Garth Brooks Will Throw The First Pitch Tonight In Kansas City
Garth Brooks has always shared his love of baseball, and during one point in his massive career, he even played minor league baseball with a couple of MLB teams for fun. The country superstar is now in Kansas City for some baseball action.
Brooks’ relationships with the Kansas City Royals and the Pittsburgh Pirates date back to spring training stints with each in the early years of his Teammates for Kids Foundation. And he’s throwing the first pitch in a game between the two teams tonight.
We're excited to welcome Garth Brooks to #TheK!
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 26, 2023
RELATED: Garth Brooks Announces 'Limited Series' Box Set
Meanwhile, he is gearing up this week for the only stadium-scale concert on his calendar, and the country superstar is really excited for his opening acts, Lainey Wilson and 1980s hit makers Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Garth said in a statement, “I mean, Nitty Gritty – I feel bad for Lainey Wilson and myself because who’s going to follow Nitty Gritty! [But] I betcha she’s on a full tank of gas and full batteries ’cause isn’t she from there?”
Brooks is headlining the first Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff this Saturday (9/2) at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It’s a venue that he’s never played in the course of his career. The event is slated to provide a one-of-a-kind experience to mark the start of tailgate season, college football, and everything that goes with it.
Garth also commented on the renovation progress of “Friends in Low Places,” his forthcoming bar and entertainment venue in the heart of downtown Nashville. He said, “There’s not a floor here you’re gonna want to miss. The first floor is just ‘bring your helmet.’ The second floor gives you a little break from it, but it’s still right in your face. The third floor is just going to be ‘Trisha Yearwood classy.'”
Brooks added, “But the fourth floor – The Oasis? Up on top? That’s going to be where the party’s at.”
Top Five Country Stars Who Also Played Baseball
5 - Eric Church
Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images
Eric played many sports in high school. He played baseball, basketball, football, and golf until a knee injury during his sophomore year in high school derailed his dreams of going pro. He told Greensboro.com a few years back, “I even played golf because, in my junior and senior years of high school, I realized that if you were a golfer, you got to leave at 10 a.m. to go to matches. You didn’t have to be at school all day, and, well, that’s me right there (laughs). So I picked up golf real quick when I realized you got to get out of class.”
4 - Kenny Chesney
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Kenny played baseball at Corryton, Tennessee’s Gibbs High School. He told ESPN several years ago why he was a die-hard Red Sox fan. He said, “It’s a product of, oddly enough, where I grew up. I didn’t grow up in the Northeast or New England at all. But when I was a kid, growing up, we didn’t have cable.The only access to baseball I had was ‘This Week in Baseball,’ and I looked forward to that as a kid. The only games they had on Saturdays always seemed like the Red Sox or Cincinnati Reds.” He added, “I loved those two teams growing up. Even playing Little League, I wanted to be on either the Reds or the Sox as a kid, so that’s where it started.”
3 - Scotty McCreery
Jon Durr/Getty Images
Scotty was his high school’s baseball team pitcher. Scotty was still pitching for his Garner Magnet high school in North Carolina while be competed on Americal Idol in 2011. At the time, the right-handed junior compiled a 6-1 record with a superb 1.07 earned run average.
2 - Brett Young
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Young played baseball in College. Brett was a pitcher on his high school baseball team and led the squad to a CIF championship. He went to Ole Miss on a baseball scholarship in 1999 after turning down the pre-draft selection by both Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Minnesota Twins. His pursuit of a professional baseball career was cut short by an elbow injury while at Fresno in 2003.
1 - Garth Brooks
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Garth played in the spring training camps of two MLB teams in the late 1990s. In 1998, Brooks launched his Touch ’em All Foundation with Major League Baseball. He also began with a short career in baseball when he signed with the San Diego Padres for spring training in 1998 and 1999. The following season, Garth signed with the New York Mets. In 2004, Brooks returned to baseball with the Kansas City Royals. He got his first and only hit off Mike Myers during his final spring training game with the Royals.
