaking the color barrier, things of that nature,” Gonzalez said. “How [baseball] was mainly more on the east coast and then teams got over here towards the west coast. That overall, to be honest with you.”

Is this something that Gonzalez would recommend to his friends?

“Oh definitely, yeah. This is the first time that they’ve had it over here. I’d like it to be a permanent thing, especially during the off-season,” said Gonzalez. “This is all brand new to me … getting to learn all about not just the Dodgers but baseball as well. I think it’s great for fans in general, fans of the game.”

This autographed 1953 National League All-Star team ball is absolutely incredible.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Admission to the Dodger Stadium pop-up museum is $10. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance by visiting www.dodgers.com/museum. Fans will be directed to park in lot P where they may also purchase admission tickets. Fans joining a Dodger Stadium tour on days the museum is open will have the opportunity to visit the museum. Pricing for the Dodger Stadium tours and access to the pop-up museum are: adult ticket $23, child/senior/military with valid I.D. $18, clubhouse tour $53 and group ticket prices offer a $3 add-on for museum access.