A baseball-themed sculpture has been on Fountain Square since early July, but it was officially dedicated Friday morning. “2015 Batter Up Cincinnati” resembles a batting cage with both ends lifted off the ground. Baseballs are jammed into the chain-link fence as if they were hit there.
The piece was designed by students in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati to celebrate Cincinnati’s place in history as the home of the first professional baseball team.
There are nearly 4,000 baseballs on the sculpture; 1,869 of those balls represent the year the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional ball club. Another 2,015 baseballs represent the year of the most recent All-Star Game held in Cincinnati.
The baseballs are numbered and can be sponsored.
The sculpture will remain on Fountain Square until just before Oktoberfest. It's not clear yet where it will be displayed after that.
