The Sports Info Business

There are many different roads to success for sports executives and certainly a variety of ways to measure it. I am not telling you how to define it. Some may say success means job satisfaction or longevity with a certain organization while others define success by how much money they make. Many will look at success by how high they climb on the corporate ladder.

Hall of Famer and Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who I saw and spent a few moments with on Tuesday prior to the All Star game, naturally joked with others passengers as we rode a packed elevator towards the press box. “Going up,” he bellowed. “Always going up!”

The enormously talented friends and staff who worked mid-summer classic in Anaheim these last few days serviced in part, 2,000 credentialed media from around thew world. I worked with and saw a group of sports executives with extra-ordinary longevity in a sport known today for frequent movement of free agent star players.

Folks like Mets VP of Media Relations Jay Horwitz, who began his major league sports career as an SID at Fairleigh Dickenson but has spent the last 31 years in professional baseball. Then there’s current Angels VP Tim Mead, who began his journey the same year as Horwitz but on the other Coast with the then California Angels as the team’s first ever intern.

Then there’s Katy Feeney, baseball’s senior vice president for club relations and scheduling, Bernadette McDonald, MLB VP of Broadcast Administration who said on the field before the game yesterday she has been with baseball for 24 years. Rich Levin, the current senior vice president of public relations for Major League Baseball, is retiring after 25 years come October and I cannot forget Pat Courtney, the Vice President of Public Relations at Major League Baseball and the heir apparent to Levin once he retires.

For me, the game was great but the people and the friendships are much more valuable. That’s how I measure success.

Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees news lost another icon on Tuesday morning when Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away.  He was 80 years old.  I was up early this morning, glancing at my computer when suddenly a quick AP note come across my iPhone.  A close source to Steinbrenner, the note flashed across my screen, said the boss had passed away.

I quickly looked for additional information about the long-time Yankee owner and sure enough, ESPN, had the story up on its website quickly.

It is truly a sad day for baseball as it celebrates the 81st All Star game tonight.

Steinbrenner’s passing comes on the heels of long-time Yankee announcer Bob Sheppard, the Voice of God, as he was called, who also passed away.

You can be sure the Angels and Major League Baseball will honor Steinbrenner before the All Star Game tonight.  As it always happens in sports, whatever you plan for usually changes.  The event will start with a different tone for sure.

This is a brief bio, I pulled from the Baseball Alamanac

George Steinbrenner was born on Friday, July 4, 1930, and began his Major League baseball executive position on January 3, 1973, with the New York Yankees. The 42 year-old businessman had just purchased the Bronx Bombers from CBS for $10 million and changes were about to take place.

Yesterday felt like a stop watch was timing me.  I had a few free hours before reporting to Angel stadium and wanted to take my family over to the Anaheim Convention Center for the Major League Baseball All-Star Fan Fest.  We hopped in the car bright and early and arrived without much hassle.  On an early Sunday morning, I think most people were either sleeping or at church.

This was our first ever visit to Major League Baseball’s All Star Fan Fest and no one was disappointed.  The problem is, after working so many years developing and putting on events, it is hard to just enjoy something as a fan.  The members of my family however, had no problem having a blast.   I enjoy seeing events like this through a child’s eyes.  Today’s blog will be a combination of of both adult and child’s eyes.

First, let’s talk business.  While the price of admission is not cheap, $30 a ticket, this enormous fan targeted event had more interactive elements than any I have attended in the past.  Kids got to steal bases and slide of course while reacting to videos of major league pitchers.  There were batting cages, autograph sessions, and of course multi language studios designed that allowed fans to act as sports studio hosts.

Each major staging area had a well known sponsor associated with it.  Think about it.  If you are spending large amounts of money to be associated with Major League Baseball, you want to interact directly with the fan and Fan Fest is the perfect opportunity.  So companies like  Taco Bell, Scotts Turf, TIme Warner Cable and Chevrolet and other national sponsors each had either an interactive display or showed their product for fans.

Speaking of Chevrolet, I spoke to a very kind woman from the Detroit area, who was baby sitting one of the cars that fans could sit in at the expo.  We started a conversation and it quickly led to the hard times folks in her part of the country are currently having.  She told me that she lent money to family members going through a rough patch and now she is under pressure since their bank accounts had dwindled and returned to work at events like this.  Even with all of the fun at a summer-time event like this, there remains an under current of a struggling American workforce.

The two hours I had blocked off for the visit had vanished like a David Copperfield magic trick.  Gone in an instant.  The family wanted to stay longer but knew I was headed to the ball park.  Word of advice:   Plan at least four hours to visit the entire site.  Any baseball fan will want to take in everything I mentioned above as well as the memorabilia, autograph sessions, and view trophies of the game.

The best of the Major League Baseball world invade Anaheim starting today and it is also a bit of a homecoming for me.  Yesterday, I briefly toured the Anaheim facility and today begin a three day stint lending a hand to the Angels by assisting with the All Star game.  I will be helping the broadcasters during Taco Bell All-Star Sunday, Gatorade All Star Workout Day and the 81st All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Why a homecoming?  I started my professional baseball career as an intern for the Angels while an undergrad at UC Irvine.  My boss then is the same man who still stands as the Angels VP of Communications today, Tim Mead.  It has been 16 years since I left my leadership position with the Dodgers and the first time I will be actually working on behalf of the team and Major League Baseball.  It is great to be back, even for a few days on this special occasion.  For the next few days, I will be writing about my experience at all-star game.

There was a Long Beach connection throughout the day.  Before arriving at the stadium, I had listened to the latest graduate student learning team from the Long Beach State Sport Management program present their finals and while walking the field with Tim to see the photo wells and the satellite compound, I wan into Amy, a grad from the program who was also working this weekend.  In this business, you always bump into old friends and make new ones as well.

As for the schedule this weekend, here is what will be taking place and when…..

ALL-STAR FAN FEST

The 2010 All-Star Fan Fest is located at the Anaheim Convention Center.  It is open from now through July 13th from 9 a.m. daily until 8:00 p.m.  It actually closes at 6″00 p.m. the night of the All-Star game.  The cost is $30.00.  I hope to write about it between now and Tuesday.   Here is how it is described by the Anaheim Convention Center Web Site:

Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest is an interactive baseball theme park and the largest baseball fan event in the world. Visiting Anaheim for the first time ever in 2010, Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest features activities and exhibits for families and fans of all ages.

Now in its 20th year, Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest will transform the Anaheim Convention Center into a celebration that captures the thrills and excitement of Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest will feature interactive exhibits and attractions, Major League clinics and seminars, free autograph sessions with Angels legends and Hall of Famers, memorabilia and much more.  All attractions are included in the price of admission.

TACO BELL ALL-STAR SUNDAY

The schedule and times are as follows:  – Remember all times are Pacific Coast.

1:00 p.m. – Gates Open

3:00 p.m. XM All-Star Futures Game (This is being broadcast live on ESPN 2)

6:30 p.m.  Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game

GATORADE ALL-STAR WORKOUT AND HOME RUN DERBY — Monday

2:00 p.m. Gates Open

2:20 – 3:15 p.m. – American League Batting Practice

3:20 – 4:15 p.m. National League Batting Practice

4:20 p.m. State Farm Home Run Derby Batting Practice

5:00 p.m. State Farm Home Run Derby (Live on ESPN)

81st ALL-STAR GAME — Tuesday

2:00 p.m. Gates Open

2:00 – 2:55 p.m. AL Batting Practice

3:20 p.m. – 4:14 p.m. NL Batting Practice

5:00 p.m. Game time (Live on Fox)

The Major League Baseball season has just about reached the All-Star break and with the top players and executives soon invading my space here in Orange County for the mid-summer classic at Anaheim Stadium, I thought it was time to revisit how teams were faring on the Facebook Fan front.

I have spent time tracking each Major League’s teams Facebook statistics and I compiled it into a data sheet within this blog (see below).  Here are some of the things I compiled:

♦ I totaled number of fans each team has on its official site as of this morning.

♦ The change in fans since I polled each team earlier in the season.

♦ The growth ranking for each team compared to the others in the National and American Leagues.

♦ I then added a column for wins.  Why?  I wanted to see if there was a correlations between total wins this season and the number of Facebook fans for each team.

A few Hits and Misses:

• 8.7 million Facebook users have now become a fan of a Major League team, up from 6.2 million earlier in the season.  The league average for fans is now 290,000+, a jump of nearly 100,000 people from earlier in the season.

The top five baseball teams ranked in order of Facebook fans as of this morning:  1) New York Yankees 2) Boston Red Sox 3) Chicago Cubs 4) Philadelphia Phillies 5) St. Louis Cardinals

• Tope five teams in terms of growth since the last survey earlier this year:  1. Yankees (+405,334 fans) 2. Red Sox (+279,364) 3. Phillies (+212,344) 4. Cubs (+165,386) 5. Minnesota Twins (+116,863)

• I added a column of total team wins.  The Cubs defy the odds by tanking third in total fans but have just 36 wins this year.  The team begins play today in fourth place, 10 games out of first place.  The Milwaukee Brewers (13th) are also in the top half of the 30 teams yet only have 37 wins.  Conversely, the San Diego Padres, first in the NL West with 49 wins, rank 26th, the Blue Jays with 41 wins are 24th on the Facebook Fan list and the Angels with 46 wins rank 23rd.

• The bottom five teams in terms of total Facebook fans are from the National League:  26. San Diego Padres 27. Florida Marlins 28. Pittsburgh Pirates 29. Arizona Diamondbacks 30. Washington Nationals

Here is the chart…. For my conclusions, read below the chart.

Conclusions:

It would be easy to say that winning naturally breeds new Facebook Fans.  The Yankees, with the most wins in baseball this morning, also have the most Facebook Fans with more than 1.5 million while the Orioles rank last in wins and 25th on this fan chart.

However, there is much more to it than fans hopping aboard the bandwagon.  Just look at the Washington Nationals.  The team becently became a hot ticket on select days, specifically when rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg pitches.  However, this enthusiasm at the gate has not translated into more interest about the team on facebook.  The organization ranks last with 48,634 Facebook Fans and grew 9,085 folks since he last polled the teams.

I think you could see spikes by specific teams down the home stretch and into the playoffs,  That’s when the bandwagon theory works.  Until then teams need to do the following:

* Continue to build original traditions at the ball park and make the fan expereince second to none.

* Provide unique content within social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.  If you are not adding value and just telling me who is pitching tonight or what the promotion of the week is, you will probably be ignored.  More than 400 million people have signed up for facebook and 50% check their accounts every day. Can you say growth potential?

* Create a digital marketing department within each team’s hierarchy and give it the flexibility to listen, engage and educate fans.  I know there’s Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) on a national level, but this organization cannot impact the fan experience like a local club rep can.  It is about touching people’s lives and delivering an experience that an adult or child will remember forever.

* Do not give your social media platform to junior staff or interns.  Do not hand the brand over to those that are not ready to guard it, and promote it.

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If you like these and other posts I hope you will consider using the tools at the top of the blog to repost it on YOUR Facebook, YOUR Twitter account or event via DIGG.  Thanks for your continued interest in this blog.

Coming to a baseball stadium near you —- dot races on large scoreboards are being replaced by four guys with really big heads.
The Arizona Dimaondbacks are the latest Major League Baseball team to join the mascot races with its own “Legends Race.”

Modeled after the original Sausage Races appearing at each Milwaukee Brewers home game, the Arizona version features Four Diamondbacks employees running around resembling past star players Luis Gonzalez, Randy Johnson, Matt Williams and Mark Grace.  The races made their debut over the weekend.

The Arziona Diamondbacks have created this opportunity for a few different reasons.  Here are my reasons why they did this:

1) Marketing, Marketing, Marketing.  This “Legends Race” is being sponsored by a local company, Henkel.  Bottom line, more dollars for the Diamondbacks.

2) The team now has several; “mascots” which can be used for future promotional appearances by the team.  It is not the San Diego Chicken, but then, who is?

3) The organization is trying to add entertainment to a team that is struggling pretty bad in 2010.  As of July 5th, only the Pittsburgh Pirates an the Baltimore Orioles have fewer wins that the Diamondbacks.

This may be entertaining for some of the fans, but this is just a a copy-cat of the Sausage races and now the Washington Nationals Presidents race.  This is a trend I would rather not see.

In the last 20 years, Major League Baseball teams have launched new stadiums with a unique fan experience.  No two new stadiums are really alike.  Yet, when it comes to “entertaining” the fans, it seems like copying the other guy still rules.

There is only one Phillie Phanatic, right?  Since Harry Carry died, the Cubs morphed the 7th inning stretch by inviting famous folks to sing take me out to the ball game and the Angels have their own local tradition with the Rally Monkey.

Come on Diamondbacks.  I know you are trying, but let’s see some originality.

Give me no-hitters, double steals and suicide squeezes, there is no shame.

But please put away those mascots or they’ll be someone to blame.

Come up with something original and it might lead to fame.

At the end of the day, all I want is just a good ball game.

During this holiday weekend, I’d like to take a moment and tell you about  a time when I was working for the Dodgers.  I often reflect on this tragic story every fourth of July weekend.  Today , I will write about it.  When I think about the fourth of July, it is not about freedom, firework shows or great meals with family and friends.  I often remember the toughest day I ever had working in sports.

Let me take you back to 1993 and I was traveling with the Los Angeles Dodgers during a road trip which would start in Montreal, move to Philadelphia and eventually finish at Shea Stadium and the Mets.

On this day, the second game of a three-game series, the Expos (now Washington Nationals) were throwing Dennis Martinez while the Dodgers and Tommy Lasorda had countered with Kevin Gross.  It was the first and only time I failed to watch a single pitch of a game.

Normally before the game, I would split time between three areas of the ballpark:  The press box, the Dodger clubhouse and the field.  During this day game, I had already been on the field and in the clubhouse and everything was normal.  Our traveling TV and radio crew included Hall-of-Famers Vin Scully and Don Drysdale as well as Ross Porter on the English side and Jaime Jarrin broadcasting in Spanish.  They were part of a larger Dodgers media team that had seven traveling newspaper reporters in those days.

Everything changed during the pre-game when Dodgers traveling secretary Billy DeLury, the only other other team official traveling with the club, quietly pulled me aside in the back of the press box.

“Drysdale is not at the ballpark,” he whispered.  Our minds raced to places we did not want to think about.  Hospitals?  Jails?  The Police?

Together, we quickly devised a plan.  I would call emergency rooms and other places where he might be while DeLury would head back to the hotel to see if maybe Don overslept and just missed the second team bus to the ball park.

I quickly borrowed an office from the Expos and began making calls.  The office would eventually turn into a mini command center.

The Dodgers and Expos began playing the day game as DeLury and I scampered around trying to find out what happened to Don.

I finished my calls and I still had no answers.  I checked in with DeLury to get an update from the hotel.  He had the staff visit Don’s hotel room.  They found it was locked from the inside.  When they were able to open it, Don Drysdale was dead.  He had died from a heart attack.

At that point, we were in crisis mode.  Dodger owner Peter O’Malley, general manager Fred Claire and a few other executives were now all involved.  Led by Peter, we had one goal.  Find his wife Annie and inform her before the press found out and ran with the story.

Remember, this was 1993, before Twitter and the Internet, so breaking news still depended on TV, newspapers and radio reporters.

Annie, Don’s wife, usually watched our road games an d would probably be looking for him to broadcast part of the game.  However, we could not locate her.

The third inning passed, then the fourth and the fifth.  Our local beat reporters by then had figured out something was amiss and approached me to find out what happened to Don.  I could not tell them as we were not ready to make the announcement.

Then, while in between conversations while sitting in a secluded Expos front office, I received a call from a reporter at ESPN Radio out of Chicago.  He wanted confirmation from me that Don was dead.  I could not and did not do it.  We were not ready to make a statement, I told him.

Annie had not yet been notified.  I asked him not to run with any story, as parts or all of it could be inaccurate.  I did say that I would honor his request and make him the first call when we were ready.

I do not remember his name, but what I did remember was that he didn’t care much for my words.  He went ahead and started reporting the story.

I felt good about one point.  I remember getting a call back from Peter and the sixth or seventh inning  He said  that he had found Annie and told her before she found out from TV or radio reports.  We had worked hard to protect one of our family members as best we could during an incredibly difficult time.

From there, the events turned a bit blurry.  Vin Scully made the announcement over the air that Don had died.

I remember the pre-game show the next morning when Vin and a few others celebrated Don’s life with fans.  It was a sad, sad day.

I do remember not sleeping for 24 hours and that the office sent ahead the next day’s game notes.  This one, sad event, confirmed that sometimes life does not turn out how you plan it. I grew up a lot in 1993.  It was certainly my toughest day ever working in sports.

Quick, put on your objective sports business hat   Got it?  Okay  I have a question for you.  If you had to rank the top three sports franchises, which ones would rank at the top?  Which ones would rank at the bottom.  ESPN, the Magazine, just released its 2010 rankings and I have it here for you. According to the magazine, when it comes to paying fans back for their investment of time, money and passion, the New Orleans Saints are No. 1 out of all major league sports franchises, according to this year’s ESPN The Magazine Ultimate Standings. The Orlando Magic finished in second place and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim finished third.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Los Angeles Clippers are ranked last for the second year in a row.  Here is the kicker abut the Clippers.  They also ranked last in ownership and players.  Ouch. The Ultimate Standings, driven by research and fan feedback, looks at MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises’ affordability, bang for the buck, coaching, fan relations, ownership, players, stadium experience and title track to establish a ranking of all 122. Based on a  commitment to community and championship play last year, the New Orleans Saints, know how to reward fans. The Saints “Who Dat Nation” made it known they feel a strong connection to their team and appreciate everything it offered the New Orleans community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Penguins round out the Top five.  According to the magazine, here is the top 10.

The 2010 ULTIMATE STANDINGS: THE TOP AND BOTTOM Top 10 Overall Franchises

1. New Orleans Saints

2. Orlando Magic

3. Los Angeles Angels

4. Indianapolis Colts

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

6. Tampa Bay Rays

7. San Antonio Spurs

8. Detroit Red Wings

9. Green Bay Packers

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

and then there is the bottom 10…….

Bottom 10 Overall Franchises

113. Toronto Raptors

114. St. Louis Rams

115. Oakland Raiders

116. Minnesota Timberwolves

117. Philadelphia 76ers

118. New Jersey Nets

119. New York Knicks

120. Washington Wizards

121. Toronto Maple Leafs

122. Los Angeles Clippers

ULTIMATE CATEGORY WINNERS AND LOSERS

Affordability – Price of tickets, parking and concessions

#1: Los Angeles Angels

#122: Toronto Maple Leafs

Bang for the buck – Wins over the past two seasons per dollar contributed directed by fan

s #1: Orlando Magic

#122: Toronto Maple Leafs

Coaching – Strength of on-field leadership

#1: Los Angeles Angles

#122: Philadelphia 76ers

Fan Relations – Players, coaches and management openness and consideration toward fans

#1: Pittsburgh Penguins

#122: Washington Wizards

Ownership – Honesty; loyalty to core players and local community

#1: Detroit Red Wings

#122: Los Angeles Clippers

Players – Effort on the field; likability off it

#1: Philadelphia Phillies

#122: Los Angeles Clippers

Stadium Experience – Quality of arena and game-day promotions; fan-friendliness of environment

#1: Minnesota Twins

#122: New York Islanders

Title Track – Championships already won or expected within lifetime of current fans

#1: Philadelphia Phillies

#122: Minnesota Timberwolves

Sometimes, I run across an interesting business fact that I pass along to a friend.  You probably have done this as well.  In marketing terms, it is called Word of Mouth Marketing.

In the last day or so, I have noticed a few notes in different media that I thought you would find interesting too.  In no particular order…..

First from Sports Illustrated’s June 21st edition with Stephen Strasburg on the Cover.

• “In 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available, (University of) Texas led the nation in total athletic revenue, amassing a jaw dropping $138.4 million — almost $20 million more than second-place Ohio State.
• “The New York Giants and Jets were offered — and declined — $25 million for the naming rights to their new stadium by a dating website, Ashleymadison.com which targets adulterers.”
• “Inside the ballpark (at Cleveland’s Progressive Field) memorabilia stands sold Strasburg T-shirts ($25) and replica jerseys ($100) alongside Indians merchandise.”
• “Within two months of his father’s death on September 26, 2007, when the season ticket base had shrunk to a skeletal 3,400 in the wake of four straight losing seasons, Rocky (Wirtz) hired John McDonough away form the Cubs to be Hawks’ President.

From the Los Angeles Times

• “(Magic) Johnson, who owns about 5% of the team (Lakers), said his first hope was that Phil Jackson would return as coach, one of the “big decisions” facing a franchise whose profit margin shrunk because it had the NBA’s largest payroll as advertising revenue declined and season ticket revenue remained the same.”
• “The Lakers, with their game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics, produced championship rating for ABC, and the game worked the same magic on Twitter.  The website had already experienced record activity from the World Cup.  On an average day, Twitter gets about 750 Tweets per second, for a total of about 65 million a day.  The top three tweeted goals of the week.  Japan scores against Cameroon on June 14 with 2,940 tweets per second; Brazil’s first goal against North Korea on June 15, 2,928 per second; and Mexico ties South Africa on 11 with 2,704 per second. Then, the Lakers, with the franchise’s 16th title Thursday night, set a Twitter record, generating 3,085 tweets per second as the game ended.”

From Major League Baseball on Kansas City Getting the 2012 All-Star Game

• “It is estimated that revenues from the Midsummer Classic will amount to $70 million to Kansas City and its environs,” (Bud) Selig said.  He later estimated that local charities would benefit by $4 million or more.”

From the Web

• The National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), headed by its president, Randy Spetman who is the Director of Athletics from Florida State University is in Anaheim for a week-long conference starting today.  The conference runs from June 19-25.

The 2010 All-Star game is a few weeks away, but leave it to the Disney team to launch a unique way to promote the mid-summer classic while tying the baseball event to consumer products and the Orange County-based theme park.

The promotion came about as a partnership between Disney Consumer Products and Major League Baseball Properties.  Here is the concept:  Disney desgined thirty-six varieties of life-sized MLB-themed Mickey Mouse statues across heavily populated destinations throughout Southern California in honor of the 2010 MLB All-Star Week festivities.  As you can see to the right, I took a picture of this Arizona Diamondback Mickey which was showcased at the of the local Orange County outdoor malls.

The week-long all-star festivities take place July 9th – 13th in Anaheim, Calif. As part of the previously announced new collaboration between the organizations.  In addition to the Diamondbacks Mickey, the statues are being placed in high-profile areas throughout Anaheim, Los Angeles, and surrounding areas in Southern California.  This includes includes Angel Stadium, Anaheim City Hall, Downtown Disney, the Kodak and El Capitan Theatres in Los Angeles as well as L.A. Live and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 36 life-size statues, commissioned in conjunction with MLB licensee Forever Collectibles, are uniquely decorated with bold graphics featuring each of the 30 MLB Clubs as well as four All-Star designs, an American League and a National League design. Each life-sized statue is 7.5 feet high and weighs 989 pounds.

I have included a complete list of statues and locations at the end of this entry.

“Major League Baseball is excited to bring the 2010 All-Star Game to Anaheim and we want fans all throughout Southern California to feel like they are a part of the entire experience,” said Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Major League Baseball in a press release. “As an iconic figure, Mickey Mouse is the ideal ambassador to connect fans with the premiere sporting event of the summer.”

As part of the overall promotion, miniature versions of each of the statues are available in a 7.5-inch size through MLB.com and DisneyStore.com, as well as additional retailers including MLB stadium shops, Walgreens and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Photos of all variations are available at MLBPressBox.com and DisneyConsumerProducts.com.

All-Star Game Disneyland Esplanade (near Disney’s California Adventure)

All-Star Game (Angel Stadium) — The Grove Anaheim – Front Gate All-Star Game

(Stars & Stripes) — Anaheim Convention Center – Outside Main Lobby Entrance

All-Star Game (Vintage) — Anaheim City Hall

American League — Hilton Anaheim – Lobby

National League Mickey — Anaheim Marriott – Outside Main Entrance

Angels — Angel Stadium of Anaheim – Home Plate Gate area

Astros Long Beach Towne Center – Promenade

Athletics The Muzeo, Anaheim – S. Anaheim Blvd

Blue Jays — Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa – Main Entrance

Braves — Disneyland Esplanade (near Disney’s California Adventure)

Brewers — The Strand at Huntington Beach-5th St. & Pacific Coast Hwy

Cardinals — Downtown Disney – Outside Build-A-Bear Workshop

Cubs — Orange County Zoo, Orange – Main Entrance

Diamondbacks — The District at Tustin – The Promenade

Dodgers — Music Center – Performing Arts Center of L.A. County Plaza

Giants — Fashion Island, Newport Beach – Nordstrom Court

Indians — Industry Rag, N. La Brea – Inside store

Mariners — Kodak Theatre, Hollywood – Visitor Information Center

Marlins — Downtown Disney – outside ESPN Zone Restaurant

Mets — The Irvine Spectrum Center – Carousel Court

Nationals — Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga – Guest Services

Orioles — Newport Sports Museum – Main Entrance

Padres — South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa – Carousel Court

Phillies — Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood – Central Courtyard

Pirates — L.A. Union Station – Main Hall

Rangers — The Village at Orange – near Game Stop

Rays– Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach – Lobby

Reds — Holiday Inn Express Walk of Fame, Hollywood – Outside Main Lobby

Red Sox — Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana – Outside Main Entry

Royals — El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood – Soda Fountain & Studio Store

Rockies — The Market Place Irvine – Near Sports Authority

Tigers — Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort – Lobby

Twins —  Anaheim GardenWalk – Rock Garden Court

White Sox  – Holiday Inn Santa Monica – Outside Main Lobby

Yankees — L.A. LIVE – ESPN Zone Restaurant Lobby

Background on the 2010 All-Star Game

The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 13th in Anaheim and will feature the best of the American League taking on the top players of the National League. Building up to the excitement of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball will conduct a wide variety of special events and charitable activities for fans both inside and outside of Angel Stadium of Anaheim. At the ballpark, the events will include Taco Bell All-Star Sunday on Sunday, July 11th featuring the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 12th featuring the State Farm Home Run Derby on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. Outside of the ballpark, fans will have an opportunity to experience All-Star Summer through a variety of special events including Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest, the five-day interactive fan festival; the All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run, a charity run/walk on a baseball-themed route to benefit four cancer organizations; and the MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Show presented by Chevy on MLB Network, a free parade of All-Stars through the streets of Anaheim. The Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally on FOX, broadcast on ESPN Radio and will be shown around the world by Major League Baseball International. For more information about 2010 All-Star Summer, visitwww.AllStarGame.com.