Professional Baseball Slides Into Mesa Youth Museum

Batter! Batter! Pow! . . . and it’s outta the ballpark, folks!

For decades, millions of fans have been entertained by the sights and sounds of Major League Baseball during spring training in Arizona.

Mesa’s Arizona Museum for Youth, in partnership with Mesa Historical Museum, is set to hit a home run with their new exhibition: Play Ball! The Cactus League Experience when it debuts tonight- Friday, Feb. 26.

This exhibition celebrates over 100 years of professional baseball, and the long, lucrative and influential history of spring training in Arizona, dating back to at least 1909.

Play Ball! walks you through a professional baseball timeline from the sporty, barnstorming days before statehood, to the inauguration of the Cactus League [CL] in 1947 and, then, up to present day with 15 teams set to play the 2010 spring training season in Arizona. The interactive, educational exhibition will treat visitors to stories of the players, teams and ballparks that the legendary boys of spring experienced when training hard each season in the breathtakingly hot Arizona desert.

“Play Ball has an amazing collection of baseball memorabilia and stories that adults can share with their children and grandchildren,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said. “The Cactus League has such a rich history and Mesa played a major role in its development. I am very proud our City is hosting this exhibition.”

Previously housed at the Mesa Historical Museum, the redesigned and enlarged exhibition will now feature many “high-tech” displays. Baseball fans can take a cell phone tour of the exhibition; engage touch screen kiosks for added history content; construct a three dimensional puzzle to build their own stadium and enjoy videotape and film montages featuring Cactus League stadiums, legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray and more. There will also be two additional Wii gaming stations with simulated versions of baseball as well as colorful dress-up stations where fans can step into the magical world of their favorite ballplayers.

Slide into AMY this spring to experience tons of fun for the whole family!

Located at 35 N. Robson in downtown Mesa, AMY is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. AMY is closed most government holidays. Please visit www.arizonamuseumforyouth.com or call 480.644.2467 for current information.