Arizona Baseball Museum Opens

Arizona shares a long and deep history with the game of baseball. This history got its start well before Arizona became a state in 1912. A new museum, the Arizona Baseball Museum, will open on February 21, 2026 (just in time for Cactus League spring training!) in Mesa, Arizona to celebrate this long relationship between the state and the sport.

The museum’s mission is to preserve and share the rich history of baseball from its territorial roots to the formation of the Cactus League. The Mesa Historical Society will manage the museum, which will be located next door to the Mesa Historical Museum. The new museum includes immersive exhibits, baseball memorabilia, fan stories, and interactive technology to bring this history to life.

The museum’s first exhibit is Baseball in the Arizona Territory. The sport got its start when soldiers posted to the territorial forts brought baseball with them from the eastern portion of the country. It began as a regimental competition to keep the soldiers entertained as well as keep them in good physical condition. Soon, towns throughout the area began their own barnstorming teams, developing rivalries with neighboring towns.

The next exhibit is called the Birth of the Cactus League. In the 1920’s and the 1930’s, baseball began to expand westward from its East Coast roots. Many of these new teams had owners who had seasonal homes in the Southwest to escape the harsh Midwestern winters. These owners included Bill Veeck of the Indians and Horace Stoneham of the Giants. During this period, the Tigers, Indians, Giants, and Cubs moved their preseason training camps to Arizona. This was the origin of the Cactus League.

However, the beginning of World War II saw the new league come to a screeching halt, as no teams were allowed to play in the western United States due to security concerns.

The next exhibit covers baseball in the area during the war years. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were forced to move into internment camps in the western United States. The Japanese Internment Baseball exhibit includes photos and stories from families who lived in these camps. Baseball had become very popular at this point in Japan, so Japanese Americans used baseball to build community, preserve dignity, and create some sense of normalcy.

Following the conclusion of World War II, baseball continued its westward expansion to cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Owners were looking for ways to lower their costs for preseason baseball, and they saw the resurrection of the Cactus League as the best way to do that. Major League Baseball also saw several teams relocate from their original home cities.

The 1960’s and 1970’s from the next section of the museum, Relocation and Expansion. During this period, the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, and the Seattle Pilots (who later became the Milwaukee Brewers) and the San Diego Padres were added to the major league ranks. The 1990’s would see the creation of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Soon, the Cactus League reached its present-day membership of 15 teams that is still in place today.

The Arizona Baseball Museum also features a section called the Fan Experience. This area includes reminiscences from fans of the early years of the Cactus League to the present.  Many of the locals who began as fans now work at the various Cactus League parks, ensuring that today’s fans have an equally satisfying preseason experience. This section also contains fan memorabilia from over the years, including t-shirts, ticket stubs, and photos of fans at various ballparks.

The museum also serves as the home for the Cactus League Hall of Fame. This HOF includes the key individuals in preseason baseball’s western home. They include several of the pioneering owners who brought the game to Arizona… Bill Veeck, Horace Stoneham, Gene Autrey and Hi Corbett.  Players in the Cactus League Hall of Fame include Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Vida Blue, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson, Ron Santo, Dusty Baker, and Ichiro Suzuki. There are several players/broadcasters inducted into the Hall of Fame as well. They include Bob Uecker, Vin Scully, Pat Hughes, Bob Brenly, Rick Monday, and Ron Santo.

The Arizona Baseball Museum (www.arizonabaseballmuseum.org)  is located at 2345 North Horne Road in Mesa. Parking is available along the street in front of the museum. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am-4 pm.  Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 60 and over) and military, and $4 for youth (ages 6-17).