There’s a ton of baseball (and gaming) related activity going on this week in St. Louis revolving around tonight’s 2009 MLB All-Star Game, but one particular event yesterday probably meant more to more people than all the rest.
As part of the Pros vs GI Joes program, PlayStation welcomed a St. Louis-based Army group in to compete in a little MLB 09 tournament against FanFest attendees. The winning soldier, Richy Kohler, took home a PS3, a copy of the game, and scored tickets to tonight’s MLB All-Star game.
But the best part was when Detroit Tigers All-Star pitcher Edwin Jackson showed up at the PlayStation Truck. He took on soldiers based in Kuwait in a 3-inning game via the PlayStation Network, which was definitely a memorable experience for all involved. Jackson then stuck around to take on Kohler in a friendly game (and won). I caught up with Jackson before he had to head off to practice, and he proved to be a real class act. Do me a favor and take a look at what he (and some of the soldiers) had to say:
I think we’ve all gotten accustomed to playing against our friends (and total strangers) online over the past few years, but it was really cool to see how meaningful that connection can be to people stationed so far from home.
(Average: 4.20 out of 5)
39 Comments // 3 Replies
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1
Neil | July 14th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
And knowing is half the battle.
2
StonTemplePilot | July 14th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
ummmm the other half would be doing the right thing?
3
agc8602 | July 14th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Hi Jeff, I still haven’t received the Uncharted 2 schwag bag. Is there anyone to talk to about that?
Jeff Rubenstein replied on July 14, 2009 at 9:51 pm
http://twitter.com/SonyPlayStation/status/2635223214
4
UltimaChocochu | July 14th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Stuff for our troops is always awesome.
Good job guys.
5
Vengeful-Chaos | July 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Nice vid, that was very cool of Jackson to stick around and play against our troops.
What was the score between Kohler and Jackson?
6
The_Punisher111 | July 14th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
“”He took on soldiers based in Kuwait”"
Damn. Thats a one man army. Damn Iraqis will never leave that poor defenseless country alone.
Support our troops \m/
7
TwiztedR3DHead | July 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
aight ps gettin thangs done
8
Ftwrthtx | July 14th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Great to hear MLB players supporting our troops and being very classy.
Definitely not a classless “Manny being Manny” type of thing, but a real class act.
Kudos to Edwin Jackson and double kudos to our troops around the world.
9
Tebeau23 | July 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Hey Jeff…How’s Saint Louis?
:D
10
infamousXX87XX | July 14th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Good on Sony’s part….
Is it just me or has the blog been lacking in worthy info/blog entries lately
11
spunnups | July 14th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
That’s awesome. I wish I could be there.
12
ADR143 | July 14th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
good job guys this is awesome
13
TheMissingLink | July 14th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I’m shocked it was playable online. I had a hard enough time with the lag on the same coast :/
14
NEJI64 | July 14th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
YANKEES RULE….
15
PullusPardusUS | July 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
eh… kuwait is not in war , its a peacful boring (and piece of S@!#) place, i know cause i live there, Iraq is the one at war, not even Iran is effected by it.
and yes all US Troops do in here is play video games and throw parties.
16
djpenny1 | July 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Goooo Toronto Blue Jays
17
Anti-Dentite | July 14th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Jesus. Where’s the info on Trine, Fat Princess, Grand Turismo and many many countless things? If I wanted to get info on “Roidball” I’ll go to ESPN.
18
Tebeau23 | July 14th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Well there at the game! Gotta love iphones right? Bigz 2 was great might have to get it!
19
LUGIEZ | July 14th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
sweet stuff
20
Salem13 | July 14th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
All politics aside, that was a really cool thing to do for the troops!
21
DonnyG | July 14th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Good stuff.
22
Zhi13 | July 14th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
The American League Won! jaja so much for the prediction lol but no matters MLB The Show is the best!
Jeff Rubenstein replied on July 14, 2009 at 9:53 pm
It got the total number of runs right, though. I guess nobody could predict Pujols’ early error that made the difference.
23
Enigma777 | July 14th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Am I the only one having problems with the embedded videos lately? Every time my mouse moves over the video, it refreshes and starts the video from the beginning…
Jeff Rubenstein replied on July 14, 2009 at 9:54 pm
what browser are you using?
Also, the player will be getting upgraded in the next couple of weeks to HD quality.
24
Vengeful-Chaos | July 14th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I was rooting for the National League :(. Overall it was a good game that was close with some great plays.
25
RPKK | July 14th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
@23
Same thing happens to me when I use Firefox. Safari seems to be fine though.
26
Enigma777 | July 15th, 2009 at 1:37 am
@Jeff: I’m running FF…
27
Onna76_NL | July 15th, 2009 at 1:50 am
This is totally off topic but what is the big idea of Sega Sammy to bring Valkyria Chronicles sequel to the PSP?! Man, my PS3 is already crying because of JRPG dryness, could it get any worse?! I bet most fans are kind of disappointed about this since they all own the PS3 version *duh*.
28
Onna76_NL | July 15th, 2009 at 1:51 am
I’m using the final FF version no problems here by the way…
29
JesseHaysFL | July 15th, 2009 at 3:59 am
Mr. Rubenstien,
You guys did a really good thing there.In my personal opinion I think it would be cool if there was an SCEA PSN release that would donate some of the proceeds to The Walter Reed Medical Center, and maybe a few PS3’s for our injured soldiers to play. I think you guys could help make a difference in the all to tough lives of an injured vet returning in this economic climate.
I know I would buy whatever the game was in a heartbeat. Anyway just a thought, if you happen to read this thanks.
Anyone who reads this and would like to help read this article..
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/29/game-therapy-at-walter-reed-medical-center/
30
JesseHaysFL | July 15th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Here is the official army web site on how to help.
http://giftstoarmy.army.mil/
31
Jewdo | July 15th, 2009 at 5:39 am
@ Post 1, nice
32
zombie9 | July 15th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I have problems with (video) The company I work for usees internet filter to block Websites and Streaming Video. Makes me feel like back in High school again. But I’m just glad they don’t block the blog. But I guesss I should be working and not bloging also. Troop suport is cool and I think anyone who serves should get a free PS3 :)
33
daniel1908 | July 15th, 2009 at 6:38 am
Anyone have a clue when we can expect Fat Princess on PSN? Please someone tell me when!!!!!!!!!
34
MAGNUM-RAM | July 15th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I want hulu.com back
I love mlb09 the show!
I keep messing up on rtts though, im just a big bag of nerves. the curveball has and looks like it always will intimidate me.
35
acerazer1 | July 15th, 2009 at 9:19 am
It’s been a long road for Edwin Jackson, this being his third or fourth organization. Glad he’s starting to figure it out and live up to his potential.
36
Thrasher20 | July 15th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Where is MAG?
37
patrol2008 | July 15th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I was able to make it to this event it was awesome to see. Fan fest was an amazing event. The truck looked great. Way to go PS on giving back.
38
Thomaticus | July 15th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
We should always show appreciate to the troops as best we can. Good job Sony!
39
Cerberus_Hunter | July 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
@23
Same here, using Firefox 3.5
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