Reds bring laughter, smiles to Children's Hospital for reopening of Seacrest Studios

Only at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital does a ballplayer getting hit over the head with a bat turn into smiles and laughter.

Earlier this week, five Reds players visited Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for the reopening of the facility’s popular Seacrest Studios and played games with patients.

Seacrest Studios is a closed-circuit TV and radio station inside Cincinnati Children’s through which patients are exposed to a unique and hands-on broadcasting experience. Throughout the year, patients are invited to stop in during programming to meet guests and participate in activities in person. The fun is also shown on a station accessible to all patients in their rooms throughout the hospital, with them having the opportunity to interact remotely.

Prior to Tuesday’s visit, Seacrest Studios had been closed for a six-week renovation. The space now features new lighting, a new floor and upgraded signage to brighten up the room. In addition, there is a new step and repeat banner that serves as a backdrop for photos and autographs along with a new wall of fame displaying celebrities who have passed through the studio.

Seacrest Studios manager Kevin Altimier shared why the location is such an important part of the hospital.

“The main thing is just allowing patients to have fun during their stay,” he said. “The overall stay can be kind of dreary and sad, and it's a way for them to have a positive moment, a happy moment during their day and make things a little happier and normal throughout their stay.”

On Tuesday, Tejay Antone, TJ Friedl, Julian Garcia, Matt McLain and Dane Myers helped bring a little bit of that happiness to a group of kids in the studio and many more tuning in. They also brought with them some complimentary Reds Rookies membership kits and, as part of September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, donated a Nintendo Switch to Cincinnati Children’s in partnership with MLB and Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The morning kicked off with a Q&A session where the Reds players answered a variety of questions, ranging from baseball-related topics like their gameday superstitions and favorite sport outside of baseball to more pressing inquiries like their favorite superhero and ice cream flavor.

Having not joined the Reds until this summer, this was Garcia’s first trip to Cincinnati Children’s. The other four players are repeat visitors, including Antone, who makes a point to visit children at the hospital once every homestand. The reliever got a kick out of answering questions outside of what he typically fields from reporters at his day job.​

“I love the random questions that they come up with. Like what's your favorite Power Ranger? I haven't thought about Power Rangers in 15 years, I didn’t know they were still on,” Antone said. “But in my childhood, I watched Power Rangers all the time so it was kind of cool reminiscing a little bit.”

Following the Q&A, it was time for some friendly competition.

Inspired by a game called “No Its Ands or Ums” that is played on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the players took a seat and tried to guess the baseball word or phrase based on clues from one of their teammates. The catch? Any “ums” muttered when trying to provide the clue resulted in some of the Cincy Children’s participants delivering a bonk on the head with a giant, inflatable bat.

No player made it through both rounds unscathed and, despite a couple of youngsters who delivered some MLB-caliber swings, thankfully no Reds were injured.

When the game ended, the players posed for some photos and signed autographs to cap a big league reopening of Seacrest Studios.

“The Reds are probably the highlight of our studio visits,” Altimier said. “The winter is our dreary time and come April, our patients light up with the start of baseball. Every week, we can expect probably our highest amount of patient participation just with the Reds. The community loves seeing them come in and no matter who's on the team that season, the patients love it. It's the highlight of their day.”

Antone has prioritized these visits since debuting with the Reds in 2020. He successfully returned this season after his third Tommy John surgery, so he has the unique ability to connect with the kids by showing off his own scars, which helps establish some common ground and comfortability with the kids.

“I think it's super important to use your platform as a professional athlete to better the community, and this is kind of my niche where I found my heart calling,” he said. “I get really excited to see the kids here. It's usually in their room, like a one-on-one, just talking with the kids, hanging out with them, signing some autographs, taking pictures and just giving a little bit of hope. It also helps bring me back to reality, because being a professional baseball player, you're at the highest point in your career, and these kids are going through some of the lowest parts of their life. So it helps me personally just be a better human and give back to people that need it.”