FIRST Pitch

FIRST Pitch

We were contacted by the Houston Astros about repeating FIRST Pitch on Saturday, September 25. The basic idea is for teams to bring their robot to Minute Maid Park so Astro’s fans can learn about FIRST Robotics. If your team decides to bring your robot, you would set it up in the Robot Dugouts where you would be provided with a table and an electrical outlet within 25 feet.

You have two options for buying tickets. You may contact Abby Gallegos at [email protected] or (713) 259-8738 and coordinate the purchase of tickets directly with her and the Houston Astros. The second option is to let us set up a PayPal link just for your team that you can share with anyone you like. We will send the names and addresses of people who purchase tickets to the Astros and they will mail the tickets. We will pay the Astros from the money in the PayPal account. Because PayPal charges a handling fee, the ticket prices will be about 2% higher using this method.

 

We have four major activities planned.

Union Demo Station
Several teams will arrive early and demonstrate robots in the Union Station entrance. Student team members will drive the robots before the game while Astros’ fans are waiting to enter Minute Maid Park. When the crowd moves into the park for the game, these teams would move their robots to one of the other demonstration areas.

Robot Dugouts
The majority of teams would be displaying their robots down Home Run Alley behind left field. Each team will be supplied with one table and an electrical outlet within 25 feet of the table.

Robot Test Drive
Teams will have their robots in the pavilion area to demonstrate driving a robot and shooting. We expect to have an area large enough for 1/2 of a practice field. Teams can also demonstrate autonomous mode.

FIRST Pitch
If sell enough tickets, we may be allowed to make the first pitch at the start of the game. It is even possible this pitch will be made by one of our robots, pending approval by the grounds crew. We have several game pieces painted to look like a baseball.

If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I especially appreciate any suggestions on how to make improvements. Everyone will be wearing their team shirts so it should be quite a sight in Minute Maid Park.