Braves, Reds awed by sights as MLB hits Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Cincinnati manager Terry Francona noticed the sheer size of Bristol Motor Speedway rising up from the mountains arsenic the Reds arrived Saturday connected their buses.

The champion mode to picture the speedway? Huge.

Big capable successful information to spot not one, but 2 shot diamonds. Francona's Reds request lone 1 for the MLB Speedway Classic against the Atlanta Braves connected Saturday nighttime successful the infield astatine Bristol Motor Speedway, besides called "The Last Great Colosseum."

Francona approves of each the hard work.

"When you get extracurricular of the field, it's really beauteous cool," Francona said. "The mode the stands benignant of each look in, the ones they're using, it looks beauteous cool."

The MLB Speedway Classic was archetypal announced astir a twelvemonth agone arsenic portion of commissioner Rob Manfred's propulsion to instrumentality MLB to places wherever shot isn't played each time live. MLB played a crippled astatine the "Field of Dreams" movie tract successful Iowa successful some 2021 and 2022. Alabama, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, too.

Now it's clip for Tennessee, which has teams successful the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLS but nary MLB squad adjacent arsenic a radical chases an enlargement franchise for Nashville. This crippled mixes the affluent racing past of some Bristol, which hosts a brace of NASCAR races each year, and Tennessee.

"When you locomotion up to Bristol Motor Speedway, overmuch similar galore of our venues, you cognize you're astatine a large iconic sports location," said Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's elder vice president of planetary events. "You consciousness it. You locomotion into Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, you consciousness it. And that's what Bristol Motor Speedway is for NASCAR."

Before the gates opened, fans enjoyed a enactment portion featuring a 110-foot Ferris wheel, contention cars painted successful MLB squad colors with nutrient trucks, unrecorded music, pitching tunnels and batting cages, a accidental for photos with the Commissioner's Trophy, and Clydesdales.

Inside, prima Tim McGraw performed and told fans his precocious father, pitcher Tug McGraw, didn't fare excessively good against either the Reds oregon Braves. Pitbull took the signifier with McGraw.

Players stood successful the backmost of pickup trucks with their numbers emblazoned connected the broadside and rode astir the half-mile bullring racetrack. Some utilized their phones to papers the moment. For introductions, the Braves and Reds walked betwixt a brace of cars decked retired successful Atlanta and Cincinnati colors.

Starting pitcher Spencer Strider, who grew up successful adjacent Knoxville, got a bigger ovation than Reds starter Chase Burns, who is from Hendersonville and played astatine the University of Tennessee.

NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott joined a brace of Hall of Famers successful Johnny Bench and Chipper Jones for the ceremonial archetypal pitch.

Then, the tarp came retired arsenic rainfall that had been falling astir Bristol overmuch of Saturday turned dense and delayed the start.

"Honestly, my archetypal thought [is] I can't judge they did each this for 1 game," Braves archetypal baseman Matt Olson said of his archetypal sojourn to Bristol. "To beryllium capable to acceptable each this up, get a playing aboveground ready, acceptable the stands up successful bid to person the due viewing, it's beauteous incredible."

The Reds, chasing an NL wild-card berth, divided the archetypal 2 games successful this bid with Atlanta. The rubber lucifer volition beryllium a portion of past arsenic the archetypal Major League Baseball crippled played successful the authorities of Tennessee.

Pitcher Andrew Abbott showed up Saturday day astatine Bristol wearing a cut-off mentation of a NASCAR contention suit. Born successful Lynchburg, Virginia, Abbott said helium wanted thing to deterioration successful for a peculiar game.

"I grew up astir NASCAR," Abbott said. "Just went connected eBay and recovered a mates options, and luckily that was the 1 that arrived successful time. I had a mates of backups. I cognize who Rusty Wallace is too, truthful I really bash cognize the backstory down it."

These teams volition play earlier the largest assemblage ever to spot an MLB regular-season game, too. More than 85,000 radical mightiness not make the sound the accustomed contention cars do, but Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said there's a large container of receptor plugs disposable successful the Braves' clubhouse.

"I don't cognize if I've ever been astir this galore people," Snitker said.

MLB didn't effort to merchantability each summons wrong the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol assemblage shot crippled successful 2016. The way with a racing capableness of 146,000 could big 90,000 oregon much adjacent with sections blocked off.

Officials announced Monday much than 85,000 tickets had been sold -- topping the erstwhile paid attendance of 84,587 acceptable Sept. 12, 1954, erstwhile Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.

A batter volition person to wide 400 feet to deed thing retired of halfway field, 375 successful the alleys and 330 down each basal line. Pulling a shot down the enactment raises the imaginable of a shot bouncing disconnected the racetrack beyond the outfield wall. Olson wouldn't caput that being a archetypal for him.

"We privation to triumph the game, but it'd beryllium chill to deed 1 wherever you've ne'er deed one," Olson said.