For two weeks in March, fans in Scottsdale at Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick during Spring Training will have the opportunity to visit We Are Baseball – a cutting-edge collaboration of baseball and technology.
We Are Baseball features virtual reality, an original IMAX movie and specially curated artifacts from The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. Official MLB digital commerce partner Fanatics will operate a pop-up retail store, providing officially licensed gear and customized products.
We Are Baseball and the Hall of Fame Tour will be open daily at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick from March 11-26, 2017.
Virtual Reality
MLBAM partnered with VR company Jaunt to give fans up close and personal experiences of being present next to the game’s brightest stars, on field, in the dugout and even in the clubhouse.
Through content filmed during the 2016 postseason, Jaunt will present a storyline featuring behind-the-scenes access to the most meaningful moments from the very first clinch all the way through the final out of the World Series – including the championship parade through Chicago.
VR Home Run Derby
Fans visiting We Are Baseball will be among the first to play MLBAM’s newest mobile video game – Home Run Derby. This VR game, the first developed by any professional sports league and originally released in December, allows fans to compete in the Home Run Derby using VR technology with 3D environments featuring eight iconic ballparks.
Squaring Up
New to We Are Baseball in 2017, “Squaring Up” will be special interactive sessions with prominent figures in baseball and entertainment, including Hall of Famers. These hour-long sessions will feature a live interview, followed by a Town Hall style conversation with the studio audience.
IMAX Movie
Showing in a mobile IMAX theater will be an original film that immerses fans into the past, present and future of baseball with never-before-seen content and historical footage. Thomas Tull and Tom Werner produced the film.
Artifacts And Technology
This traveling exhibit will allow fans to experience the stories, traditions and stars that make up baseball’s past and present – from the game’s greatest luminaries – including the cap worn by Jackie Robinson during the 1955 World Series, the bat used by Bobby Thomson to hit a walk-off home run in the 1951 regular season playoffs, the mitt worn by Yogi Berra during Don Larsen’s Perfect Game in 1956 and the ball hit by Babe Ruth for the 714th and final home run of his career in 1935.
Photos and video courtesy MLB