Ten-year-old Owen Villamayor approached the batting box with his bat held high and a determined look on his face.
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As the pitching machine spat bright yellow balls across home plate, Villamayor, who plays Little League baseball in Chalfont, took a few strikes and hit a few fouls before he managed to drive a homer into the netting above left field.
“It’s a little harder than you think,” Villamayor said afterward. “The balls come in higher and you have to learn how to hit them.”
Villamayor was one of the dozens of early attendees Saturday morning inside the Convention Center at the Capital One All-Star Village, where the line for the home run derby quickly got as long as a theme park ride on a busy day. Old, young, boys, girls — everybody wanted to hit a dinger.
“This is so nice for all the families,” said his dad, Chris Villamayor, a 44-year-old nurse anesthetist. He said his family, decked out in Phillies gear, was excited for an All-Star Game where six Phillies were chosen to play.
Chris Villamayor said he was in middle school in 1996 when the All-Star Game last came to Philadelphia. So his excitement has been building since the league announced Philly would host the annual midsummer classic game that brings together some of its best players.
“Bryce Harper is definitely our favorite,” Villamayor said.
John Hoesle of Northeast Philly brought his two teenage sons to the All-Star Village, and they got in line to try their hand at a home run. When it was Hoesle’s turn, he was all business, hitting ball after ball, no big deal.
“It was fun,” Hoesle said. He said he played baseball with the Police Athletic League when he was a teen, and never lost his love of the game. Now, he coaches his sons’ team in Bensalem. That has given him countless opportunities to talk to his sons about the lessons that come with the game.
“You’re by yourself when the baseball is hit to you, you feel like you got to make the play, and your teammates are counting on you. It’s just a great feeling for kids to have,” Hoesle said.
At a nearby scaled-down baseball diamond, an array of children tried their best on the turf, while their parents cheered them on.
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Amber Green, 40, took the train from Deptford with her family so that her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter could join in the fun.
“It’s really exciting,” Green said. She and her sister were at Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, when the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park, winning their first World Series since 1980.
Her 4-year-old son has little connection to that generation, Green said, but he recently got to meet Phillies All-Star pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, and now he’s a fan.
“The season is so long, and they can start at such a young age,” Green said. “And to live so close to a major league team, we feel lucky.”
Green said her son had turned to YouTube to prepare for the “Home Run Robber,” a fan event that puts participants in aVelcrosuit and lets them jump into a Velcro wall that looks like an outfield wall, simulating what it would be like to rob a batter of a home run.
“You just jump right up there,” said Walt Diamond, a 14-year-old high school baseball player who came to the All-Star Village with his parents.
The All-Star Village, which is broken into five sections named for areas of Philadelphia, includes tons of other activities. One of the more moving displays charts the history of the Negro Leagues from baseball’s segregated past through the mid-20th century, when Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in MLB.
One big draw is the autograph area and clubhouse, where retired Phillies greats Cole Hamels, Bobby Abreu, and John Kruk are set to make appearances, along with other pro players and even some mascots. With events and autograph signings scheduled through Tuesday, when the All-Star Game starts at 8 p.m., baseball fans still have plenty of time to take in the experience.
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