\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”thumbnail_url”:null,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType “: “rich”}), “relativeSiteUrl”: “/news/top-moments-mlb-rickwood-field-game-2024”, “contentType”: “news”, “subHeadline”: null, “summary”: BIRMINGHAM , Alabama — The moment finally arrived Thursday night, and it lived up to all expectations.\nDressed in throwback uniforms reminiscent of their Negro League counterparts (the San Francisco Sea Lions and St. Louis Stars), the Giants and Cardinals made Rickwood Field — the oldest professional baseball stadium in the country”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:({ “__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple -news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”rickwood-field”,”title”:”Rickwood Field”, “type”:”taxonomy”},{ “__typename”: “TeamTag”, “slug”: “teamid-138”, “title”: St. Louis Cardinals, “team”: {“__ref”: “Team: 138”}, “type”: team”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-137″,”title”:”San Francisco Giants”,”team”:{“__ref” :”Team:137″},” type”: “team”}, {“__typename”: “ContributorTag”, “slug”: “betelhem-ashame”, “title”: “Betelhem Ashame”, “type”: ” contributor”}, {“__typename”: “ContributorTag”, “slug”: “matthew-ritchie”, “title”: “Matthew Ritchie”, “type”: “contributor”}), “type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/rpgijg1xr6oaxxqq2pi0″,”title”:”MLB Rickwood Field Game Highlights”}},”Team :138″:{“__typename”:”Team “,”id”:138},”Person:680977″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:680977},”Team:137″:{” __typename”:”Team”,”id”: 137},”Person:118495″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:118495},”Person:671218″:{“__typename”:”Person” ,”id”:671218},”Person: 691026″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:691026},”Person:664854″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:664854 }}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId” :”mlbglobal08,mlbcom08″,”linkInternalFilters”:”mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”:”Major League Baseball”,”lang”:”en”} window.appId = ” /*–>* /
04:21 UTC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The moment finally arrived Thursday night, and it lived up to all expectations.
Wearing retro uniforms reminiscent of their Negro Leagues counterparts (the San Francisco Sea Lions and the St. Louis Stars), the Giants and Cardinals took over Rickwood Field, the oldest professional baseball stadium in the country. At the same time, they paid tribute to those who came before them – among them, the late, great Willie Mays – both before the game and through their play during it.
1. The Alabama product gets the party started
Although Statcast stats aren’t available at Rickwood, you wouldn’t need one to know that Cardinals left fielder Brendan Donovan demolished the game’s first home run. The towering blast landed on the green awning beyond the right-center field wall, giving St. Louis a 3-0 lead in the opening period.
Donovan, born in Würzburg, Germany, grew up in Enterprise, Alabama, and played college ball at the University of South Alabama, making it an ideal homecoming for the 27-year-old.
2. The stories you need to hear
To name just a few of his many accomplishments: he is the oldest living player in the Negro Leagues. He grew up across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. He fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. And he spent 53 years as a minister at Bethel Baptist Church.
We’ll just let Greason tell you about his life in his own words.
3. Emotional pre-match ceremonies
Five-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste delivered a heartwarming and upbeat pregame show before announcing former Negro League players, along with players from the Giants and Cardinals.
They took their places along the foul lines in homage to the late, great Willie Mays played on the video board. Then Mays’ son Michael took the field alongside Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr.
“Birmingham, I told you, if there was any way for my father to come here, he would,” Mays said in a brief speech. “Well, he found another way. He’s already standing at your feet. Let him hear you, he listens to you.”
Giants center fielder Heliot Ramos is working his way toward All-Star consideration, and his hot streak with the bat continued with a game-tying three-run blast to right field, depositing a hanging curveball from Andre Pallante just over the fence in the third. inning.
Ramos, a native of Puerto Rico who plays the same position as Mays for San Francisco, is on his 10th homer of the season. He brought home Brett Wisely and Mike Yastrzemski, who had singled earlier in the frame and whose grandfather, Carl, was a contemporary of Mays.
5. Donovan returns
It was the Alabama native’s day, as Donovan drove in his third run of the night on an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, fighting off a fade slider from left-hander Taylor Rogers to score Alec Burleson, giving the Cardinals a good health. 6-3 ahead. Donovan’s three-hit day, in which he completed a triple before the cycle, played a vital role in providing St. Louis with enough insurance as the Giants attempted to recover throughout the night .
6. Go back in time
If you followed the game via the FOX television broadcast, you may have done a double take when returning from the commercial break during the fifth inning. The game was coming to your televisions exactly as it was 70 years ago, when baseball first appeared on the screen.
“You’re not out of your mind. Your TV isn’t broken,” said Joe Davis, who was in charge of the footage.
It was certainly something to see the Cardinals put together a 6-4-3 double play against this throwback backdrop.
7. “Stand up” against cancer
At the end of the fifth inning, everyone within the walls of Rickwood – players, coaches and fans – stood up for the Stand Up to Cancer moment, as has become tradition at marquee MLB events like the All-Star Game and the World Series. .
Featuring Grammy Award-winning singer Andra Day delivering a moving performance of her hit song “Rise Up,” the FOX broadcast showed everyone holding signs reading “I Stand Up For,” followed by personal messages. Some of them included: patients, loved ones, those we have lost, and children around the world.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research to deliver new treatments to patients more quickly. MLB and its 30 clubs are the founding donors of SU2C. Learn more at StandUpToCancer.org/MLB.
8. Helsley closes the door, fireworks galore
The Giants certainly presented a tangible threat in the final frame, putting runners on first and second base with two outs, giving Matt Chapman a chance to send the game to the bottom of the ninth with the go-ahead run. But Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley came through, dropping a devastating slider in front of Chapman’s swing for the three-pitch punchout to seal the victory for St. Louis, 6-5.
Helsley pointed to the sky as red and silver fireworks burst from the batters’ eye in center field, punctuating an emotional and joyous day with a hard-fought victory for the Redbirds.
Even though Lamonte Wade Jr. was unable to face the Giants at Rickwood Field, he was able to play his part in this historic game.
The outfielder, the Giants’ only black player, walked to the plate and handled the exchange of lineup cards for San Francisco. Wade was working to return from the Giants’ injured list for this game – even though it was just one at-bat – but was unable to do so due to roster restrictions .
“If anyone desperately wanted to play this game, it was him,” manager Bob Melvin said.
Giants players honored Mays by wearing Birmingham Barons jerseys on the bus, arriving at Rickwood Field in style.
“I don’t know how the idea came about, but I thought it was really cool to wear the hat and jersey on the bus,” Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks said. “It’s really cool to honor him in this way.”
Members of the Cardinals and Giants stopped in front of the Willie Mays Hall of Fame plaque to pose for photos