Happy Independence Day, America. As always, this day will come with all sorts of celebrations and festivities. Fireworks will be going off all day, and to go along with all of that, MLB will be playing host to several games across the country. However, last night, the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins did something that has never been done before. They played a baseball game on the United States’ largest active military base. It was the first annual Fort Bragg Game.
Early in March of 2016, ground was broken on what would be called Fort Bragg Field, 12,500-person capacity stadium erected out of the abandoned Willow Lakes Golf Course. In a couple of months, they took an old, abandoned golf course, and turned it into a field of dreams.
Playing The Fort Bragg Game
On July 3, 2016, the Braves and Marlins arrived at the newly built stadium to play game four of a four-game series. This game was about way more than baseball. It was about saying “Thank You” to the thousands of service men and women who make the country what it is. It was a game that will not soon be forgotten.
The game started as a pitchers duel between young guns Matt Wisler and Adam Conley. The Fish would score the first run of the game on a fifth inning bloop single by catcher J.T. Realmuto. Realmuto would later score on a Christian Yelich single. They added on in the seventh with a single by former Brave Martin Prado that scored Realmuto, making it a 3-0 game.
After tacking on two more runs in the eighth and ninth innings, the Braves finally got on the board with an Erick Aybar double that scored Tyler Flowers. A.J. Pierzynski then hit a sacrifice fly making it a three-run game. However, the comeback attempt would fall short. A Jace Peterson strike out gave Don Mattingly and the Miami Marlins the victory in the first annual Fort Bragg Game, by a final score of 5-2.
More Than A Game
All in all, it was about more than baseball. It was about putting on a game for 12,500 people who would likely not get a chance to attend a game elsewhere. It was about bringing the game to them. It marked the first time a professional sporting event had been held on an active military base. It was a beautiful way to say thank you to all the brave men and women who make the USA what it is. Major League Baseball and the Players Association deserve a huge tip of the cap for putting on a game at Fort Bragg. Hopefully, it won’t be a one-time thing.
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