Baseball Weekend to start with pitching documentary
Visit Hot Springs announced yet another feature coming to Hot Springs Baseball Weekend in August.
The weekend will kick off with a free public screening of the documentary film “Fastball” on the night of Aug. 25 to set the stage for the rest of the weekend’s festivities.
The film, narrated by Kevin Costner, originally debuted in 2016 and takes a look at the battle between the pitcher and the batter in the 396 milliseconds it takes for a fastball to reach home plate from the pitcher’s hand.
“I think it’s just a great movie talking about pitching since we have so many great pitchers who are going to be with us for Baseball Weekend,” Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said. “You know Goose Gossage,
Rollie Fingers, Steve Carlton, Al Hrabosky. We’ve got four pitchers, so we thought it’d be the perfect movie to show the Friday night before Baseball Weekend starts on Saturday.”
“Fastball” features legends like Hank Aaron and Derek Jeter while also interviewing plenty of other players from Hall of Famers to rising stars.
“It’s all about pitching, but we still have one of the best hitters ever in the game in Wade Boggs,” Arrison said. “He’s one of the all-time best hitters in the game. We are heavy on pitchers so we thought it might be a good movie to show. I know it’s been out a little while but a lot of people haven’t seen it. It’s always fun to get together to watch a movie.”
This year marks the Sixth Annual Baseball Weekend, and the event continues to grow. The five former Major Leaguers will have various talks and panels throughout the day Aug. 26 where fans can listen and interact with the all-time greats.
“We started it out to just continue to spotlight the baseball history that Hot Springs has with Major League Baseball,” Arrison said. “So it started small, but it’s just gotten bigger and bigger. We get more and more calls. I have no doubt this will be the best one ever. Not too many places have four Hall of Famers and another great pitcher all in the same spot just answering questions and interacting with baseball fans and fans in general.”
Major League Baseball went through plenty of changes this season, and the legends at baseball weekend will talk about the state of the game among various topics.
“It’s a unique opportunity to ask these guys questions and find out what they think,” Arrison said. “Especially with what’s going on in baseball right now with all the rule changes and everything else, I think it’ll be really an interesting opportunity to get their take on what’s going on with Major League Baseball.”
Visit Hot Springs also announced a baseball card show has been added to the weekend’s schedule. The show opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. Aug. 26.
Hot Springs obviously holds a deep connection with baseball as the birthplace of spring training.
The Spa City continues to advance its ties with the sport through Majestic Park, building a Babe Ruth Statue and more. Hot Springs Baseball Weekend is another way for the Hot Springs community to continue that legacy and show its baseball pride.
“I think it means a lot,” Arrison said. “Baseball is one of our focuses. We’re known for baseball. I think if you go around the country if you talk about Hot Springs they mention the baths but they talk about baseball, too. I think it just helps reinforce that there’s a lot to see and do here. We have lakes. We have championship horse racing. Hey, we have a great history of Major League Baseball. We’re continuing to remind people of that.”