Thousands of baseball fans descended on the San Diego Convention Center earlier this month for what has become a greatly anticipated event at each year’s mid-season All-Star game.
Fan Fest is an opportunity for those who love the national pastime to immerse themselves in all phases of the game they love.
Held July 8-12 at the massive convention facility downtown, the event attracted people from across the nation as part of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game held July 12 at Petco Park and hosted by the San Diego Padres.
Appearances were made by many legendary baseball players including Dale Murphy, Rod Carew, Ozzie Smith and Andre Dawson as well as former Padres Steve Garvey, Heath Bell, Kurt Bevacqua, Steve Finley, Randy Jones, Terry Kennedy, Kevin Mitchell, David Wells and others.
Fans wishing to get physical had opportunities to play on an All-Star diamond and participate in clinics hosted by coaches, managers, past and current baseball stars.
Also available were batting cages, an area to field ground balls, fly balls and line drives, a Home Run Derby area, an opportunity to steal bases and throw strikes.
Displays also featured the history of women in baseball and the former Negro Leagues featuring Jackie Robinson.
Many artifacts and items from the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. were brought to San Diego for the event.
There was also plenty to buy, including uniforms and souvenirs in a gigantic store. It was reported that so many fans bought replica jerseys of Padres first baseman Wil Myers that the company doing the personalizing ran out of both the letter “E” and the Myers’ No. 4.
Overall sales set a Fan Fest record, and many attributed that to the yellow uniforms worn by All-Star players being sold with the stitched-on names “National” and “American” across the chest. These jerseys were a tribute to the days when the hometown Padres wore similar uniforms between 1972 and 1978.
Even Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made an appearance for a town hall meeting at Fan Fest. He answered questions from those in attendance and via social media in an event hosted by Padres Hall of Fame announcer Dick Enberg.
In the actual All-Star Game, the American League again won the game to earn its champion home field advantage in this year’s World Series. They beat their National League counterparts 4-2 as Kansas City Royals players Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez hit home runs.
Local product Kris Bryant, formerly of the University of San Diego and now of the Chicago Cubs, blasted the first pitch he saw into the left field stands to give the National League a brief 1-0 lead.
Both Padres selected for the game played well, with first baseman Myers socking a double to the gap in right field and pitcher Drew Pomeranz hurling a scoreless inning. The next day, however, Pomeranz was traded to the Boston Red Sox for a pitching prospect.
Earlier in the Home Run Derby, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins crushed a record 61 home runs over the Petco Park walls to win. His home runs traveled an average distance of 446 feet. He defeated final round opponent and defending champion Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox 20-13.
Another All-Star game highlight was the announcement that each year’s National League batting champion will now receive the Tony Gwynn National League award. The American League champion will be named after former Minnesota Twins star Rod Carew. Gwynn’s family, along with Carew and his family, were present for the ceremony.
San Diego also hosted All-Star games at (now) Qualcomm Stadium in 1978 and 1992.