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Bakersfield lands on first base
| Sunday, Mar 26 2006 10:15 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Mar 26 2006 10:19 PM
When Hall of Famer Dave Winfield told his son he would be the narrator for The Baseball Music Project, he received a blank stare back.
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"Dad, I can't picture it," Winfield recalled his son telling him at a news conference Sunday before the inaugural event at Rabobank Theater later that night.
The Baseball Music Project, started in 2004 by a group of professional musicians united by their love of baseball and music, aims to increase awareness of both. Sunday's performance by the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra was the first in a nationwide tour of symphony orchestras and concert halls.
The performance featured baseball-themed music like "Take Me Out to The Ballgame" along with images and video from the National Baseball Hall of Fame narrated by Winfield.
"It's different," said Winfield, a 12-time All-Star with more than 3,000 hits and 450 home runs with six teams in a 22-year major league career. "I'm pretty confident and positive about this. Getting up in front of people and talking is easy for me."
Winfield said he got a call from the Hall of Fame -- where he was inducted as a member five years ago -- asking if he was interested in the project. After some research to find out just what The Baseball Music Project was, he signed on.
"I said, 'This might be interesting,'" Winfield said. "It's just another platform to bring baseball to people."
Here are some other observations by Winfield, who has worked as a motivational speaker and sports broadcaster and currently works for the San Diego Padres, in a wide-ranging news conference Sunday:
* On baseball: "It teaches a lot of lessons. Baseball has been a big part of my life."
* On the United States team's disappointing performance in the World Baseball Classic: "We threw a nice party, but we almost didn't have enough preparation. It doesn't matter if you're a multimillionaire and spring training just started. If you're throwing the party, you've got to be ready."
* On Cal State Bakersfield's planned move to Division I and addition of a baseball program: "I'm all for baseball at all levels. I'd love to see baseball at every level."
* If he regretted not playing more than one sport after also being drafted by professional basketball and football teams out of the University of Minnesota: "I don't have any regrets with not playing two sports because anyone who plays two sports has a shortened career. ... I also don't have concussions."
* On Petco Park, the Padres' new stadium: "Petco Park might be the best park in the United States."