The Hot Stove League comes to life under the big top Saturday with Reds stars Barry Larkin, Bret Boone and Hal Morris and former Reds stars Johnny Bench and Dave Parker posing for pictures, signing autographs and participating in question-and-answer sessions with the fans.
The event, called ''Reds
Fest,'' will be held at the Convention Center. A host of other Reds players past and present will be joining Larkin, Boone, Morris and Bench at the center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
On Friday, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., a special session of RedsFest will be held for season ticket holders and local VIPs.
By baseball standards, the gatherings might be better-termed ''LoveFest.'' The players are getting nothing more than round-trip air fare, a hotel room and a daily $100 stipend.
''The response by the players has been great,'' said Cal Levy, the event's producer. ''A lot of the current guys know it's important to reach out (to the fans). The former players are happy there is something being done on behalf of the club.''
Tickets for RedsFest ($5 for adults; $3 for children 12 and under) may be purchased in advance at the Reds Gift Shop in the Hyatt Regency Hotel or on Saturday at Convention Center. A portion of all proceeds will go to benefit Larkin's ''Caring Team of Athletes'' charity. There is no charge for autographs or photographs.
Reds managing executive
John Allen brought the idea to Levy in mid-October. Levy, a former Reds employee, knew the idea ran counter to the Reds' marketing philosophy of the past decade: Pour money into player payroll, keep ticket and concession prices low and open the gates.
The philosophy worked - until the players went on strike on Aug.Ç12, 1994. Reds fans didn't return to the ballpark in anywhere near pre-strike numbers.
''We asked the fans what they wanted - and one of the big things they wanted is more inter
action with the players,'' Allen said. ''They also wanted a connection with the team's history and tradition. They wanted to have fun. From that came the concept for 'RedsFest.'Ç''
Levy, who years ago had attended ''CubsFest,'' a three-day long bash in Chicago's biggest convention hotel, also studied offseason festivals in Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
The Cubs had been doing it for 12 years, Pirates six, Indians five and Tigers two.
''The overriding theme is that it's an opportunity for the fans and players to get
together,'' Levy said.
The event's sponsor is Klosterman Baking Co.
Levy emphasizes that RedsFest is a fan festival, not an autograph show. For example, it isn't likely that very many fans will be able to score a Larkin or a Bench autograph. But if fans come to the event with the idea that there will be a lot of fun things to do - as well as to get some player's autograph and a photograph with some player - they figure to have a good time, Levy said.
There is a limit of one autographed item per person. You can bring the item with you, purchase something at Redsfest or use the four-page program which will be given to all
attendees. For photographs, fans must bring cameras or purchase disposable cameras at the Convention Center.
In the 1970s, the Reds were one of baseball's crown-jewel franchises with a great team and a modern stadium. But as the game moved toward ''retro'' ballparks and fan-friendly marketing, the Reds languished. They have come under heavy criticism in recent years for a sterile ballpark, a stagnant atmosphere and a complete failure to celebrate the club's history.
Allen is trying to change that.
Last September, he displayed on the left-field wall at Cinergy Field the retired numbers of Bench and the late manager Fred Hutchinson, and soon will convene a panel to study what other numbers should be retired. He commissioned the making of plaques to honor the 50-some members of the Reds Hall of Fame - those plaques will be on display Saturday.
''The idea was to make the display mobile so that we can move it around (Cinergy Field) when the season starts,'' Allen said. ''We wanted something to serve as a bridge to the new stadium, where hopefully there will be a museum.''
There haven't been any Reds elected to the Hall of Fame since Bench in 1988; Allen hopes to rekindle that.
The mobile Hall of Fame isn't for everybody.
''But there will be a little bit of something for everybody at RedsFest,'' Allen said.
For example, fans will get to ''call'' a half-inning of a baseball game being played on a big screen TV; audio tapes will be recorded and presented to the participants.
There will also be hourly drawings for prizes such as Sony Walkmans and televisions and Reds tickets, including a pair of tickets to a Reds game next year at Jacobs Field in Cleveland - a historic trip in the first year of interleague play.
Besides displays of Reds memorabilia (including the World Championship trophies of 1975 and 1976) at RedsFest, there will booths with baseball memorabilia for sale.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
