Baseball Opening Day in the Heartland

April 1-3, 2007, Cincinnati, Ohio
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Director Jess Baily
Telephone: 202-504-6327; Email: bailyj@state.gov

Following on the observation that "whoever wants to know the hear and mind of America had better learn baseball," journalists from Germany, China, Korea and the Netherlands traveled to Cincinnati, the home of baseball's oldest professional team where Opening Day is a civic holiday. 

Journalists met with Cincinnati Reds management, Mayor Mak Mallory and Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell, business leaders, and dozens of fans at the traditional Findlay Market Parade and in stadium seats to understand baseball in the economic and civic life of the city and the country as a whole.