Minor league teams to play 'virtually

[911S Targa]

The Kansas City T-Bones and Schamburg Flyers of the independent Northern League can take it easy at the start of their July 16th game off. That's because the first two innings will be played virtually.

According to a report in the Kansas City Star two video gamers will climb into recliners stationed at home plate, grab their Microsoft Xbox game controllers and slug it out for two innings on the park's 16- by 24-foot video screen.
Whatever the score is after those two innings will stand when the teams take the field to finish the game in more conventional fashion.

The idea originally came from the 6-year-old niece of Bryan Williams, director of community relations for the T-Bones.

"It was a fun way to get my niece involved in things I do every day," Williams said. "Then it just grew and grew and took off."

The two combatants will be determined through video game competitions at CompUSA stores in Overland Park and Independence, Kan.

The virtual game is a first for professional baseball, but unique promotions are commonplace for the Kansas City team. Last year, the T-Bones auctioned rights to a fan's night on eBay. The winning bidder found his likeness on 3,000 bobblehead dolls.