A few years ago, I noticed an event in Boston called Baseball Hack Day, which was held right before the start of the regular season. As a fan of design, development, and baseball, I seriously considered going and reached out to the event’s founder. We had a few pleasant email exchanges, and he seemed honoured that I would consider visiting Boston for a local event.
Add to that our second year of Blue Jays exhibition games, as well as the Warren Cromartie-hosted Expos All-Star Baseball Gala, and the local baseball hype was strong, so I wanted to invest in it.
So, I decided to get permission to start a Montreal Baseball Hack Day.
With the launch of our now three-city event (Boston, Chicago, and Montreal), things were looking good, with over 50 people signed up to attend. We invested in renting two rooms at Notman House, setting them up in a baseball theme, and got enough food to keep everyone going for the whole day. Add to the mix that we had some very committed volunteers and local baseball celebrity judges, so we were ready for a big day.
In the end, the one problem was that only 15 people attended. While not a bad turnout for a first-time event (in a city without a professional baseball team), I was personally disappointed.
The good news is that those who did participate had a really great time and built some interesting things.
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