FanFest Attendance in San Diego Tops Totals for Debut in Toronto

The Upper Deck All-Star FanFest attracted a crowd of more than 80,000 over its five-day run, about 10,000 more than its debut last year in Toronto, officials said.

The event drew 22,000 Sunday, 20,000 Saturday and 14,000 Friday and Monday. Tuesday’s crowd was estimated between 10-12,000.

“You can always improve, but we are very happy and the fans were very happy,” said Stu Upson, vice president of Major League Baseball Properties. “We will meet right after this year’s event to find out what worked and didn’t work and incorporate that into the Baltimore event.

“It will be smaller (next year) because of the size of the center, but we expect to do very well.”

Next year’s event will be held in Baltimore Harbour and next to Camden Yards.

Upson said several exhibits were hits for the second consecutive year, including the batting and pitching cages, Hall of Fame, autographs and personalized baseball cards. They also found two new hits: Screen training, allowing fans to voice-over famous baseball moments on video, and the Rookie League locker room for children. Both will be expanded next year.

Top card: FanFest was a celebration of baseball, but it was actor Tom Selleck who stole the show on its final day. Selleck, starring in a Universal film called “Mr. Baseball” about a former major leaguer who plays in Japan and experiences culture clash, was on hand at the Upper Deck Fantasy Card booth Tuesday. About 500 fans swarmed the booth and Selleck.

Selleck, a minor shareholder in the Detroit Tigers, was presented with an enlarged copy of his baseball card, which he hands to his new employers in the movie as a business card.