Google has digitized the National Baseball Hall of Fame

So far, you’ve had to swing by Cooperstown to pay homage at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, not very practical if you’re a West coast fan. Thankfully, you can honor those sports legends from home now that the Hall of Fame and its museum have landed in Google’s Cultural Institute. The addition lets you browse through the museum’s classic jerseys and other memorabilia in Street View. If you’d rather not do the virtual legwork, there are two photo galleries that show how baseball has evolved over the decades. It’s doubtful that a virtual trip will evoke as much nostalgia as the real thing, but it’s certainly easier than booking a flight.

Following on the heels of its graffiti endeavors, Google has taken the National Baseball Hall of Fame digital, giving anyone with an Internet connection the ability to view classic images and take a Street View walk through the exhibits. Google introduced its new sports-centric effort on Google+, ushering it in as part of the Google Cultural Institute. The digital showroom gives users high-resolution looks at classic baseball images, with details provided for each one and the ability to share them on a social network like Twitter. There are two digital slideshow exhibits: 1950 – 1958 The New Face of Baseball, and 1866 – 2012 Picturing America’s Pastime. In addition, and as previously mentioned, users can also guide themselves through the Hall of Fame using Street View. The Street View guide offers a simple floor plan for easily seeing where you are in the building, as well as the ability to select which floor you want to tour (three floors in total). Clicking on the high-res version of an image will zoom you to its location in the Street View guide.