BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — While Thursday’s game at Rickwood Field will count in the standings for the Cardinals and Giants, Wednesday night’s contest was about more than what happens between the lines.
“Barnstorm Birmingham,” which was launched by special assistant to the Commissioner CC Sabathia, featured a celebrity softball game with a pair of teams named after MLB greats from the state of Alabama: the Say Heys (the late Willie Mays) and the Hammers (Hank Aaron). Taking place on Juneteenth, the goal was to celebrate Black baseball and the brotherhood between those players, similar to the bond that existed between the fraternity of Negro Leaguers in their day.
The game, which was called by former All-Stars Harold Reynolds and Chris Young, will be broadcast on MLB Network on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET, airing prior to the Giants-Cardinals game at 7:15 ET on FOX.
“This was the biggest [idea],” Sabathia said. “Being able to pull this off and do this and [have] everybody at Major League Baseball seeing the proof of concept, that will let us do some other things.”
Still, it wasn’t not about what happened between the lines. Here are some of the best moments from the night:
Ruben Studdard rocks Rickwood
It may now be 21 years since Ruben Studdard rose to fame as the winner of the second season of FOX’s “American Idol,” but the R&B vocalist is still beloved, especially in his hometown of Birmingham. He put the city in a national spotlight during his time on the show, often wearing jerseys with its area code, 205.
While it didn’t have the fanfare of the postgame concert featuring Metro Boomin, Studdard performed a stirring rendition of the national anthem. It was so good that fellow Alabama native Roy Wood Jr. and several of the Hammers rushed at him near home plate, jumping up and down with a level of excitement that would be just as fitting if he had hit a walk-off home run.
Greats meet at the plate
No game can officially start without the lineup card exchange, right? And who better to handle the duties than the team captains of the Hammers and the Say Heys? Especially when the duo combines for 28 All-Star Game selections, 17 Silver Sluggers and 13 Gold Gloves.
With Barry Bonds (Mays’ godson) as the Say Heys leader, and Derek Jeter heading up the Hammers, the lineup card exchange felt just a tad bit more important as the crowd at Rickwood rose to its feet while the duo made their way to the plate. Not a bad way to kick off the evening.
Two-sport stars taking over
A while back, Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud dropped an ancient proverb: “Basketball players wanna be football players, and football players wanna be basketball players. And we all wanna play baseball,” he said.
That was on full display as former and current NBA and NFL stars alike flooded Rickwood, living out their dreams on the diamond. Their athleticism was evident, but the biggest swing came from Matt Barnes, the 14-year NBA star who crushed a deep solo home run in the third inning. If the blast wasn’t enough, Barnes punctuated his feat with his own jump shot celebration at the plate to cap it off.
“I’m a Northern California guy, so I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, and I was a Bash Brothers and Giants fan,” Barnes said. “You know, [Jose] Canseco, Mark McGwire, Kevin Mitchell and Will Clark. Back in those early days, but I’ve followed baseball my whole life.”
A slew of legends square off
With an impressive crop of MLB alumni taking the field — many of whom have more than earned their 10-year pensions like Michael Bourn and LaTroy Hawkins — there was a sense of stability among the celebrities who may not have been blessed in the fundamentals department. It was quite comforting to see at least some of the plays at first base end in catches because MLB veterans were there.
But they also provided the fireworks, and maybe none bigger than when Ryan Howard took a hack at the first pitch he saw from Sabathia and crushed it for a solo home run for the Say Heys. The slow trot around the basepaths felt eerily reminiscent to a cool October night in the late 2000s, as Howard’s power clearly hadn’t been sapped since retirement. Nice to know he’s still got it.
Pujols takes another crack
Albert Pujols wasn’t slated to play at Rickwood, but the Cardinals legend must have been inspired by the way the balls were flying off the bats, because in the fourth inning, the Hammers coach dug into the batter’s box.
Pujols retired from MLB after becoming only the fourth AL/NL player in history to hit 700 home runs during the 2022 season, joining Bonds, Aaron and Babe Ruth. The swing he took seemed determined to make yet another ball travel deep beyond the outfield wall.
There was no such luck for Pujols, however, as his pop fly petered out in shallow left field, where it was corralled by MTV “Wild ‘N Out” star DC Young Fly.
Say Heys come to play
While it was a friendly affair with no real winners and losers, you wouldn’t have known it by the level of competitiveness both teams showed.
Whether it was Sabathia taking over on the mound after his Hammers allowed five runs in the first inning or NFL stars Dez Bryant and Jameis Winston turning on the jets to score inside-the-park home runs, there was no shortage of fight on display. Perhaps that’s unsurprising when some of the best athletes across their respective sports take the field together, but it certainly makes for no ordinary celebrity softball game.
Still, the Say Heys’ roster might have been a bit more loaded, considering that they won all five innings (including the winner-take-all fifth). Or maybe they just had a little more motivation, wanting to win it for Mays.
