On Sunday, July 3 the first Major League Baseball game on a military base will be played. The Atlanta Braves will host the Miami Marlins on Sunday Night Baseball at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. By population, Ft. Bragg is the largest military base in the world, with over 50,000 personnel on base. An installation of the United States Army, Fort Bragg was chosen as the site for the game due to the vast population at the base as well as the history of baseball in North Carolina.
Camp Bragg was established as an Army artillery training ground in 1918 and was intended to be a training school for soldiers headed to fight in the front lines of Europe during World War I. Camp Bragg was renamed to Fort Bragg in 1922 due to the expanding of its size and role in the US Army. Ft. Bragg spans over 251 square miles with training areas, live fire ranges, airfields and housing areas.
Major League Baseball built a 12,500 seat ballpark for the game, completing the four month project earlier this week. The estimated cost of the ballpark was around $3 million. The money for the ballpark is reportedly coming from the MLB’s Industry Growth Fund, which is a pool of money collected by Major League Baseball. The purpose of the Industry Growth Fund is to increase baseball’s popularity, enhance fan interest and to ensure industry growth in the 21st century. The stadium, which before was home to an abandoned golf course, will consist of a field with major league dimensions and bleachers that will serve as seats. Bleachers are used more due to the fact that the high quantity of seats are only needed for one game and then they will be removed. After the game, the field will serve as a softball field as well as multipurpose recreational fields for those on base.
Fort Bragg Game
The game will feature the NL East’s Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves. Coming into the series, the Marlins have a record of 41-37 and the Braves a 26-52 record. To the naked eye, this game will seem like a snoozer and will feature only one team with a chance at making the playoffs. While the Braves have little to no hope of making the postseason, they’ve been on a tear the past two weeks winning eight out of their last 14 games and have a 17-23 record under interim manager, Brian Snitker. They’re led at the plate by first basemen Freddie Freeman who is hitting .281 with 13 home runs and right fielder Nick Markakis, who leads the team in RBIs with 41. Braves reliever Arodys Vizcaino has a 2.16 ERA and 10 saves through 33.3 innings pitched.
The Marlins come off a strong showing against the Chicago Cubs, winning three out of four and dropping two to the Detroit Tigers. The Marlins have three of the top ten hitters for batting average in the NL, with Marcell Ozuna (.319), Martin Prado (.316) and Christian Yelich (.314). Ozuna also leads the Marlins in home runs with 16 and RBIs with 44. They also have Ichiro Suzuki, who is just 12 hits away from reaching the 3,000 hit mark in MLB. Earlier this month, Ichiro passed Reds’ legend Pete Rose for most hits all-time with 4,257, which included his time in the MLB and his nine seasons in Japan where he collected 1,278 hits. Closer A.J. Ramos has compiled a 1.74 ERA in 31 innings pitched to go along with 24 saves. The Marlins are planning to start Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90 ERA), while the Braves plan to send Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.14 ERA) to the mound.
Major League Baseball going through with having their first game on a military base is a great decision. Baseball is America’s pastime and nothing is better than showing our appreciation for our military along with it. For the men and women who put their lives on the line every day and for the ones who are preparing for that, the least we can do is show our respect and appreciation by bringing them a Major League Baseball game. Without the men and women of the Armed Forces fighting for our freedom, it wouldn’t be possible for the game of baseball to be played. On the eve of our country’s 240th anniversary of independence, there will be history made in the game of baseball. That’s definitely something to Bragg about.
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