Well it's certainly not Iowa so I guess it must be heaven!
I had the opportunity to visit the MLB All-Star FanFest today at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I took my two boys, Daniel (9 years-old) and Tyler (5 years-old) and we spent about 5 hours basking in the glow of baseball!
Whether we were shagging fly balls at Wilson Fielding Practice, strolling through the Negro Leagues exhibit, or watching the MLB.com crew live on the air, baseball really was a constant reminder of everything that is good. From the minute they walked into the convention center until the time they went to sleep tonight, Daniel and Tyler talked about how wonderful this day was and how "cool" all the baseball "stuff" was.
Tyler couldn't wait to hit at the rookie league batting cages while Daniel was amazed by the memorabilia on display. My 5 year-old was oh so ready to dial up his 27 mph heater at the Strikeout Prostate Cancer pitch clocking exhibit while my 9 year-old wanted to have his picture taken while he went "over the wall" to make the game saving catch.
Nothing was going to get in the way of having fun today. I've never seen my boys smile and laugh and beam with pure joy like they did for 5 hours on this Friday afternoon. And all this because of baseball.
Major League Baseball sure does know how to put on a show, and this is just the start. Four more days of All-Star festivities await us. Four more days of baseball bliss for the kid in us all. And at least four more days to remind us of all that is good...
World's largest baseball
World Series Trophy
Negro Leagues Exhibit
Minor League Hats Display
A replica of Josh Hamilton's All-Star Game locker
Baseball fans across the U.S. can tune into XM Satellite Radio for comprehensive coverage of the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Week in New York City, including the 79th MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on July 15.
XM will air the All-Star Game, the Home Run Derby, and exclusive radio coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game, featuring the top minor-league prospects from the U.S. and abroad.
XM’s baseball talk radio channel MLB Home Plate will be live from New York starting July 12 with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. at the All-Star FanFest at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
Cal and his brother and fellow major-league vet Billy Ripken will host their weekly XM show “Ripken Baseball” at the XM broadcast booth in the convention center this Saturday 10-11 am ET. The Ripkens’ guests will include the New York Yankees’ Hall of Famer Whitey Ford.
The MLB Home Plate channel (XM 175)’s on-air team will host shows at FanFest, Yankee Stadium, and the XM studios at Jazz at Lincoln Center July 12-16.
This year’s Midsummer Classic will be the fourth and final All-Star Game played at Yankee Stadium as the team prepares to open a new stadium in 2009. Pre-game ceremonies at the “House That Ruth Built” will include the largest gathering of baseball stars on one field at the same time.
“The All-Star Game this year is especially historic because it’s the last one to be played on the most hallowed ground in baseball,” said Eric Logan, XM executive vice president, programming. “We will have wall-to-wall coverage of All-Star events in New York for five days straight. It’s all part of our mission to bring every MLB game to millions of listeners across the country.”
XM airs every game for every MLB team throughout the regular season and postseason. XM’s MLB Home Plate channel covers the game 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. XM is the exclusive satellite radio provider of Major League Baseball.
MLB All-Star Week on XM Satellite Radio on-air schedule:
Saturday, July 12 – Wednesday, July 16: MLB Home Plate (XM channel 175) live from DHL All-Star FanFest, Yankee Stadium, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York
Sunday, July 13: XM All Star Futures Game at 12:30 pm ET on XM 175
Monday, July 14: State Farm Home Run Derby at 8 pm ET on XM 176
Tuesday, July 15: 79th MLB All-Star Game at 8 pm ET on XM 176