Louie Smith Home Run Derby returns Friday

The crowd at the inaugural Louie Smith Memorial Home Run Derby charity event last year was 5-6 people deep with packed stands. Organizers think there could be twice as many people this year.

“I think we are at the tip of the iceberg with what we can do with this. We could have three rounds, and qualifying rounds a couple weeks before the actual main event, and get people to come out and qualify to be in the derby. I think it is that big,” said Chris Smith, son of Louie Smith and one of the organizers of the event. “Last year it was so big, I think we could have turned around the next day and had another one and drawn just as many people.”

The derby, organized to raise money for youth sports, is free admission and starts at 6 p.m. Friday at Strenfel Memorial Field at Poplar Bluff High School. Gates will open at 5 p.m. Those interested may purchase a VIP seat for $25 that reserves a seat-back chair and includes free food and drink. However, as of noon Wednesday, less than 10 were still available.

The Poplar Bluff community is pushing hard to get this iceberg going. Last year, the 20 allotted sponsorships at $200 each sold out in less than 12 hours. This year, 25 sponsorships sold out in less than a day.

“We have people reaching out to us saying how do I sponsor, what can I do. They want their name associated with it, which is awesome,” Smith said.

There will be 26 batters swinging for the fences this year. If everyone who wanted to compete was allowed to sign up, the derby would be going on for days.

“We still have people messaging every day,” Smith said. “I think we set the bar so high last year that without doing anything the hype was already there when we started. Everything we have done since is just building on it.”

Added Louie Smith Memorial Home Run Derby committee member Stefanie Brumitt, “They are not only excited to go out there and put on a show, but they are excited about what they are hitting for … Some of them aren’t even from here. But to know they are giving back to youth athletics …”

With the derby taking place on Easter weekend, the Easter Bunny will be on hand and after the first round of hitting is completed, 2,000 Easter eggs will be scattered in the outfield for an Easter egg hunt for those 8 years old and younger. Fortunately, the committee was able to find pre-filled eggs on Amazon.

“We were going to build an entire committee just for stuffing eggs,” Smith said. “I’m not going to lie, there might be 4-5 in there that might be missing candy.”

Children 9 and up can be partnered with the current members of the Poplar Bluff baseball team and help field fly balls. There will also be an opportunity for all children to run the bases, as well as take photos at a selfie station, get their faces painted and get temporary tattoos.

Bluff Powersports is providing an ATV as a parking lot shuttle.

There will be a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction for a one-of-a-kind pair of Jordan baseball cleats, featuring an outdoor landscape that includes two men in a boat fishing on one shoe, and deer in the woods on the other.

With the help of sponsors, all concessions will be $1 for the event, which again is free admission.

“We really hang out hat on this being a thing where you can show up with zero dollars and have a good time,” Smith said. “You can walk in with $10 and have a good time and feed your family.”

Kona Ice will also be on hand and is donating 20% of sales. Chris Rushin returns as the MC and DJ Dave Williams of AtoM Entertainment is back to keep the music playing.

“Those guys really made a difference. Instead of having just musing playing and silence, or people hitting and talking, those guys fed off each other and got the crowd excited,” Smith said. “Those guys made it a lot more fun.”

Carol Davis will be presented with the first Bud Fritts, Champion of Youth Award, which the committee plans to present each year to a member of the community who has made a contribution to youth sports and exemplifies the qualities of Fritts. The award is sponsored by Thurman Land Grading.

“He volunteered his time whether it was coaching or just being on boards for local youth sports, even when his kids weren’t involved,” Brumitt said.

The derby will include the Debbie Collins Memorial Bonus Ball, which will count as two home runs, and First Missouri State Bank will donate $10 for every bonus ball hit over the fence.

Last year’s event raised $10,200, leaving $6,400 after expenses, Smith said. The committee has since used some of those funds to send the Greenville Perfectos, which includes players from around the area, to Colorado for the Junior Babe Ruth World Series.

The committee, which is comprised of Smith, Brumitt, Seth Gragg, Matt Mansfield, JC Clifford, Mikey Mizell, and Emily Thurman, is currently in the process of helping the East Carter High School baseball team.

“(East Carter) told us once they bought hats for their team, their budget for baseball was pretty much depleted,” Smith said. “So we are going to reach out to them and help them. But we are just getting started. It is not like we are out here blowing money. We are waiting for the right time and the right thing.”

Long term, the committee wants to expand both its reach and its resources. Maybe have a softball home run derby, an adult punt pass and kick competition, a basketball hoop shoot, kickball tournaments, golf tournaments, soccer tournaments.

“Just fun stuff to raise money that people want to get behind. The possibilities are endless,” said Smith, who admits the committee is putting in a lot of late nights just for the home run derby. “We are working right now to become a true non-profit. Hopefully, that is done in the next couple of months. Once that is done, we can start applying for these grants and the sky is the limit … We’ve come up here at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning and written 14 pages of by-laws. None of us knew what we are doing but we did it. We know we have to.”

Added Mansfield, “A lot of people don’t know who we are. We are still trying to get out there and make connections with people who need this stuff. A lot of times pride gets in the way and they don’t even want to ask.”

The ultimate goal is to get to a place where if a kid wants to play youth sports, they can. And not just by means of writing a check to this team or that team. The committee wants to aid the volunteers who are providing small things like transport and food.

Because sometimes kids go hungry, sometimes they just can’t get to practice, and sometimes there’s help.