MLB Network’s Intentional Talk Coming to Cooperstown

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Intentional Talk is coming to the home of baseball for Memorial Day Weekend.

MLB Network’s longest running talk show will broadcast live from Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22, in a special episode dedicated to the Hall of Fame Military Classic and the Hall of Fame’s America 250 celebration.

Two-time All-Star Ryan Dempster will be joined by Siera Santos as the show’s hosts – and Dempster will participate in the following day’s Hall of Fame Military Classic legends game. Special guests joining the program on stage will include Hall of Famers and additional Classic players.

Jake Peavy, an MLB Network analyst, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner and a teammate of Dempster on the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox, will also appear in the Hall of Fame Military Classic.

The weekend will feature a roundtable conversation – streaming online by the Hall of Fame and MLB.com – hosted by famed broadcaster and former Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony emcee Gary Thorne and featuring Hall of Fame Military Classic players with ties to the military.

The May 23 Hall of Fame Military Classic: A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice will feature Hall of Fame managers and coaches along with recently retired MLB players in a seven-inning legends game at Doubleday Field in honor of baseball’s longtime connection to the military.

The Hall of Fame Military Classic will feature Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, Todd Helton, Fergie Jenkins, Tony La Russa, Scott Rolen and Joe Torre along with more than two dozen former big leaguers and include a pregame home run hitting contest.

Fueled by assistance from Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame Military Classic rosters will also feature Jeremy Affeldt, Nick Ahmed, Mark Dewey, Jonny Gomes, Mitch Harris, Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Jonathan Lucroy, Charlie Morton, Josh Reddick, Zach Reks, Chris Rowley, Todd Zeile and Brad Ziegler, with more players announced this spring.

Also participating will be 1981 World Series champion Rick Monday, whose rescue of the American flag at Dodger Stadium in 1976 became a rallying point for the country during that bicentennial year. The flag Monday rescued will be on exhibit at the Hall of Fame from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend.

The Louisville Slugger Warriors amputee baseball team will have four representatives on the roster as well as head coach Curtis Pride, who overcame hearing loss en route to an 11-year career in the big leagues. The Louisville Slugger Warriors are a competitive amputee baseball team that consists of U.S. Military Veterans, Active Duty personnel, Wounded Warriors and current and former amputee college baseball players. They have suffered either loss of limb, partial limb, digits, eye and serious limb deformities. Others have prostheses due to congenital, disease, or trauma-related reasons.

Brittany Apgar and Alyssa Zettlemoyer, who will play in the Women’s Pro Baseball League historic debut season this summer, will also suit up for the Hall of Fame Military Classic.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Military Classic are on sale now online or at 1-888-325-0470 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Memorial Day Weekend in Cooperstown will also feature the Hall of Fame’s popular Night at the Ballpark program. Hall of Fame legends and former players will greet fans throughout Doubleday Field on Saturday, May 23, beginning at 6 p.m., with Hall of Famers participating alongside other former major league stars. While the Night at the Ballpark program is not an autograph session, fans should remember to bring their camera to capture their special memories.

Tickets for Night at the Ballpark are on sale now priced at $100 each and limited to 12 tickets per order. Click here to reserve tickets.

The Cooperstown Classic Clinic for children aged 7-12 will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22, at Doubleday Field. Hall of Fame Military Classic participants will lead the Clinic, with registration information available here.

Also as part of the weekend, guests can golf with legends at historic Leatherstocking Golf Course on Otsego Lake. Participants will enjoy an unforgettable day of golf. Individuals, pairs or foursomes of all skill levels are welcome to join the Hall of Fame Memorial Day Weekend Golf Tournament. A Hall of Fame member or former major leaguer will join each foursome and serve as the team captain.

A fundraiser for the Museum, the scramble-format tournament highlights a full lineup of activities for participants during this unforgettable weekend. For more information on supporting the Hall of Fame through this exclusive golf outing, please call 607-547-0310.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has teamed up with Sports Travel and Tours to offer baseball fans a one-stop opportunity to purchase Military Classic Weekend travel packages. For more information or to plan a trip to Cooperstown, please call 1-888-310-HALL (4255). Membership participants receive a 5% discount on all their baseball travel packages.