ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Coca-Cola Park has transformed into a massive neon spectacle on Friday night, played entirely under UV black lights.
But how do the players in charge of making split second plays deal with these fluorescent conditions?
Hitting a blazing fastball is one of the hardest feats in sports.
To prepare for doing it in the dark, the athletes spend weeks in black-light spring training.
“That means batting practice indoors during the day. And when we get a chance to get out on the field, it’s black light training at night as well,” said Marcus Judd, Glow Mojis second baseman.
“Hitting 90 mile, 90 mile an hour and 100 mile an hour in the dark is tough,” Judd said. “But when you have guys around you, organization around you, people around you to uplift you, it makes everything so much easier.”
That camaraderie helps fuel an atmosphere that completely re-invents America’s pastime.
“One thing about Cosmic Baseball is it feels more like a baseball game that breaks out at a party, so everyone’s going crazy. The music playing the entire game, the energy is off the hook,” said Max Fries, first baseman for the Chili Peppers.
That atmosphere has driven massive nationwide growth, expanding the tour from eight cities to 30 this season. Founder Chris Martin says the Lehigh Valley crowds broke the scale.
“The demand here in Lehigh was absolutely incredible. So we’ll play in front of 30,000 fans this weekend out of 750,000 on the year. So really excited and just happy to be here,” Martin said.
Cosmic Baseball continues through Saturday night, and those who were lucky enough to get a ticket before they sold out are reminded to wear their own neon gear to become part of the show.