HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (KATV) — Baseball fans, get ready to swing into action as the eighth annual Hot Springs Baseball Weekend is set to hit a home run on August 8th and 9th. Steve Arrison, the father of the event and CEO of Visit Hot Springs, shared the exciting lineup for this year’s festivities.

“This is, I think, gosh, our ninth year for doing it,” said Arrison.

“We started it with Bob Gibson way back in the day. And we’ve got six great players coming this year. In addition this year, we have the 14-year-old Babe Ruth World Series that will bring 15 teams in. I think 5 of them are international. We have the Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, coming to play all our U.S. teams. So, that’ll be fun. It’s all going on that same weekend of August 8 and August 9.”

The event will feature a star-studded roster of Major League Baseball legends, including Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Ferguson Jenkins, as well as Brett Saberhagen, Bill Lee, Al Hrabosky, and Steve Garvey.

Fans can look forward to free panel discussions with these baseball greats at the Hot Springs Convention Center in Horner Hall.

Arrison highlighted the rich baseball history of Hot Springs, noting, “It started back in 1866. Cap Anson brought the old Chicago White Stockings, which are now the Chicago Cubs. They came here way back then. Babe Ruth, his rookie season, he was here. Hank Aaron hit home runs here. Jackie Robinson played here. Just a great baseball history. So that’s sort of what we’re doing every year. We remind people of the great baseball heritage that we have here, not only in Hot Springs, but in the state of Arkansas. You know Babe Ruth played in Little Rock as well.”

The weekend promises to be a grand celebration of baseball heritage, complete with a baseball card show starting at 8:30 a.m. on August 9th.

Arrison emphasized, “It’s not an autograph signing event. It’s not an autograph event. This is hear them talk, you know, about when they played the game, but it’s totally free to the public.”

For those interested in attending the Babe Ruth World Series, tickets are available here.

With the lakes shimmering and the sun shining, it’s the perfect time to visit Hot Springs and immerse yourself in baseball nostalgia.