mlb.com
Major League Baseball and UNINTERRUPTED, the award-winning athlete storytelling brand founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, on Tuesday announced the latest rounds of celebrities from entertainment music and sports including Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe confirmed to play in ‘BARNSTORM BIRMINGHAM,’ a Juneteenth celebration on Wednesday, June 19 at Rickwood Field.
Tickets for the Fam Jam celebrity softball game, including a postgame performance by global music superstar Metro Boomin, are on-sale to for $24 at MLB.com/rickwood.
The latest round of confirmed celebrities include: Omari Hardwick, Star of hit TV show Power; CC Sabathia – six-time MLB All-Star; 2009 World Series Champion; 2007 A.L. Cy Young Award winner; Alycia Baumgardner, WBC and IBO female super featherweight champion; WBO IBO and The Ring female super featherweight champion; JR Smith, former NBA Champion; North Carolina A&T State University golfer; co-host of “PAR 3” podcast; Matt Barnes, former NBA champion; co-host of “ALL THE SMOKE” podcast and Dwight Freeney, Pro Football Hall of Famer.
The latest group joins previously announced celebrity participants, includin Ryan Howard, former World Series Champion, All-Star & Most Valuable player; Roy Wood Jr., comedian; Birmingham native; Stephen Jackson, former NBA champion; co-host of “ALL THE SMOKE” podcast; Terrell Owens, Football Hall of Famer and Jameis Winston, NFL Quarterback & former FSU star pitcher.
The celebrities will be placed on respective teams named after two sons of Alabama whose legendary, Hall of Fame careers transformed baseball and left an imprint on society.
The SAY HEYS are named after Birmingham-born Willie Mays, while THE HAMMERS are named after Mobile-born Hank Aaron. Both started their historic professional baseball careers in the Negro Leagues, which MLB, MiLB and partners are celebrating through the events at Rickwood Field and in Birmingham.
The June 19 game will broadcast on MLB Network at 1:30 p.m CT on Thursday, June 20th, airing prior to MLB at Rickwood Field. The game will be called by former MLB All-Stars Harold Reynolds and Chris Young. BARNSTORM BIRMINGHAM was launched by Sabathia and UNINTERRUPTED co-founder Maverick Carter, as an extension of UNINTERRUPTED’s Fam Jam, a celebrity event platform that will feature remixed softball celebrating the Negro Leagues in a fresh way.
Ticket offers for BARNSTORM BIRMINGHAM include a bundled ticket offer to the MiLB at Rickwood game being held the day prior on Tuesday, June 18. The three events Rickwood Field, the country’s oldest ballpark, MiLB at Rickwood (Tuesday, June 18), BARNSTORM BIRMINGHAM (Wednesday, June 19), and MLB at Rickwood (Thursday, June 20), all are in tribute to the Negro Leagues and its players, including Mays. In collaboration with the City of Birmingham, MLB will make a select amount of tickets available for free to local youth and community groups.
Barnstorming was an integral practice of Negro Leagues baseball in an era when teams and players in the Leagues traveled to different communities to promote their style of baseball. Existing and future information on these events can be found at MLB.com/rickwood.
