FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — For the first time ever, a professional sporting event will be held at an active military base. Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins will participate in a historic regular season event that is set to honor America’s troops this July 3.
The coaches and players from both teams have expressed what an honor it is to entertain some of our nation’s heroes.
“It feels good to be able to go,” Miami Manager Don Mattingly said. “There are a lot of heroes there. Some of those guys have paid a heavy price.”
“It’s going to be pretty awesome,” Atlanta Catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “To play in front of the troops, that’s kind of what you do this for. Because those guys are the real heroes. What they do protecting us and defending out way of life every day is pretty amazing.”
According to a press release, Fort Bragg is home to 250,000 people and covers more than 500 square miles. It is the base for the U.S. Army’s Global Response Force, defined by Military Review as “a brigade combat team prepared to deploy anywhere in the world within 96 hours of notification.” A city unto itself, the installation has an annual impact of $9.8 billion to the local economy.
The base is also home to the 10th Special Forces Group, which is responsible for operations within the EUCOM area of responsibility, as part of the Special Operations Command, Europe.
The Fort Bragg Game is slated for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 3, at a newly constructed 12,500-capacity ballpark. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN Radio and MLB.TV.
Read the full original report on ESPN’s website here.
June 30th, 2016