It’s safe to say that the majority of baseball fans will never hit a home run over the Green Monster in Fenway Park. However, if you’re in London from June 30-July 4 you might come as close to being David Ortiz as ever thanks to MLB Battlegrounds VR.
The full-sensory experience will offer fans a chance to play in a “Home Run Derby” as a member of the Boston Red Sox or Los Angeles Dodgers. It is set inside a 10-foot steel cage where an Altec Lansing (major partner of the event) quadraphonic speaker system will have the crowd roaring as you step to the plate. The first-of-its-kind publicly playable experience will also make use of HTC VIVE technology.
“Battlegrounds is an amazing opportunity to bring our European fans this unique combination of virtual interactive technology and the challenge, skills and fun atmosphere of Major League Baseball,” Jamie Leece, the VP Games & VR for MLB.com, aid in a statement.
Love the epic VR home run battle between @ColinMurray and @gailemms? Try it yourself at #MLBBATTLEGROUNDS @PopBrixton tomorrow and Saturday! pic.twitter.com/CI8FgaOOfw
— MLB UK (@mlb_uk) June 29, 2017
Battlegrounds was available to the public in two London locations: POP Brixton until July 1 and Hyde Park until July 4. Former MLB sluggers Shawn Green, Cliff Floyd and Carlos Peña are set to be at the event.
Joining the stars in Hyde Park on the fourth will be England international cricketers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler. The two will partake in a Home Run Derby of their own along with Green, Floyd and Peña.