FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Last year, Major League Baseball made a pitch to the Department of Defense to play a big-league game at a military installation. “We received a reaction of ‘Wow, this is out of the blue, but really exciting,’” said Tony Petitti, MLB’s Chief Operating Officer.
From that initial discussion came a year’s worth of planning and a frantic construction schedule to make Sunday night’s Atlanta Braves-Miami Marlins contest a reality. It was played in a temporary ballpark constructed at the nation's largest military base here. “We thought that a celebration of the military on July 4th weekend made a lot of sense,” Petitti added.
The celebration encompasses more than the game. As part of MLB’s Play Ball initiative, representatives from USA Baseball held a clinic for 250 children from military families. Following the Braves’ 9-1 win Saturday in Atlanta, the two teams traveled to Fort Bragg to engage in hands-on activities, including visiting patients at the Womack Army Medical Center, packing parachutes and reviewing weapons with special operations personnel.
When Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski was asked what he learned from his special ops tour guides, he quipped, “We’re not allowed to tell you. We’d have to kill you if we did.” He added that participating in the game and the events that led up to it “ranks right up there with anything I’ve ever done.”
The Fort Bragg personnel coordinating the event were equally excited. Christina Douglas, who has worked in public affairs for the military for 12 years, called Sunday's game "the most meaningful event I’ve seen. Major League Baseball and the Players Association have gone above and beyond for our service members, their families and the whole Fort Bragg community.”
Because the sole purpose of the 12,500-seat ballpark is to host this game, the structures are anything but permanent. The stands are made up of aluminum bleachers, while six portable light towers on flatbed trucks were brought in. The players dressed in large tents acting as clubhouses.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred noted that the ballpark is “really beyond what I expected.”
Not only is this evening’s game the first big-league baseball contest ever held in North Carolina, it’s also believed to be the only time a regular season game of any professional sport has been held on an active military base.
There was no charge for the tickets to the game. Service personnel and their families received them directly from their units on base or through an online lottery. “It’s wonderful to have these two teams come up to play for us, and for us to get free tickets,” said PFC Makayla Patterson as she waited in line at the merchandise stand. She’s a Braves fan from Statesboro, Ga.
Pregame activities included a ceremonial first pitch by Sargent First Class Corey Calkins, a recipient of the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism in Afghanistan, and a flyover of four helicopters from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade.
