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Date | June 20, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | Rickwood Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
City | Birmingham, Alabama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 8,300 (expected) [c] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ceremonial first pitch | 6:15 CST | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Television | FOX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TV announcers |
Joe Davis (play-by-play) John Smoltz (analyst) Ken Rosenthal (reporter) Tom Verducci (reporter) |
MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues is an upcoming professional baseball game to be played between the National League (NL) West's San Francisco Giants and the NL Central's St. Louis Cardinals on June 20, 2024. The game is set to be played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, the former home of the Negro leagues' Birmingham Black Barons, one day after Juneteenth. This will be the first regular-season Major League Baseball (MLB) game played in the state of Alabama.
On June 13, 2023, initial reports revealed that the Giants would play in a Field of Dreams style game, celebrating Willie Mays in Alabama. [1] Due to construction at the MLB at Field of Dreams site, games in 2023 and 2024 were unable to happen. However, MLB decided to shift their marketing into a game to honor Willie Mays, the Negro Leagues, and Juneteenth. [2] The official name for the game was unveiled as MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues on August 4, 2023. [3] All living Negro League players have been invited to the game (157 total), and 60 are confirmed to attend. [4]
On June 20, 2023, MLB released a statement indicating that "On-field personnel for both teams will wear period uniforms highlighting the Negro Leagues histories of both St. Louis and San Francisco." [5]
On February 28, 2024, MLB released a teaser poster preview video for the Rickwood Field game. The poster specified the Giants are planning on wearing the San Francisco Sea Lions uniforms and the Cardinals to wear St. Louis Stars uniforms to pay homage to the cities histories of the Negro Leagues. [6]
In October 2022, MLB executives met with Rickwood Field Chairman and Executive Director, Gerald Watkins to discuss mock-up designs of how to set the ballpark up, how to reconfigure the clubhouses and dugouts, where to put medical areas, how to revamp the concessions and where to build the broadcast center. [7]
Preparatory renovations of the park were scheduled to begin in the fall of 2023. Jerry Brewer of The Washington Post wrote, "MLB is tasked with performing tasteful cosmetic surgery on a ballpark known for its old and minimalist charm." [8]
By the Spring of 2024, Rickwood Field underwent $5 million in renovations which included a new playing surface, a new padded wall [d] that is 10 deeper than the original, and shifting the entire field to the left by five feet to make the field more symmetrical. Other renovations include new dugouts, a modern batter's eye in center field, a digital scoreboard, netting along the foul lines and accessibility upgrades. [9]
Along with the June 20th game between the Giants and Cardinals, Minor League Baseball's Montgomery Biscuits ( Rays affiliate) and Birmingham Barons ( White Sox affiliate) of Double-A will play a game at Rickwood Field on June 18th. [10]
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The game will be the first MLB game in the state of Alabama. [11] It will be played on a Thursday and will be the first game of a three-game series followed by an off-day and two games at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday. [12]
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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San Francisco Giants | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WP:
LP:
Sv: Home runs: Away: None Home: |