Cincinnati Reds host Military Appreciation Day at Great American Ball Park

  • Published
  • By Cindy Holbrook
WRIGHT PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Everywhere the group of Airmen from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and new recruits traveled on June 22 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, they were greeted with warm applause, big smiles, handshakes and "thank yous."

It was Major League Baseball's (MLB) turn to take time out to say "thank you" to those who serve by hosting Military Appreciation Day as the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in a 1:10 p.m. baseball game.

Members of the Reds' squad donned camouflage jerseys and caps and cheered for the numerous servicemen and servicewomen attending the game and taking part in the pre-game festivities that included the swearing-in of 35 recruits and a welcome home for those recently deployed.

Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the game was Col. Cassie Barlow, 88 Air Base Wing commander. She was thrilled after finding out who her catcher would be - Reds' speedy center fielder Billy Hamilton, who is among MLB's stolen base leaders with more than 30 steals so far this season. He was taking a day off and decided to be her catcher.

"You rarely ever get a first-starter," the commander said. "It was really cool. He also took time to say thanks for your service. That was really nice. To be able to see all the people in the stands cheering for our returning Airmen and for our National Anthem just gives you chills. We serve our country every day and it is nice to know that our community appreciates our service. It was really great to be hosted for the day by the Cincinnati Reds. It means a lot to us to have Major League Baseball take the time to recognize the military."

Before swearing in the recruits, Barlow gave a short speech describing what the 'swearing in to the Air Force' means when members of the Delayed Entry Program take the oath, then thanked the Reds and the crowd of more than 39,000 attending the game for their support.

The recruits were sworn in just in front of the Reds' dugout along the first base line while players watched and applauded. Returning Airmen were welcomed home as well before the game. Airmen recognized on the field included Airman 1st Class James Mrosko; Senior Airmen Joseph Casciari, Kayla Ford, Dylan Maughan, Jeremy Quint and Matthew Schwin; Staff Sgt. Robert Gregory; Master Sgt. Kelley Breen; Airman 1st Class Anastasia Hetter; Staff Sgt. Charles Prowell; Airman 1st Class Brionna Coleman; Tech. Sgt. Jean Aspiras; Tech. Sgt. Tyson Campbell; and Capt. David Bereda.

Also before the game, the Wright-Patterson AFB Honor guard presented the colors and the Wright Brass of the Air Force Band of Flight played the national anthem.

Chief Master Sgt. Charles Hoffman, 88 ABW command chief, escorted Airman 1st Class Brionna Coleman to home plate to meet with the umpires and turn in the starting lineup. A1C Coleman served as the game's honorary captain.

"It was awesome," she said about meeting with the umpires and the managers.
A1C Coleman works as an aerospace medical technician.

"My supervisor recommended me to be the honorary captain and it was a blessing for me. They were all thanking me for my service. I've been to games before, but never on the field like this."

It was the third time this year that the Reds hosted a military appreciation game. As it turned out, Wright-Patterson AFB and the Cincinnati Reds were a winning combination. Reds pitching ace Johnny Cueto turned in another stellar performance on the mound, working eight innings to help his team capture a 4-3 victory over the visiting Blue Jays in Game Three of a three-game weekend series. Cueto is 7-5 this season with a 1.86 earned run average.

The game was tied at 2-2 through four innings until third baseman Todd Frazier belted a two-run home run over the right-field wall with Cueto aboard. He led off the inning with a bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice by Skip Schumaker. The blast put the Reds up 4-2. Cueto gave up a homer to former Red Edwin Encarnacion in the eighth that made it 4-3, but reliever Aroldis Chapman came on in the ninth inning to strike out the side and notch his 13th save of the season to preserve the victory for Cueto and company.