A special sneak peek of Play Ball Park at the LA Convention Center
LOS ANGELES - Inside the Los Angeles Convention Center – home run hits, fancy new kicks, and some of the most impressive memorabilia in the MLB.
It’s a four-day interactive experience for families and friends to celebrate baseball during the draft and before the All-Star Game.
Dodger Stadium hosts the big game Tuesday for the first time since 1980.
The traditional Midsummer Classic - as it's formerly known - a little more than half-way through the season, determines home-field advantage ahead of the World Series.
The baseball museum comes to life Saturday through Tuesday, and we got a hard hat tour of what to expect from a woman who has dedicated her life to the sport.
"It’s something I did when I was five years old. My Dad took my brother and me to a game. My mom made us tortillas in aluminum foil. We went to the Bronx to Yankee Stadium, we were one of the bleacher creatures. It was bat day. I finally got my own bat. I always had to share with my brother and that was it. I was hooked," said Jackie Secaira-Cotto, MLB Global Events Director.
Inside Playball Park is the 13-feet wide, Guinness Book of World Records’ largest baseball with a mysterious signature to uncover.
Step into the batter's box where you can check out the Tiffany-made, World Series Champion trophies.
Kids can learn from the world-renown artists who design the cleats for players in the league and compete in a daily contest to win a pair of their own specially-designed shoes.
"I love seeing the kids when they meet the players. They go absolutely nuts and it’s something they remember forever. Last year, we had a sponsor come in who said I was here 20 years ago and I met so-and-so and I can’t believe I’m working on the event right now and I remember that day as if it was yesterday," Secaira-Cotto said.
Meet the stars of the sport - like the fierce Lisa Fernandez. She's a 3x Olympic Gold Medalist, 2x NCAA champion and current coach of the UCLA softball team.
"I love to hear the ball and the bat and how it sounds when you hit it right up the middle," Fernandez said.
"Everybody knows this game but we are fans of it because we know how difficult it is to play but yet how fun it is to be able to challenge yourself," she added.
Challenge accepted - but it might not be pretty.
Making forever memories at Playball Park celebrating America’s favorite pastime, known to bring people joy all around the globe.