Reds celebrate youth baseball in Play Ball game

CINCINNATI — The Reds’ inaugural Play Ball game with plastic bats may not have been a game that counted in any standings, but that didn’t stop it from erupting into faux controversy on the first play.

One of the eight Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) youth invited to play in the game, which took place before the Reds’ game with the Nationals on Friday night, hit a chopper down the third-base line, and it came to rest on the brown turf representing the line at the Reds’ Fan Zone Field at Great American Ball Park. It was ultimately called fair by acting umpire Charley Frank, the executive director of the Reds Community Fund, much to the dismay of manager Phillip Castellini, the Reds’ chief operating officer.

“It took all of one pitch to realize this game was going to be a little more competitive than we may have been led to believe,” said Frank, who began the game with split umpire-game caller duties. “We had to sort of give up the microphone to take on the umpiring responsibilities full time, which was a thankless job.”

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