Major League Baseball FanFest

[Thriller Ant]

So, as some of you know, I am from the St. Louis area, and the Major League Baseball All-Star game is being hosted by the Cardinals this year. My dad, sister, brother, brother's friend, and I went to FanFest today, which is basically a ginormous collection of baseball-themed attractions and dealers. I'm sure there are some baseball fans on here, so I figured I would share my experience.

Right away when you walk in, there are models of St. Louis' pro baseball stadiums. My sister only took a picture of the current Busch Stadium:

Also in the opening area was a variety of auction items that I didn't allow myself to look at since I knew I couldn't afford them. Then there was a case holding three of the Cardinals ten World Series trophies, so I made sure I got my picture in front of them.

Next, you walk into the main area in America's Center where the majority of the attractions were located. I'm not going to go in any order, so bear with me. There was a section on the Hall of Fame, which was very cool. They had memorabilia from many different athletes in the hall. Including:

Babe Ruth. There was also a case holding Cardinals-specific memorabilia, including the catcher's mask Yadier Molina was wearing when the Cardinals clinched the 2006 World Series, the jersey Albert Pujols wore when he broke some rookie record that I can't remember offhand, and the hat Tony LaRussa was wearing when he became the team's all-time winningest manager. There was also a jersey from one of the greatest Cardinals, and baseball players, of all time: Stan "The Man" Musial.

Another post coming momentarily

 

[CH David]

Thriller, don't take this the wrong way. I hate you lol. I am very jealous that you have gone. How was it just to see all of that stuff? I would have creamed my pants if I had gone haha.

 

[Thriller Ant]

There was a bunch of interactive stuff to do. There were batting cages, simulated pitching, fielding drills, and base running. The problem was that the lines were all at least an hour long. My brother and his friend wanted to pitch, so me and my sister wandered away. There were tons of dealers selling all kinds of memorabilia. Cards, pins, baseballs, and photos galore, plenty of which were autographed by Hall of Famers and legends of the game. Now, I don't have hundreds of dollars so I didn't get any of that stuff, but it was really cool to see. They had another interactive exhibit where you could be the broadcaster and call one of six famous plays. I chose Ozzie Smith's walk-off home run in the deciding Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series.

It was so cool, but I botched at the end. They flashed the score, and I was reading it, but I read the hits column for the Dodgers rather than the runs so I said they won 5-3 rather than lost 3-2. They will put the video online soon, so I'll post it when they do if I can figure it out.

We finally met up with my dad, brother, and his friend and we walked around and spent money for awhile until we left. I ended up getting a T-shirt, All-Star Game program, and a pack of baseball cards. I had a lot of fun, but it was one of those things where I'm really glad I went but I don't know if I would go again. It was fun, but the lines and prices of souvenirs definitely dragged down the experience. I'll post the vid when I get it!

Me, My brother's friend, my brother, my sister

 

[Thriller Ant]

Thriller, don't take this the wrong way. I hate you lol. I am very jealous that you have gone. How was it just to see all of that stuff? I would have creamed my pants if I had gone haha.

It was cool. The others didn't appreciate the hall of fame section as much as me, but I could have looked at that stuff for hours. There was also a Negro Leagues section with jerseys that was really cool. It probably would have been more fun if I had gone alone or with one other person. There is wayyyyyyyy too much stuff to do for a group like ours. You just end up fighting over what to do next.

 

[z99zazn]

Thriller, you are such a lucky man. I would have done anything to go to Fanfest today or any day this weekend for that matter. I'd really like to go, this is an opportunity that we're not going to get in St.Louis for quite some time. The only problem I had with the Fanfest today was that they had John Mabry there. Who in the hell besides St. Louis Cardinals fans would know who John Mabry was? I liked the guy, but that was just such an odd choice to have appear there.

 

[Thriller Ant]

That's true, but you get who you get I guess. If you can make it I'd definitely recommend it. I don't know where exactly around here you live but the ticket is only $30, and if you buy it at the door with a MasterCard you get 5 or 10 bucks off. The actual attractions are free, it's just the memorabilia and souvenirs that cost money. If you want to know anything more about it, PM me and I will fill you in

 

[FromTheSouth]

I went to fanfest in Houston a few years ago, and it was pretty similar. I had an amazing time. I didn't want to wait in line to broadcast, but I would have chose Mike Scott's no hitter to clinch the division in 1986. That is my first baseball memory.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I almost did Albert's home run off of Brad Lidge in '05 or Wainwright striking out Inge to end the '06 World Series, but from the day I started watching baseball I've seen that home run. It is one of the biggest homers in franchise history and I couldn't pass it up

 

[Thriller Ant]

Oh and the line for broadcasting was actually the shortest of anything. I was in line for about half an hour maybe?

 

[FromTheSouth]

The Pujols homer would have been good if you had won the series.....

I'm not sure if that ball has landed yet.

 

[Thriller Ant]

A lot of people did that one, and you could watch their screen. So after seeing it about 14 times, I'm pretty sure that ball went about 500 ft. in 2.63 seconds. It was an absolute bomb. I remember going crazy when he hit it, and the entire crowd went absolutely silent.