Cooperstown.

To a lot of folks around here, it means that somewhat ritzy burgh about a half hour’s car ride northeast of Oneonta.

To baseball fans just about everywhere else in America and around the world, Cooperstown means something else.

Something magical.

Cooperstown is a place that really needs no state designation after its name. Just Cooperstown is sufficient.

The very word is synonymous with a building that commemorates the achievements of the very best baseball players who ever lived.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is to sports what Carnegie Hall is to a musician.

New York City tourist to beatnik with guitar: "Excuse me, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?"

Beatnik with guitar to New York City tourist: "Practice, baby. Practice."

Well, it’s the same with baseball players and the Hall of Fame.

How do you get to Cooperstown?

Practice, baby. Practice.

For a young phenom who hits a ton of home runs or a pitcher who makes a habit of striking out the side, there is no higher compliment than to say they are "destined for Cooperstown."

While they were playing, it was not terribly difficult to see that Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were "destined for Cooperstown."

Their inductions into the Hall of Fame on Sunday are expected to draw more people to our area than any previous event.

Ripken is best known for breaking Lou Gehrig’s "unbreakable" record of 2,130 consecutive games played in a career.

With baseball coming off a devastating players strike, Ripken brought many disgruntled fans back to the game when he set the record in 1995.

He went on to play in 2,632 consecutive games. But he wasn’t just a durable player. He’s one of only a few with at least 400 home runs and 3,000 hits.

He has earned his way into Cooperstown.

So has Tony Gwynn. He didn’t hit a lot of home runs, but he did everything else you could ask of a ballplayer, and did it with an enormous amount of class.

His 19-year career showed remarkable consistency. In 9,288 at-bats, he struck out only 434 times and never batted below .309 in any full season.

Before he gained weight and his knee problems worsened late in his career, he was an excellent base stealer and a Gold Glove outfielder.

His career batting average of .338 is the highest of any player since World War II.

In an age of free agency, both Ripken and Gwynn played their entire careers with one team, Ripken with the Baltimore Orioles, and Gwynn with the San Diego Padres.

Both men are pillars in their communities and worthy of Hall of Fame status by any yardstick you could employ.

There could be as many as 70,000 visitors to the ceremonies on Sunday. The traffic and parking will be murder.

But when we think of all the people who are traveling great distances on a pilgrimage to magical Cooperstown, those of us close by should not let a little traffic get in the way of us joining in the fun.

In that way, we, too, are destined for Cooperstown.