E31: The Glow-Up: Cosmic Baseball Arrives in Mesa

City Limitless® – The Podcast
Episode 31: Cosmic Baseball

[Intro]

We always focused on fan entertainment, right? That was the whole background of it. We want the non baseball fan to come out to the ballpark, enjoy good beer, good food, good entertainment, socialize, hang out, have fun. And then it turned into, well how can we be even better?

I said, well what if we install black lights in the stadium just for the fans, and then we play baseball on it? It’d be pretty cool, they can party, they can have some fun. Then you start doing R&D research and you realize there’s no black lights large enough to do this. So we thought it was dead for a while.

Coming from the cold, and like I laughed with you guys, I was like, bundle up. We’re outside. It’s cold, but it’s probably like 65 degrees. And you guys are like, no, wait, this is awesome.

Oh, absolutely. Like my son’s missing school tomorrow for snow. So yeah. I mean, as we’re all going to school tomorrow for sunshine.

Ashley: Well, Chris, I want to start with you. I was doing a lot of research on this. This is a new concept that has come across our table, which is super exciting. I feel like sports is evolving to just entertainment in general. It’s not just grab your beer, grab a dog, and watch baseball for hours on end. There’s more that’s going into it. I want to get a little bit of background on you and how cosmic baseball all came to be.

Chris: Yeah. So our team, it was the Tri-City Chili Peppers and the Coastal Plain League. And we always focused on fan entertainment, right? That was the whole background of it. We want the non-baseball fan to come out to the ballpark, enjoy good beer, good food, good entertainment, socialize, hang out, have fun.

And that’s kind of where it started, constantly entertaining. And then it turned into, well how can we be even better? We had these kids with light up sticks in the stadium. It was a sellout game. It was really cool. It was fun, but I also felt pretty fake, right? Because our stadium lights are on. So they’re waving these sticks around and they’re not really glowing.

So I said, what if we install black lights in the stadium just for the fans? And then we play baseball on it. It would be pretty cool. They can party. They can have some fun.

But what we realize is natural white light will dominate black light. So what if you can turn off all the lights and make it happen? Then you start doing R&D research and you realize there’s no black lights large enough to do this. So we thought it was dead for a while.

Ashley: So now you’re in the light business too.

Chris: Absolutely. Yeah, no, I’m going to a show tomorrow for it.

Ashley: Now, tell me about what kind of talent you’re looking for when you’re recruiting players.

Chris: Multiple different guys, right? One, they’ve got to be able to play baseball at a high level. We’re always looking for guys that have played professional baseball or played at a very high level of college ball.

But guys that also get it. We don’t want the player that wants to come out there and be serious and not talk to fans and not engage. We’re looking for players that love the game, love their fans first. They can go 0 for 3 on the day and still sign autographs after the game. That’s really important to us.

Ashley: What’s one of your favorite interview questions?

Chris: Tell me a story or experience that you’ve had in your past that you’ll always remember, a lasting impact. And then tell me one that was a negative impact on your experience in the sport.

By getting both, you see the emotional side of a player. And traditionally it’s like, I went to a ballpark and got Cal Ripken’s autograph. That’s the moment that sparked everything. So we try to eliminate the moment that lost the joy, and try to add those highlight moments.

Ashley: Tell me about some obstacles you’ve had with cosmic baseball.

Chris: The hardest piece is it’s never been done before. It started with, hey, I want to install black lights onto the baseball field. I met with a lighting manufacturer and asked, is this possible?

He came back and said, Chris, you can install 300 black lights on this field, it still won’t work. They aren’t meant to have that much spread and be strong enough to reach the distance we need. They’re 90 to 100 feet up on poles.

So they spent six months of R&D designing the light itself. They built it for us. I’m outside spray painting the ball, setting a massive light up on a dugout, throwing it up in the air by myself, because I didn’t want it to fail. Everyone looked at me like I was a little crazy, which is fair.

We started with 18. Now we’re on the road with 100 black lights for every game.

Ashley: Max, I want to talk about you. You’re first baseman for the Chili Peppers. Tell me about yourself and how you got involved.

Max: My story goes back to playing at a small Division III school called Earlham College. I thought my career might be coming to an end. I loved the game and wanted to see what was next.

I started using TikTok and Instagram to showcase my game, motivate kids, give coaching drills. Within a week, I had a video hit half a million views.

Ashley: What was the video?

Max: Men’s mental health month. I did a little voiceover and it took off. I had around 200,000 on TikTok and 100,000 on Instagram. I played five years at Earlham because my freshman year was COVID, so I got two degrees and a master. My dad jokes I’m the most educated glow-in-the-dark baseball player of all time.

Ashley: What is the Coastal Plain League?

Chris: It’s current college players. You’ll have guys that play all over the country, they fly in, they play for the summer for two months, then go back home. Think of it as guys getting constant reps, like Cape Cod League is a similar style.

Ashley: Max, you’ve been doing a series on social, 30 things you didn’t know you needed to know playing baseball. What could a 31st thing be?

Max: Chase after whatever you want with all you got. I truly believe God has a plan for each of us. Chase after that, trust in him, trust in yourself, have passion for what you do.

Ashley: We’re partnering with you guys to give a family four-pack away when this episode airs.

Thank you for coming out today and hanging out with me in the Neon Garden at The Post. We’re excited to see you back here in May.

Chris: Thanks for having us. Can’t wait to see you all again.

Max: Thanks, guys.

[Outro]

Alright guys, that is a wrap. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy new year, and we will see you next year. Check us out on YouTube, don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and we’ll see you next year. Bye.