Does your family spend the entire spring and most of summer at the Little League field? If your young athlete can’t get enough of baseball, you can hit one out of the proverbial park by visiting these central Arkansas spots—from a day at the museum to a night at the ballpark.

1. The Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail

Hot Springs stands as the birthplace of spring training, and the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail uses modern, interactive technology to help your family visit the sites once frequented by legends Babe Ruth, Cy Young and Jackie Robinson, among others.

Visitors can use their phones to download an app, scan a QR code or make a call and, with their interactive tour guide in hand, set off for the trail’s many stops. Visit www.HotSpringsBaseballTrail.com to get started.

2. The Arkansas Travelers

Central Arkansas’ only affiliated professional sports team has played minor league baseball on and off, mostly on, since 1895.

Now a farm team for the American League’s Los Angeles Angels, the Travelers play in modern Dickey-Stephens Park, which offers comfortable seating, including a chance to lounge on the grassy outfield berms, a restaurant, museum, gift shop, children’s play area with inflatable attractions and concessions. Go to Travs.com to check the home schedule.

3. Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of Negro League Baseball

When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, it marked the beginning of the end of the Negro Leagues, which produced some of the game’s greatest players.

The Laman Library’s Discover Greatness exhibit (June 28-Aug. 24) is an exhibit presented by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., showcasing close to 90-framed photographs outlining the history of African-American baseball from the late 1800s through the 1960s. Call the library at 758-1720 for hours and information.

4. MacArthur Military Museum

The museum is named for one of Arkansas’ most notable natives — Gen. Douglas MacArthur — but also marks the spot where the first recorded game of baseball was played in Arkansas on May 14, 1867.

All summer the museum will offer summer schools the chance to play the game as it was played in the old days. Kids, and adults, can use reproductions of balls, bats and bases from the period and a museum staff member will umpire and explain the rules.

If you’re interested in playing some 1860s baseball, call program director Nic Clark 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. at the museum, 376-4602.

5. Batting Cages

After all this baseball talk, who wouldn’t be inspired to go take a few cuts?

There are a number of batting cages in the central Arkansas area where families can plunk down their quarters and brush up on their hitting skills.

Swing Away in Maumelle (771-2733) and Balls-N-Strikes in Sherwood (833-0668), are among the more popular, but many cities in the area have facilities for sluggers, young and old, looking to get in some hacks.

See more about baseball in central Arkansas in this month's digital edition of Little Rock Family.