EXHIBIT HITS HOME BASEBALL'S PLACE IN AMERICAN HISTORY FOCUS OF DISPLAY.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

With little fanfare, the Rawlings BigStick bat belonging to Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy arrived two weeks ago at the Natural History Museum, ready to take its place alongside Jackie Robinson's jersey and Honus Wagner's T206 tobacco card in the featured ``Baseball as America'' exhibit.

But there was one small problem facing officials of the museum, which is next to the Coliseum: Something in the 500-piece show had to go to make room for the late addition of Kennedy's bat - the one used to hit three home runs in the deciding game of the American League Championship Series last month.

After some searching, though, organizers were able to find a spot and hit upon a swap. Into the exhibit went Kennedy's bat, right to the front of a display case featuring items of local interest. And out came the bat used by the Dodgers' Shawn Green to hit four homers in one game this season.

It was a symbolic switch for Southern California fans coming to grips with the Angels' first World Series championship. But it doesn't figure to stop there at the museum, which plans to add several pieces celebrating the Angels' championship run before the exhibit closes Dec. 15.

``That's what's so wonderful about baseball,'' said Jane Pisano, the Natural History Museum's president, director and a devoted Dodgers fan. ``It has this storied past, but what's happening on the ball field today is what becomes history tomorrow.''

Final selections have not been made, but Hall of Fame official Jeff Idelson said ``a large sampling'' of the items obtained after the Angels' Game 7 victory over the San Francisco Giants will be sent to the Natural History Museum in upcoming weeks. About the only certainty is that a stuffed rally monkey will be housed under glass.

Among the other possibilities are a cap worn by Francisco Rodriguez, the bat used by Scott Spiezio to hit his three-run home run in Game 6 and a jersey worn by Troy Glaus on the way to being named World Series MVP. Barry Bonds's black maple bat also could join the collection.

``We're just delighted,'' Idelson said, ``that so many of the artifacts that made the World Series so memorable will be on display right in the fans' backyard.''

For officials at the Natural History Museum, the timing of the Angels' triumph could not have been better. After once fearing ``Baseball as America'' would make its Los Angeles debut during a strike-shortened season, they will end up presenting the show at a high point of local interest.

``In the best of all possible worlds, we could have never predicted this,'' said Pisano, who attended Game 2 of the World Series at Edison Field. ``Who would have thought there would be a West Coast World Series?``

Los Angeles is the second stop for the traveling exhibit put on by the Hall that debuted in March at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and attracted nearly 250,000 visitors. The show features several extraordinary pieces of memorabilia, including the treasured Wagner card, but also several with far greater social significance.

And though the Angels' artifacts undoubtedly will attract the most attention over the final month, nothing in the show comes close to matching the emotional power of a promotional baseball recovered by a New York Fire Department battalion chief from the rubble after the World Trade Center attacks. An accompanying letter follows:

``Being a baseball fan, coach and player, this item has become a symbol of hope for me,'' wrote Vin Mavaro, who found the ball after days of searching at ground zero. ``Baseball is the American Pastime, a great game for a great country.''

Mavaro's letter perfectly captures the sentiment behind the exhibit, which tries to trace the connection between baseball's history and that of America over the past century and a half. And nothing is more poignant than those items dealing with Sept. 11 and the game's response to it.

There is a jersey worn by Mets pitcher John Franco, whose cousins are city firefighters, and a hat worn by Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling during last year's World Series. The words ``God Bless America'' are written on the side and a New York Police Department badge hangs on the back.

Then there is the ball found by Mavaro, which was created for the bond trading firm TradeWeb and bears the company's logo. Hall of Fame officials learned about it when they saw Mavaro talking about the ball on the ``Today'' show and were able to obtain it from him.

``The only thing that he found that was whole was a baseball,'' said Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, whose staff was putting the finishing touches on the exhibit the week of the attacks. ``He thought that just like baseball survived, the country will, too.''

With surprising frankness, ``Baseball as America'' also addresses the game's history of racism, as well as its struggles as a business. In one display case is the Braves' jersey worn by Henry Aaron when he hit home run No. 715 in 1974. But it is paired with one of the many threatening letters Aaron received.

``You must think people are dumb,'' the letter reads. ``We know you are trying to break Ruth's record. You dirty old n----- man.''

Meanwhile, the exhibit also features a jersey worn by Robinson in his final season with the Dodgers in 1956, along with a letter written four years later to Robinson by John F. Kennedy, then a senator from Massachusetts, pledging his support for civil rights reform in the upcoming presidential election.

After three years as president of the Hall, Petroskey counts the Robinson jersey as his favorite piece.

``That moment did more for civil rights in this country than any legislation introduced by Congress,'' Petroskey said. ``That was a very visible symbol that things were going to be different in America.''

With an eye toward more recent times, the show includes a 1997 editorial cartoon by Tony Auth asking what if the Cleveland Indians were named for another ethnic group. Several offensive caricatures follow depicting the Cleveland Asians, Cleveland Hispanics and Cleveland Africans.

And the exhibit also explores the business side of the game, though not always favorably. On display is a copy of agent Scott Boras's free-agent prospectus for shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who went on to sign a 10-year, $252 million contract - the richest in professional sports - with the Texas Rangers.

There are also a host of extraordinary pieces from the game's greatest moments: the bats used by Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire to hit their record-setting home runs, and a ball and catcher's mitt used by Don Larsen and Yogi Berra in Larsen's perfect game at the 1956 World Series.

Then there are the spikes of ``Shoeless'' Joe Jackson, a hat from Satchel Paige and the $125,000 contract with which Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees. But the exhibit is intended to educate about the game's social place, in addition to the collection of artifacts.

After its stop in Los Angeles, the show will move to Chicago in February and make stops at five other museums through August 2005. But its time at the Natural History Museum figures to be remembered for the parallel with the Angels' first world championship.

``It's just so incredible,'' Pisano said, ``that these things traveled from Anaheim to Cooperstown to us.''

``BASEBALL AS AMERICA''

Where: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd.

When: Through Dec. 15.

Admission: $8 adults, $5.50 students and seniors, $2 children 5-12 and free for children under 5.

Times: Open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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(1 -- color) Visitors admire part of The ``Baseball as America'' exhibit that runs through Dec. 15 at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park.

(2 -- color) Doubleday ball (c.150 years old)

(3 -- color) Jackie Robinson's Dodgers jersey

(4 -- color) Shoeless Joe Jackson's shoes

(5 -- color) Ladies Professional Baseball League uniform

(6 -- 7 -- color) Above, the eyes of Hank Aaron, baseball's home run king who surpassed Babe Ruth in 1974, loom over visitors. Right, Nick and Nolan Bayer check out baseballs from the 1800's at the Natural History Museum. The baseballs are just some of several artifacts the displayed in the exhibit.

(8 -- color) Mickey Mantle's rookie baseball card.

(9 -- color) Sheet music for the official fight song of the California Angels

(10 -- color) Honus Wagner's T206 baseball card

(11 -- color) Advertisement for a theatrical appearance by Babe Ruth.

(12 -- color) Famous home run bats

Photos by Hans Gutknecht

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BASEBALL AS AMERICA (see text)

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12 photos, box