Back on July 22, Steven Cheah did something no scout, coach, or stat sheet ever will: he turned a random batting-practice moment at Wrigley Field into a full-blown bit. Cheah scaled the netting behind the backstop to snag a ball, and instead of just keeping it as a souvenir, he and the Barstool crew decided the ball deserved a bigger destiny than his living room shelf.
The backstory of why these boys went to Cooperstown (Wisconsin) https://t.co/7Py4rIryg2
That's the joke, and it's a good one: there's a real Cooperstown, New York, home to the actual Baseball Hall of Fame, and then there's Cooperstown, Wisconsin — a small town whose mayor, Nick Propson, has become a recurring Yak Files character after appearing on The Yak podcast in July to accept Cheah's ball on the town's behalf. Barstool leaned all the way into the bit by treating the handoff like an enshrinement.
So on August 24, the crew actually made the trip out to Cooperstown, Wisconsin for what amounted to Cheah's own induction day. Big Cat, hosting the Yak live from the town, made it clear this wasn't a quiet little pit stop.
The footage from the ceremony shows Cheah standing outside a small-town building holding a trophy and his glove, arm raised, while a crowd gathers with an American flag flying behind him. It's absurd, it's earnest, and it's exactly the kind of small-town-meets-internet-bit energy that makes Yak Files content work.
A truly historic moment for @StevenCheah and his baseball in Cooperstown (Wisconsin) https://t.co/dksVwe8OAD
None of this changes the fact that Cheah's ball has zero actual Hall of Fame relevance — it's a batting-practice souvenir, not a milestone artifact. But that's kind of the point. Turning a nothing catch into a full civic ceremony, complete with a plaque, a mayor, and a live Yak broadcast, is the exact brand of bit that Barstool has built an audience on. Cheah, for one day, got the Cooperstown treatment without ever having to hit a single home run himself.