Seated right above the dugout close enough to hear the chatter of players and smell the faint scent of sweat, a little boy reaches to catch a ball he just got autographed by all-star baseball players from the Coastal Plain League.
Lewis Bynum, 9, is an all-star himself for his baseball team, and has been for the past four years according to Kayla Bynum, his mother.
That is one reason the Bynum family decided to drive more than an hour from Peachtree City to watch the 2025 Coastal Plain League All-Star Game on Monday.
The Coastal Plain League is a collegiate summer wood-bat baseball league that features players from colleges across the nation. The Macon Bacon have been a part of the league since 2018, but this is the first time they have hosted the CPL All-Star game. Kai Decker, a Mercer University baseball player, and Billy Ham represented the Macon Bacon at the All-Star game Monday on the West All-Star roster.
The Bynums also came because they’re big Macon Bacon fans.
Since the Bynums found the Macon Bacon on Facebook three years ago, they have come to as many summer games as they could. For Ryan Bynum, Lewis’ dad, the fan base is unrivaled and it’s a fun atmosphere. When asked if he would rather go to the upcoming MLB All-Star game, which will be hosted in Atlanta on July 15, he said no.
“These are college kids playing and the heart of the game is still in them,” Bynum said, “like (Lewis), when he plays ball, I love it. I’m hoping I see him up here one day. They’re all good. They’re all interacting with him. They’re all fun to be around. They talk to him I mean, it’s just very open and very fan based. That’s what I like about it.”
For the Swartzmillers, coming to a Macon Bacon game has been on their bucket list for a while now.
As part of a “Marching Through Georgia” trip, Ronda and Jeffrey Swartzmiller started from their hometown of Weirton, West Virginia, and traveled an estimated 20 hours by the time they arrived in Macon. They were on a tour to see ballparks across Georgia and South Carolina.
“Been trying to get here for years, but for a long time, Macon, I guess they were selling out and things like that. It was a hard ticket to get,” Jeffrey Swartzmiller said.
As avid baseball fans, this husband and wife pair have been to a baseball game in every state (except Hawaii, Jeffrey Swartzmiller said, because they don’t have a team). They have even traveled as far as Canada to see games. Together, they have accumulated eight racks of 46 baseballs, and are quickly filling up rack number nine.
Jeffrey Swartzmiller said an accident around 18 years ago inspired the couple to see all the ballparks they could.
“It kind of like woke us up to life where you say to yourself, you better enjoy things. And we decided that this is what we want to do,” Jeffrey Swartzmiller said “We encourage people whatever your passion is, you like barbecue then go to every barbecue thing that there is.”
Traveling over an hour from Zebulon, Mona Norton, 63, loves to take her family to Bacon games. For the past 35 years she has taken her kids to Luther Williams field, and has taken her grandchildren to Macon Bacon games since the team started up in 2018. It is routine for them to get there early to secure a spot in the games that happen in between innings. One day, her grandson, Wayne, 11, hopes to be on the field as a player instead.
When asked about their favorite part of Macon Bacon games, the pair said it is the fan atmosphere that is most appealing. One time, Norton explained, they were the last to leave the stadium and they discovered they had a flat tire.
“The staff was so excited that they got to help somebody,” Norton said. “Everybody came out and helped fix the tire. And they were excited to do it, you know, where do you go where not just staff, but the upper echelon people, the executive team, are happy to come outside in the dark, in the hot at midnight, and help a fan?”
Macon native Nicky Sordillo comes to Macon Bacon games with her mom, dad and husband. Her dad and husband hail from different states originally, but claim Macon as home. Nicky Sordillo said her mom buys the five game passes deal that include all-you-can-eat deals for just 17 dollars.
“It’s kind of like just a family thing to do. You know, it’s guaranteed she has to see me five times during the summer,” Sordillo said.
Sordillo was excited to learn Macon was hosting the all-star game for the first time, and was looking forward to seeing all the different college teams come together. Even more so, she enjoys coming to the Luther Williams field because of the rich history.
“It’s nice to have the history here and see all of the people, the historical figures out there that have actually played on this field,” Nicky Sordillo said.
Players such as Jackie Robinson, Pete Rose and Chipper Jones have graced the field since it was built in 1929. The history led the field to be registered in the National Register for Historic Places. Nicky Sordillo mentions the movie “42” about Jackie Robinson was partially shot on the field.
The Coastal Plain League All-Star Game concluded with the East All-Stars winning 6-0 over the West All-Stars.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph
