Kevin Costner helps launch Big League Wiffle Ball in Scottsdale

To get outside his house during the COVID-19 pandemic, Logan Rose decided to invite friends and family to play in a Wiffle ball tournament in his backyard.

That eventually led to the Western Wiffle Ball Classic, a tournament at Scottsdale Stadium, the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants. Now five years from those backyard games, the Classic is still going and Rose, 19, is the commissioner of what is billed as America’s first professional Wiffle ball league. 

Turns out that if you build it, he really will come – a Wiffle ball league and actor Kevin Costner, that is.

This year’s Western Wiffle Ball Classic served as Opening Day for Big League Wiffle Ball’s first season. The 10-team league includes several celebrity owners, including Costner, whose baseball film roles have included Ray Kinsella in “Field of Dreams,” Crash Davis in “Bull Durham” and Billy Chapel in “For the Love of the Game.”

Costner is owner of the Los Angeles Naturals. Other celebrity owners include the comedy group “Dude Perfect” and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as Gary Vee.  

“I think people understand my kind of connection to baseball,” Costner said. “And I’ve had these relationships that cross over a lot of different minds, and somehow in the mystery of life you know something like this comes to me. You know, ‘Can you help? Can you support?’ You think it has a chance.”

Costner’s connection to the game goes beyond his film credits. He also played high school baseball and tried out for the team at Cal State Fullerton. He was cut, but has remained a long-time supporter of the Titans baseball program.

Like most people who grew up loving baseball, he is familiar with Wiffle ball games.

“The mythology of Wiffle ball is very strong with me and I would say, obviously, it’s strong with a lot of other kids who just grew up and made their backyard their kingdoms …” Costner said, painting a picture of “different configurations of backyards, rose bushes, bad dogs, ‘Stay out of this, stay out that’ and trash cans everywhere.’

“You still can play. Wiffle ball really has a thing that makes it possible to play ball in your backyard without wrecking it, and the fact that it could start to develop like this, let’s see where it goes.” 

The support of celebrities such as Costner is affirmation of Logan’s belief in Wiffle ball, and the long process that led to the new pro league.

Last year, BLW amounted to a series of tournaments that led to the 2024 Wiffle Ball World Series at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“We grew the league in our backyard at first. It was just family and friends,” Rose said. “Then we ended up from this tournament getting a big presence on social media. A lot of guys started driving in through our draft process.

“Last year we did three tournaments in the Valley that led up to AT&T Stadium and that was kind of a test case for what we are doing this year. To see if the professional model would work and it worked really well and this year we have four regional tournaments across the country.”

Now, BLW’s 2025-26 season includes 10 franchises from across the country – including the Arizona Saguaros – which will compete in tournaments in Scottsdale, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. 

The serious nature of the Western Wiffle Ball Classic tournament was clear, from the uniforms to custom bats to pitchers cutting and shaving down Wiffle balls to improve their grip. 

Costner didn’t just remain behind a rope or in a suite. He went on the field to shake hands with players, talk with families and sign autographs. He even took batting practice between games.

His love for the game is clear, backed up not only by his past movie roles but also his emotional and financial commitment to Wiffle ball and baseball. 

That same level of buy-in was reflected by the players on Costner’s Naturals roster. Having guys from all across the country, the team was happy to experience Arizona weather in late October. 

“I’m a New York guy, so coming out to beautiful Arizona – this place is heaven on earth to me,” said Naturals player Jordan Robles. “When I retire, I’m retiring to Arizona – and Crash Davis is here, the real-life Crash Davis, he’s our team owner. This is heaven on earth, I’m happy to be here.”

His teammate Trevor Bauer (not that Trevor Bauer) added: “We love that he came out. It’s lovely to see him out here. He’s enjoying it. He took a little batting practice, that was a lot of fun.” 

Bauer was the one who threw batting practice to Costner and made sure not to take it easy. 

The Naturals aren’t the only team with a well known owner in the league and for players like Green Apples outfielder Brendan Dudas, the ownership list represents real validation.

“Oh my goodness, I think when you get guys on there like Gary Vee, Dude Perfect and Kevin Costner, they have reach and networks that the rest of us don’t have, right?” Dudas said. “And so, when you’re trying to put something on the map like Wiffle ball, which doesn’t have a timeline on it already, those guys are invaluable.

“They’re worth their weight in gold. So, I think they’re going to have a good, really positive impact on this league as a whole.”

Costner was on hand to watch his Naturals win 1–0 over the Boston Harbor Hawks to capture the championship in the first tournament of the BLW season. The hometown Arizona Saguaros plus the Las Vegas Scorpions were among the strongest teams throughout pool play, but the Naturals closed it out when it counted.

What happened after the tournament was just as notable. Nobody left.

BLW immediately turned Scottsdale Stadium into a postgame movie night, playing “Field of Dreams” on the scoreboard with Costner there watching and speaking after the movie. It made the tournament feel more like a sports festival, not just a one-day bracket event. Costner did say that he wants this to become like a county fair, where everyone is excited for it to return year after year. 

Commissioner Rose said Scottsdale was an obvious choice for Opening Day – it’s BLW’s biggest draw and where their identity formed.

When asked about partnering with “Dude Perfect,” which has a large social media following, Rose said it was a natural fit.

“We had a good process with them. It’s really cool to have them on our side, like, personally as a player,” Rose said. “They saw it online after we had some buzz and there was some buzz within the community with the owners and what not. We’ve talked to Tyler (Toney) and he’s super stoked. He wanted to be here, but some other obligations came up. It’s been really cool.”

BLW’s next stop is in Chicago on Nov. 16, but the Scottsdale event was proof that Wiffle ball is no longer confined to the backyard.