Baseball Fans Can Purchase Stamps, Root For The Home Team, Enjoy Fireworks After The Game And Support Pitch In For Baseball

Fort Myers, Cape Coral Fl —“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” has been one of the most popular baseball songs of all time. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the song, the U.S. Postal Service is issuing a 42–cent Take Me Out to the Ball Game commemorative stamp. Two promotions are being offered by the local Post Office.

Sheets of the Take Me Out to the Ballgame stamps will be available for sale at the Saturday, August 30 game between the Fort Myers Miracle and Tampa Yankees at Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers. Those purchasing the stamps will be given a ticket for a drawing of a framed stamp art presentation piece featuring the Take Me Out to the Ballgame stamp; the drawing will be held during the 7th inning of the game. Tickets for the August 30th ball game are available from www.miraclebaseball.com.

The Postal Service is teaming up with Little League Baseball and Pitch In for Baseball, whose mission is to help kids all over the world by sharing the great American pastime. They collect and give baseball equipment and other assistance to young people around the world. To participate in this national program, gently used (or new) baseball gloves can be dropped off at any Post Office or brought to the August 30 Miracle game. The gloves will be distributed locally as well as to the non-profit organization Pitch In For Baseball. Local groups who would like to receive donated gloves are asked to contact Debra Mitchell at 573-9638.

Pitch In for Baseball defines “gently used” as items that are not damaged or in need of repair. The best way to think about something being “gently used” is if you would feel comfortable giving it to a friend or family member.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” remains part of the musical tradition at ballparks around the country, especially during the seventh-inning stretch. The seventh inning stretch is a time-honored baseball custom in which the fans ritualistically stand and stretch before their team comes to bad in the seventh inning. This is done not only to relieve stiff muscles due to sitting the previous six innings, but perhaps also to bring luck to one’s team. Unfortunately, the exact origin of the custom is lost in the earliest days of the game.