Stars & Strikes: 8th Annual Base Ball

All*Star week got off to an unofficial kickoff on July 5^th with the 8^th Annual Base Ball which was held at the All*Star FanFest at the KC Convention Center.  For those who don’t know, the Base Ball is put on each year here in KC in a joint venture between Major League Baseball, the Royals, and the local Boys & Girls Club as part of MLB’s RBI (Revitalizing Baseball in Inner Cities) program.  In the mission statement directly from BGCA.org, RBI is a Major League Baseball initiative whose mission is to increase urban and inner city youth interest and participation in baseball and softball by re-introducing, reviving, and rebuilding America’s pastime in underserved communities.  This year, with the All*Star Game in town, the venue was appropriately chosen as the host site for this fundraiser.  

I took the opportunity to volunteer for this event and much to my initial dismay, was placed at the registration table.  Little did I know that this was where I probably would have had the most fun considering that I could be my naturally charming/dorky self (Clearly synonyms, right?).  On the front lines, I was able to see first hand the 600 plus human beings rolling into Bartle Hall.  What was interesting to me was to see the diversity of places that people had come from to take part in this event.  People from Las Vegas, Denver, California, Arizona, as well as many locals from the region were among those I checked in.  As this was a fundraiser, each entry ticket was $150 to get in the door to experience the event.  In addition to that, there were great silent auction items such as sports memorabilia from the Chiefs, Sporting KC, and of course the Royals, as well as great vacations and trips that could be bid on.

After my job was finished, I took the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the Fanfest and enjoyed every minute of it.  Great ballpark style food was provided via buffet tables.  The salty taste of the pretzels and peanuts, the meaty flavor of the hot dogs with choice of toppings, the create your own salad bar, the pulled pork (of course, we are in KC).  Aramark did a great job on the food preparation for the event.  Following the filling of my stomach,  I checked out the rest of the event.  After taking some mean home run swings in the batting cages and honing my fastball in the pitching booth, I decided to take in some of the historical exhibitions.  Baseball truly does have a great lineage as an international game as you can see plainly when looking at a roster for a Major League team.  Also, seeing a visual history of the minorities who have meant something to the game was inspiring  (BTW, everyone who is a baseball fan owes it to themselves to check out the Negro Leagues Museum at 18th and Vine; it's a great museum hosted by wonderful people who truly love the sport).  Following that, I topped off my night at FanFest by stepping into the "Locker Room" and listening to some live music in the "Diamond."  Overall, I would say that this was a great event in Kansas City that brought out some passionate fans for both baseball and charity to start the weekend off right.