NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- It’s America’s pastime, but now New York has deemed baseball its official sport.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Friday designating baseball as the official sport of the state after a fourth grade class in Cooperstown proposed the bill. Cooperstown is well-known as the location of the heralded Baseball Hall of Fame.
New York has a rich history of baseball, Cuomo said, whether it be the 27-time champion Yankees, Queens’ Mets, or the teams of yesterday like the Brooklyn Dodgers of New York Giants. And of course, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is in Cooperstown.
"The fervor of the sport is as reflective of our great state as a sport can be, bringing together diverse crowds for the love of the game," Cuomo said. "New York is the birthplace of baseball and I'm proud to finally make it our official state sport."
"Baseball is the perfect sport to represent New York. It emphasizes teamwork and sacrifice, two principle concepts that are important during a child's development,” says Assemblyman Michael Benedetto.
Baseball joins a stacked lineup of other official New York symbols like the apple (state fruit), yogurt (state fruit), snapping turtle (state reptile) and milk (state beverage).
Some other states have also named hailed other official sports: Alaska's is dog mushing, Massachusetts' is basketball, Maryland deemed theirs as lacrosse and jousting, North Carolina's is stock car racing and Colorado decided on pack burro racing.