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2004
BatWars Bats! |
Bat
Wars 2004 Stop #5:
Saturday, Sept 18th
- Disneys's WWS,FL
Disney Wide World of Sports
P.O. Box 1000
Lake Buena Vista, FL
disneyworldsports.com
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The
following vendors will be on hand to demonstrate and sell
their Products:
Eastbay, Adidas, NV
Baseball, T3K, Legends, Jugs, Easton, Silverback, Miken, TPS
Louisville Slugger, Mizuno, Worth, Toledo Bats, Demarini/WilsonBAT WARS One
day Saturday September 18th, 9am-5pm FREE
Over 250
Bats - Test Drive the latest & greatest bats for 2004
Swing all
day - on field Giveaways & Promotions |
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The
first weekend of Bat Wars at Disney's Wide World of SportsŪ
on September 18th was a typically beautiful late summer
weekend in Florida, but the following weekend of September
25th brought the fourth of four hurricanes to directly hit the
state of Florida in six weeks.
But the band played on.
And the Jugs pitching machines continued to throw the balls
until the event was shut down at 2:00pm on Saturday the 25th
to allow Softball Magazine Posse staff, Disney staff and the
participants the opportunity to get home and hunker down
before Hurricane Jeanne made a beeline for the Beeline. You'd
get that if you were here.
Bob Grey, Promotions Director for Softball Magazine, had done
this before. In fact, his very first hand at promoting the Bat
Wars event in 1999 will be forever known as "Hurricane
Bat Wars," when Hurricane Floyd and Tropical Depression
Gertrude engulfed the state and the event in rain.
Hurricane and reality show worthy insect veteran, Eastbay's
Scott Edgerton, was on hand with his sidekick,
Footlocker.com's Geoff Ryan, until the boss called them early
on Saturday morning the 25th and they left for home.
Weathering the storm both weekends were Toledo Sporting Goods
Company, Wilson/DeMarini, newcomers CE Composites (Combat),
T3K, Easton Sports, Worth Sports, Rawlings Sporting Goods
Company, Louisville Slugger, Mizuno USA, Jugs and Miken
Sports.
Players swarmed the "half-bat" table where they
could handle and check out the bats in the event from Toledo,
the Katana and Inferno; Wilson/DeMarini, the Dark, F2, Vexxum,
EVO, and 375; Easton, the Synergy Plus and Synergy 2; Worth's
Wicked Insanity, Max PST 120, and Max 120; Rawlings, the ACL
Silverback; from Louisville Slugger, the Response, Catalyst
and Warrior; from Mizuno, the Blur Advanced, Fury and Crush;
from Miken Sports, the Freak Plus, Freak 98, and Velocity II;
from Combat, the C4 and the B1.
Despite the weather, the Back to Back Bat Wars at Disney's
Wide World of SportsŪ saw over 3,000 players on hand for both
weekends combining for over 45,000 swings on softball's
favorite day - Bat Wars.
"What a year!" said Bob Grey. "And what an
ending. I have to say thanks to our manufacturer sponsors and
also to our "Official" sponsors, Legends Softballs,
T3K, Jugs Pitching Machines, Adidas and Eastbay. We had
another outstanding, successful year with the Rolling Road
Show. I also need to extend a big acknowledgement of our
special partners, namely Don DeDonatis of USSSA and his staff
and Disney's Wide World of SportsŪ, Chrissy Elliott, Patrick
Dicks and their outstanding staff. Their dedication to this
event and their hard work make it the best it can be for the
softball player."
"The first weekend was perfect in true Magazine
style," continued Grey. "The second weekend went
till 2:30pm when we needed to stop the event and put it away
in preparation for a hurricane. The Posse was outstanding in
their performance both weekends, but especially the second
weekend under the gun."
"What can I say about the Posse?" agreed Gene Smith,
Publisher of Softball Magazine and the concept man behind Bat
Wars. "We have the best crew in the world, hands down.
You've heard that old Jackson Browne song about his road crew,
well, I can guarantee you that they had nothing on the
Softball Magazine Posse. Also, I have to send out a special
thanks to veteran Disney Bat Wars Volunteer Honorary Posse
members Joe Richardson and Jean Marie Artusa and the crew that
they bring us every year, some of them all the way from New
York State. With the hurricane bearing down and volunteer
teams having to cancel right and left, their crew stayed on
until the bitter end so that the participants could continue
to hit. At 2:30pm, they became a militia that organized itself
under the Rolling Road Show Posse to tear down the event. Joe,
Jean Marie and team; thank you. Your team put our team back in
their homes or to a safe place in plenty of time before the
storm hit and I can't tell you how much we appreciate and
enjoy you."
With the completion of the six Bat Wars events this year,
since 1997 there have been 31,200 players and over 450,000
swings taken.
"I have been involved with Bat Wars since 1999 and I have
seen bats evolve to high performance in both aluminum and new
composites, improved durability and NASCAR type
graphics," noted Grey. "I truly believe that Bat
Wars has played a leading role in this as all the players are
the judges, and users and ultimately the buyers. I get to see
and hear all the participants and all the while watch these
bats perform in tough conditions. All the bats in the event
held up extremely well with some models starting the beginning
of the year with us such as the Katana and Inferno, Dark and
375, Synergy Plus and Synergy 2, ACL, Crush, Velocity II and
finishing with newcomers during the year such as the EVO,
Worth's Wicked Insanity, PST and Max 120, Catalyst, Response
and Warrior, Freak Plus, Freak 98, Blur Advance and Combat's
B1 and C4."
Over $5,000 worth of softball gear, compliments of Eastbay,
was awarded to those who successfully competed in the on field
promotion now known world-wide as "Eastbay's Yellow Ball
Competition," in which a player is selected randomly to
hit fifteen yellow softballs at Eastbay field markers. The
pressure is on the player to perform in front of hundreds of
players watching. It's not easy to just hit the ball to the
sign. Compare it to hitting a home run on demand or that jump
shot when you are wide open. But with fifteen chances, players
make the adjustments and walk away with the loot.
"The most overlooked aspect of Bat Wars is the players'
chance to purchase the newest products at great deals through
the Footlocker.com booth with specials such as Nike cleats for
$30 or batting gloves for $10," concluded Grey. "In
addition, players get to meet the vendors one-on-one to see
and hear about the newest technologies and check out the
products themselves. You can only do this at an event like Bat
Wars. Bat Wars has grown to a nationally recognized event that
is unique to our industry and we have not lost sight that it
is the everyday player who supports and recognizes what
Softball Magazine and its supporting partners do to bring this
event to life around the country."
Stay tuned to www.softballmag.com and www.batwars.com to see
what's in store for the Rolling Road Show in 2005! |
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