Lou Piniella to Serve as Honorary Host
TAMPA, FL – The Tampa Baseball Museum, along with Honorary Host Lou Piniella, Tampa’s iconic professional player and manager, and title sponsor the Tampa Bay Rays, will host Homeruns & History, a free family-friendly event to celebrate the rich history of the game in Tampa on March 23rd from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. in Ybor City’s Centennial Park (1800 E 8th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605). The event is hosted in partnership with the Ybor City Saturday Market and the Ybor City Museum Society. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House, which is currently in its final capital-raising campaign.
Homeruns & History will feature autographs by Major and Minor League Baseball alumni, including Piniella, Gary Sheffield, Jason Michaels, Chris Perez, Jason Romano, and others. Activities include a question and answer session with a panel of high school coaches, team mascots and street teams, games, raffles, auctions, and great prizes. Also featured are baseball-inspired food, music, fun and comradery celebrating the sport. Attendees are encouraged to show their team spirit by wearing their uniforms, favorite team apparel or other baseball-themed gear.
An exhibit by the Saladino Tournament will be on display and includes players from Tampa who have made it to the big leagues. Tours of Al Lopez’s rehabilitated home will feature a special exhibit that highlights the careers of some of Tampa’s iconic baseball players including Al Lopez (Tampa’s first, player, manager and Hall of Fame Inductee), Wade Boggs, Lou Piniella, Tony La Russa, Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, and Fred McGriff.
Homeruns & History is supported by an Ybor City Development Corporation event co-sponsorship grant, the Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough County Board of Count Commissioners. Sponsorships are still available, starting as low as $250. For more information and updates prior to the event, visit http://tampabaseballmuseum.org/events/.
ABOUT TAMPA BASEBALL MUSEUM AT THE AL LOPEZ HOUSE
Relocated from its original location at 1210 E. 12th Ave. in Ybor City to the northeast corner of 9th Ave. and 19th St., Al Lopez’s Tampa childhood home has since undergone a complete transformation to become the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House. Lopez, Tampa’s first player to play in the Major Leagues, debuted in 1928 for Brooklyn Robins and later managed the Cleveland Indians (1954) and Chicago White Sox (1959) to the American League Pennant. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Now, his boyhood home is becoming the Tampa Baseball Museum, honoring and preserving the robust history of the game in the area. Whether it is youth baseball, minor leagues, spring training, wartime leagues and more, the game of baseball has deep roots and a prideful tradition in Tampa Bay.
While the opening of the Tampa Baseball Museum at Al Lopez House comes closer each day, the Ybor City Museum Society is always looking for great community partners to expedite the process. For more information on how to get involved call 813.247.1434 or email info@tampabaseballmuseum.org.
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