I’m fortunate enough to be attending all of the All Star events in downtown St. Louis this week. My odyssey began Saturday at FanFest.
All Star FanFest runs through Tuesday at America’s Center and literally has something for every baseball fan. Exhibits, vendors, interactive baseball activities, and appearances by personalities of the game are the highlights of the event.
Once inside the convention center, fans are completely inundated with all things baseball. A quick glance around the room is enough to realize it’s impossible to know where to start. I decided to take a left.
The Hall of Fame and Negro Leagues exhibits were, for me, the best part of the whole festival. Memorabilia and pictures line the walls, along with replicas of the player plaques that hang in Cooperstown, New York. But seeing the actual uniforms and equipment used by players from Honus Wagner to Rickey Henderson was truly awe-inspiring. The Cardinals’ presence was strong too, including a display of some
of the team’s All Stars that aren’t in the Hall of Fame yet but may be someday. The Negro Leagues exhibit features replications of clubhouse lockers filled with uniforms and caps of all the teams from the league. Pictures and info about the history of the league tell the story of these players and the game. I was impressed.
I happened upon a Minor League exhibit that charted out the farm clubs of all 30 Major League teams, and found out that the people sitting on the floor were actually in line to get the autograph of Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. I felt I couldn’t come to FanFest without getting at least one player autograph, even if it was a guy best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs. So I was off to find something significant for Mr. Jenkins to sign.
Independent vendors offer tons of memorabilia for sale, and Major League Baseball has a huge merchandise store on site. While the “official” merchandise was priced about like I expected, I was pleasantly surprised to find some of the other collectibles were relatively inexpensive. For instance, I paid a small fortune for an official Rawlings Hall of Fame baseball, but a UV-protection display cube from a memorabilia vendor was only $3.
I continued on to the interactive parts of FanFest, which of course includes exercises in fielding, hitting, broadcasting, and video games. While all of these looked like a lot of fun, and not necessarily as kid-oriented as I thought they might be, the lines were a bit long. Not surprisingly, the longest lines of the day were for the free tacos being handed out by Taco Bell. All this was to be expected for a Saturday, though, especially with no other All Star events going on at the same time. I’d imagine the lines on Sunday will be a little shorter, but the pick days to attend FanFest may be Monday and Tuesday if big crowds aren’t your thing.
When I got back to the Minor League exhibit the line had grown quite a bit,
but I was undeterred. Things actually moved along pretty well, and about 30 minutes later I got to meet and get an autograph from Ferguson Jenkins, and I was sure to tell him he could take comfort in knowing the newly signed ball would be proudly displayed in the home of a Cardinals fan (me) and a White Sox fan (my girlfriend).
All Star FanFest isn’t a life-changing experience, but it’s worth checking out. And sponsoring the All Star festivities in any way is good because the event is good for the city. Coming into downtown beforehand, I decided to take Poplar Street Bridge and drive by Busch Stadium to see what was else was happening around the huge tents that have gone up on the site of the yet-to-be-realized Ballpark Village. People were everywhere; not a mob, not heavy pedestrian traffic, but people. People were hanging out downtown and there was no game going on. And it wasn’t just around the stadium…Kiener Plaza, 7th street, and the area around the convention center all had people hanging out, walking, whatever. Cities like Chicago and New York always seem so alive compared to St. Louis. It was great to see folks out and about enjoying this once in a generation event.
Heading home I turned on the radio and heard about the Cards’ 5-2 loss to the Cubs. Buzzkill. But I take solace in one thing: no matter what happens Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals will be in sole possession of 1st place in the NL Central at the All Star Break. When you combine that with the events that are going to take place at Busch Stadium over the next three days, it’s a damn fine time to be a baseball fan in St. Louis.