COOPERSTOWN_ Not every fantasy comes true, but for the past four years, The National Baseball Hall of Fame has made some of them a reality.
Thursday was the start of the Hall's annual fantasy camp, a chance for people from all over the world to play baseball with former pros at historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.
Hall of Famers George Brett, Phil Niekro, Mike Schmidt and Ozzie Smith managed this year's teams. Former major leaguers Dave Bergman, Vince Coleman, Von Hayes, Jamie Quirk and Jon Warden served as coaches, joined by Phil Niekro's nephew, Lance, who was with the Houston Astros organization for part of 2008 but did not play in a major league game.
Nearly 40 fantasy campers got the chance of a lifetime _ to mingle with many of baseball's greats.
Russ Niemie, of Albany, said he has not missed a year since it began.
``It is so much fun,'' he said. ``For one week, you get to be friends with these guys.''
Niemie said the campers stay at the Otesaga Resort Hotel and are given a clubhouse and locker room.
``They treat all the campers great,'' said Niermie, who said he is known as the first guy to hit a home run out of Doubleday Field during fantasy camp.
He said he hit the long ball off of Phil Niekro.
Like Niemie, Niekro has been here every year. Niekro said he always looks forward to coming to manage a team.
The biggest concern is that nobody gets hurt, he said, as everyone who comes to play is competitive and wants to win.
Niekro, a native of Blaine, Ohio, now lives in Flowery Branch, Ga. He is known as the most successful knuckleball pitcher of all time, with 318 career victories. Phil and his brother Joe are the winningest brother combination in baseball history, with 539 wins combined.
Phil Niekro said he had not participated in a fantasy camp before coming to Cooperstown. He became involved when someone from the Hall asked him, and said it was an opportunity he was eager to take.
`` I have met such good friends and I have so much fun,'' he said.
The fun is not free for the campers, however. According to the camp's registration form, new campers paid $8,495 to participate. Each new player who came with a friend paid $7,995, as did returning campers.
Chris Hug was a first-time visitor at fantasy camp, and he said Thursday he was filled with joy to be a part of the game despite frigid, rainy weather.
Hug came from Switzerland to play ball and said he was just happy to be in Cooperstown.
``A little rain don't matter to me,'' he said.
Hug was placed on Team Brett, which lost 4-3 to Team Niekro in the first game, the only game campers got in on Thursday because of the weather.
Hug said he first learned about the camp through a magazine. He learned more about it on the Hall of Fame website and decided he had to come try it.
The camp has fulfilled his expectations, he said, and he was surprised by how well-organized it is.
Hug said he attended his first baseball game 23 years ago at Yankee Stadium; it was then that he fell in love with the game.
The experience did not make Hug a Yankee fan, though. He said he roots for the Toronto Blue Jays because his wife is Canadian.
Hug, who has a son who plays baseball in Switzerland, said he has always played the America's pastime game "just for fun."
Ken Meifert, director of development for the Hall of Fame, said the idea of the camp is to get people from all over the world to come and see what Cooperstown has to offer.
Meifert said it is his task to educate people about the Hall of Fame and its mission to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations.
Meifert said the camp is a major fundraising opportunity for the Hall of Fame, which is a nonprofit educational institution that depends on the support of more than 30,000 members and donors.
``Fantasy camp is about the camaraderie of being part of a team, making new friends and having a good time,'' Meifert said.
He said he participated in the camp for the first time this year. As he sat inside the dugout Thursday, sheltered from the rain, he said he feels baseball fans seem like a good group of people to hang out with, and he has had a fun time getting to know everyone.
Hopefully, the sun will shine for the remaining days of camp, said Meifert after the first game was over. Then he smiled and added, ``But none of us here are made of sugar, we won't melt.''
Games will continue through Sunday, weather permitting, and are free and open to the public. On Sunday, Team Niekro takes on Team Schmidt at 10 a.m., while teams Brett and Smith are scheduled to play at 2 p.m.
For more information about the fantasy camp, call 547-0369 or visit www.baseballhall.org.
