Reds Caravan is coming to town
By
Amanda
Posted at 12:37 pm
You know the drought of baseball news is about to break when you start hearing about the Reds Caravan. A couple weeks after that it’ll be pitchers and catchers reporting, then the drama of who’s going to make the roster, then, before you know it, Opening Day.
The dates, stops, and players on the tour have been announced, and it is an impressive line-up. Kudos to the Reds for convincing these guys to come out; it’s a good enough line-up that I’m thinking I’ll be heading to two of the locations.
Here’s the low-down:
Northern Leg
| Date | Location | Time (EST) |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Jan. 24 | Athens, Ohio (The Market on State) | 6:30 – 8:30pm |
| Friday, Jan. 25 | Parkersburg, W.Va. (Grand Central Mall) | 5:00 – 7:00pm |
| Saturday, Jan. 26 | Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena) Lima, Ohio (Lima Mall) |
10:00am – 12:30pm 4:30-7:00pm |
| Sunday, Jan. 27 | Dayton, Ohio (National Museum of the U.S. Air Force) | 10:30am – 1:30pm |
In attendance will be:
- Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman
- All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips
- broadcaster and former pitcher Chris Welsh
- minor league catcher Tucker Barnhart
- Assistant General Manager Bob Miller
- mascot Gapper
Southern Leg
| Date | Location | Time (EST) |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Jan. 24 | Huntington, W.Va. /Ashland, Ky (Fannin Motors) Charleston, W.Va. (Charleston Town Center) |
3:00 – 5:30pm 7:00 – 9:00pm |
| Saturday, Jan. 26 | Cincinnati, Ohio (Select-A-Seat event at GABP) Bowling Green, Ky. (Greenwood Mall) |
11:00am – 1:00pm 3:30 – 5:30pm (CST) |
| Sunday, Jan. 27 | Lexington, Ky. (The Shops at Lexington Center) | 10:30am – 1:30pm |
In attendance will be:
- broadcaster Jim Kelch
- broadcaster and former pitcher Jeff Brantley
- infielder Todd Frazier (a more powerful draw this year than he was when he was on the western leg last year)
- pitcher Logan Ondrusek (Thurs. and Fri. only)
- 2012 minor league Player of the Year Billy Hamilton (see note on Frazier above)
- VP of Baseball Operations Dick Williams
- mascot Rosie Red (the best of the mascots)
Western Leg (and the only one I really care about)
| Date | Location | Time (EST) |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Jan. 24 | Louisville, Ky. (Louisville Slugger Field) | 6:00 – 9:00pm |
| Friday, Jan. 25 | Bloomington, Ind. (College Mall) | 6:00 – 8:00pm |
| Saturday, Jan. 26 | Indianapolis, Ind. (Castleton Square Mall) Muncie, Ind. (Stoops Automotive) |
9:30 – 11:30am 5:30 – 8:00pm |
| Sunday, Jan. 27 | Hamilton, OH – (Parrish Auditorium) | 10:30am – 1:30pm |
In attendance will be:
- broadcaster Thom Brennaman
- President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty
- All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce (Thurs. & Fri. only) – Don’t forget to congratulate him on getting married
- pitcher Homer Bailey (Sat. & Sun. only) – Let’s start calling him Mr. No Hitter
- veteran catcher Corky Miller – I hope he brings the ‘stache
- minor league outfielder Ryan LaMarre
- Reds COO Phil Castellini
- mascot Mr. Redlegs
There’s some fine print about the even at GABP and other details available on the Caravan post at Reds.com.