I was traveling back to Rhode Island recently, after a stop in Virginia Beach, via the Norfolk International Airport. Sitting in the available seating for my designated gate, I struck up a conversation with a Navy family – a proud family whose son went to Annapolis, played sports, graduated, and is now enrolled at the US Naval War College in Newport, RI. Of course, I engaged this family for as long as I could, told them about Newport (my favorite city in the USA), told them about the Save the Bay, and the great restaurants. And, I told them not to miss the Cardines Classic, which typically takes place in the fall. They agreed to check it out and definitely let their son know, as I grabbed my backpack and headed home to Rhode Island.
As fate would have it, I recently received a nice email and call from the US Naval War College and more specifically a familiar correspondence. Dave Kohnen, PhD, Cmdr. USN (Ret.) and I have been communicating about the Cardines Classic for a few years now and I was thrilled to open and read his email. I have been more than happy to promote this event and even attended a few of the games over the years. So, what is the Cardines Classic? Here is a YouTube informational video from the US Naval War College website explaining the event:
The Cardines Classic is a family friendly event that is very unique to baseball. Sure, at a youth baseball game everyone cheers for every kid while they are up at the plate. However, and based on the many thousands of games I have attended over the years, as kids get older the cheering becomes a lot more specific to family members. You will hear Mom cheer for Tommy or Dad cheer for Joey and when a player does well, the entire cheering section roars. This Cardines Classic produces some of the loudest fans who literally cheer for every batter, every hit, every out, every strikeout, every walk. The teams are comprised of US Naval War College attendees, so everyone is on the same team despite the two different sides – Army vs Navy. Of the many, many events I have covered at Cardines, this one is one of my favorite to attend.
So, mark your calendars for Friday, September 29th and the 6th Annual Cardines Classic. Free admission, great baseball (these players are not just showing up, they can play), the Cardines Field experience, Newport in the fall, and a family fun event that you will be talking about for weeks and months to follow.
For more information about the event, you can contact the staff at the US Naval War College via their website – US Naval War College.
The Rhiter 
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