explore az

Baseball Shrine

by Phoenix Magazine

by Douglas C. Towne | Photography by Angelina Aragon “People get emotional seeing this collection of Arizona baseball memorabilia,” says Mike Phillips, president of Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience (ABLE). Where nostalgia is concerned, ABLE hits it out of the park, showcasing artifacts from beloved ballplayers, t

by Douglas C. Towne | Photography by Angelina Aragon

“People get emotional seeing this collection of Arizona baseball memorabilia,” says Mike Phillips, president of Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience (ABLE).

Where nostalgia is concerned, ABLE hits it out of the park, showcasing artifacts from beloved ballplayers, teams and stadiums. Fittingly, the museum is in Frasher’s Tavern, which sits on sacred athletic ground at the former site of Scottsdale High School’s baseball diamond.

Frasher’s continues the legacy of the late Pink Pony and Don & Charlie’s as Old Town’s hot spot for fans to swap stories about the boys of summer and their own glory days of oiling baseball gloves in anticipation of opening day.

Power at the Plate This well-worn home plate was the site of countless at-bats at the original Scottsdale Stadium, where it served from 1956 to 1991. “There’s a power to that slab of rubber,” Phillips says. “You appreciate it because so many great players have touched it.”

Juiced Autograph Arizona hosts the Cactus League, but one desperate baseball fan might have confused it with Florida’s Grapefruit League. When given the chance to get Sammy Sosa’s autograph at Maryvale Baseball Park in 2007, they plucked a grapefruit from a nearby tree for the slugger to sign.

Scottsdale Sex Symbol Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was among the earliest MLB stars to emerge from Scottsdale’s high school ranks, enjoying a 19-year career with the Baltimore Orioles (his jersey and hat are pictured below). Some might remember the handsome pitcher better from his work as an underwear model, with his famous tagline, “Wearing Jockeys is like pitching a perfect game.”

Frasher’s Assist Catering to baseball fans since 1999, Frasher’s Tavern created its own piece of baseball history with pitcher Matt Cain’s framed San Francisco Giants jersey from the 2012 World Series. “Cain met his wife here,” says owner George Frasher. “She was one of our waitresses.”

Identity Crisis A big question loomed over the Seattle Pilots’ spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium in 1970: Would the franchise move to Milwaukee to become the Brewers? “It wasn’t until the team broke camp and their bus reached Flagstaff that instructions came to head east,” Phillips says.