With baseball season quickly approaching, many troops stationed overseas may be starting to miss America’s pastime, but a group of soldiers serving in Germany recently got a little taste of home in a big way. Baseball legends Wade Boggs, David Justice, Rollie Fingers and Bob Brenly stopped by to play Wiffle Ball with servicemembers from 709th MP Battalion and 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, Stars and Stripes reports.
The event, dubbed Spring Training to the Troops, was put on by the Fox Sports Media Group and featured more than just a simple Wiffle Ball game. Organizers also flew in cheerleaders, umpires and the game even included play-by-play work from Mario Impemba, who calls games for the Detroit Tigers. Fox Sports has hosted similar events for football before, but this is the first one to include baseball players. Choosing to do it in Grafenwöhr, Germany, seemed like the right choice.
“When we talked to the military, finding out there was a training installation, the biggest one in Europe, it made sense,” Chris Hannan, senior vice president for Fox Sports, told the publication.
Sports and the military have a long history together. In the days leading up to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, there were a number of events geared toward military families. The military has also long been a sponsor for NASCAR.