Summer boys captivated baseball fans for generations with sweet swings, delicious hot dogs and a welcome escape in slow months. But what if they become boys under the black lights at just a handful of ballparks across the country for a few weeks of the year?
Cosmic Baseball offers an electric new take on American entertainment, playing UV reflective neon balls and fluorescent jerseys before yelling fans and kids lucky enough to win tickets.
The first half of the game usually looks like a regular matchup, with some quirks like pitchers and players in helmets, running backwards at the base. But after a short break there is the universe “transformation” for an entirely new nocturne game.
“For us, it’s just how big of an environment you can create,” said Chris Martin, creator and co-founder of the league. “And how many memories can you bring when the black light is on?”
Martin says that about 80-85% of the players that make up the two teams (the Chili Peppers and Gromojis of the Universe) are former experts who wanted to compete in minor leagues or overseas and be part of something that breaks new ground.
With a big smile, he said, “You looked at something and said, ‘This is absolutely crazy.’ ” he added.
Martin founded the Tri City Chili Peppers a few years ago as part of the summer college league. He told NBC News one day the glowstick and the light bulb left in his head on a night in the ’80s.
Martin said he was initially rejected by the lighting company, who was tasked with pulling it off.
“We met the group and they said, ‘It doesn’t exist,'” Martin recalls. “We can get 300 black lights, but we can have so many spread plays on fields like this, so nothing exists, so we won’t be lit yet.”
Fast forward six months with Heavy Duty R&D, the same company called him to let Martin know they had cracked the code.
“We got a text message saying, ‘Hey, your black light is ready,'” Martin said. “I wasn’t expecting that… I thought (that vision) was over.”
And it’s far from there.
In the second season, Cosmic Baseball is flooded with social media feeds and currently boasts a waiting list of between 300,000 and 400,000.
The Chili Peppers and Gromojis of Space sell attractive merchandise and stolen items that produce long lines at the stadium, but they have seating capacity of around 2,000 people at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights, Virginia.
However, the game’s immense popularity has already expanded its summer schedule, with teams heading their way to large parks in cities such as Nashville, Sugarland and Durham.
Major League Baseball supports the initiative by energizing exhibition games that can one day be played in minors, or even major league parks.
“Our biggest piece is, ‘How do you create a family environment?'” Martin said. “And everyone walks to us at the end of the day and says, ‘This is made for the family.’ ”
