*Editor’s note: This article was originally published Thursday. Since then, participants have been announced. They are listed at the bottom.
Dirk Nowitzki was skeptical when, in 2012, organizers asked him to succeed recently retired Mike Modano as host of the Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game.
“I said, ‘No chance. I’ve never played baseball in my life,'” a smiling Nowitzki recalls.
This week, tickets went on sale for the 15th annual Heroes Game, to be played at 7 p.m. Friday, June 10 at Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco.
This will be Nowitzki’s fifth year as host. Proceeds from the game benefit the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation and the Heroes Foundation.
“First year was OK, the second year was better,” Nowitzki says, thinking back over his tenure. “Then that next year when [Tony] Romo and [Jason] Witten, Dez [Bryant] came, that thing was a sellout. Basically the last two years have been sellouts.
“I thought it was going to be tough to do every year and get all these celebs and fans out. But the support has been incredible.”
This year’s celebrity participants will be announced over the next few weeks. Among those who played in last year’s game between the White Sox and Blue Sox were Bryant, Terrance Williams, Steve Nash, Michael Young, Cole Beasley, Brandon Carr, Tyson Chandler, Tyler Seguin and Tyron Smith.
The Heroes game traditionally is played in late June and on a Saturday, but the Frisco RoughRiders play home games every Friday and Saturday in June except for Friday the 10th.
Also, Nowitzki and his family plan to travel to Europe for much of June, visiting Nowitzki’s relatives in Germany and his wife Jessica’s family in Sweden.
Nowitzki has until June 22 to formally opt out of his Mavericks contract. He has already publicly stated that he plans to opt out, then sign a new one- or two-year deal to remain a Maverick.
Dirk Nowitzki 2016 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game tickets cost $9, $13, $17 and $20 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com) and at the Dr Pepper Ballpark Box Office.
Information on the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation is available at http://dnfoundation.org and http://www.swish41.com.
For information on the Heroes Foundation: http://heroesbb.com/?page_id=210
Participants
Cowboys: Cole Beasley, Tyrone Crawford, Byron Jones
Mavericks: Deron Williams, Chandler Parsons, J.J. Barea, David Lee, Devin Harris, Wesley Matthews, JaVale McGee, Salah Mejri, Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans, Raymond Felton, Dwight Powell and coach Rick Carlisle; plus former Mavericks Brian Cardinal and Jason Terry (who currently plays for the Houston Rockets
(Former) Rangers: David Murphy, Michael Young
Actors: Chace Crawford (from Plano), Geoff Stults
