Gate City Grays hold second annual Reading in the Outfield

POCATELLO — The Gate City Grays and United Way of Southeastern Idaho teamed up to host a Reading in the Outfield event on Thursday.

Terry Fredrickson, owner of the Gate City Grays, said this is the second year they have held this event. He said United Way brings the books, and the players take groups of kids together and read to them.

"The players will read to the kids in the outfield," he said. "It's a really cool event."

When they held the event last year, the field was packed with families coming to read with the players. Fredrickson said there were anywhere between 70 and 100 children total.

"The first time we did it, we packed the ball park with kids coming out to read," he said.

There was a lot of excitement during the event last year because many of the kids had watched Gate City Grays games before. They looked up to the players and were excited to read with them.

"These kids watch them play all summer," Fredrickson said. "The chance to have one of their favorite players read to them is pretty awesome."

Fredrickson said there was a lot of excitement in the community about this event in the days leading up to it. He said before they held it, they had been getting a lot of questions about whether or not it was happening again.

The event was popular last year and many families reached out the Grays on social media to ensure it was still happening.

In addition to children and families in the community, there was excitement among the players on the team about the event. Many of them looked forward to it as well.

"We were out recruiting baseball players for the season, and one of the guys who was on the team last year asked if we were going to do it again," Fredrickson said.

Fredrickson said the reason he wanted to hold this event last year was to inspire young children to read. He said he couldn't read as a kid, so he would have loved an event like this growing up.

"I'm an avid reader now," he said. "For me, it's an opportunity to spark a young reader to have more interest in reading in the future."

The best part about the event was watching the children receive their books. Fredrickson said many of them went and asked their favorite players to sign their books.

"They're going to keep that for awhile," he said. "They're going to remember this experience where they got to read with a baseball player."

Reading in the Outfield with the Gate City Grays was held at Halliwell Park at 1100 West Alameda Road.