Pueblo County freshman reports for MLB Play Ball at All-Star Game, World Series

Zora Malone stood on the field at Minute Maid Park the day before Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series.

The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros were set to practice and talk to the media.

Malone was part of the media as the 2021 Chevy MLB Play Ball Reporter.

The School of Engineering and Biomedical Sciences at Pueblo County High School freshman already reported at the 2021 MLB All-Star Game in July in Denver. Now, she was on an even bigger stage in an atmosphere she’d never experienced before.

“I hadn't seen anything like it before,” Malone said. “Of course we have the rowdies here at County, and a student section, but everybody had rally towels. So you could see all the Astros fans were spinning them in the air and it was incredible because they would have different chants or different songs like we do at Coors (Field), and everybody would go along and they knew the words and everything.

“And then also to hear, to see Braves fans and Astros fans kind of like sitting together, but it didn't get too crazy, but it was really cool to be there.”

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The opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that Malone will never forget.

“I loved all of it, just to be able to be there for something that historic like a World Series game and to be there with my mom, it was incredible,” she said. “It’s been a hard year for everyone. I’m really thankful for this opportunity."

Malone said it wasn’t only a dream come true for her, but also for her mother.

Her mother grew up in Pueblo and has been a baseball fan for as long as she can remember.

“One of her wishes was to come to a baseball game, and it actually happened,” Malone said. “We go to go to the All-Star Game and the World Series.”

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Malone journeys from Runyon, to the All-Star Game, to the World Series

Malone entered the Chevy Playball contest after attending a baseball clinic at Runyon Sports Complex. There, she heard about the national contest and decided to give it a go.

Malone applied, answered some questions and sent a video with mock interviews. Her dad, she said, worked some “magic” editing the video.

For her mock interviews, she emulated what she’d seen on TV.

“I tried to do my mock interview like players on TV; how they stay calm and they answer the questions and they really know what they're talking about when I talk about their game,” Malone said. “And I just wanted to answer the questions and ask questions that I've seen on TV and just try to mimic that and do my best.”

The tactic paid off. Malone was one of two children ages 8-14 who won a trip for four to the MLB All-Star Game in July at Coors Field

There, she conducted interviews on the game’s Purple Carpet. She spoke to MLB stars like Los Angeles Angels pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani and San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. She also worked MLB Draft coverage.

While she said she was nervous, she decided to keep things light and ask players questions that would make them laugh or smile.

For instance, she asked the young Padres star about “swag chains.”

“I see a lot of fans with swag chains and I wanted to know if you (Tatis) had your own and if you could design your own, what would it look like?” Malone asked the all-star at the MLB media day.

Tatis laughed then replied.

“I’m trying to design my own,” he told Malone. “There’s a lot of things we have to put out there and see what we can do.”

Malone said she was intimidated at talking to pro athletes. She was used to talking to adults and classmates at home.

She said as the day went on at the All-Star Game, things got easier.

By the time she ventured to the World Series, she was comfortable to the situation and pressure that came with it.

“Especially after the all-star game, like knowing that I got to talk to all-stars ... knowing that I could actually do that ... I think that helped me,” Malone said.

MLB producers and MLB TV reporter Heidi Watney also helped ease Malone’s nerves.

“I talked to Heidi and asked her what she did to become a journalist and to become a reporter,” Malone said. “I asked her what she thinks I should do and sort of watched her.”

Malone asked questions that players didn’t hear from other reporters.

Once again, she kept things light. She asked most players who they would call first after winning the world series. Many pointed to family and friends in the stands, she said. Others said their grandparents.

She asked other questions, too. She said she made Atlanta Braves outfielder Joc Pederson laugh by bringing up another form of a “swag chain” — his pearls.

“I asked him about the pearls,” Malone said. “So I think it just kind of made him laugh. He was like, ‘Oh, I get to talk about the pearls again.’”

Pederson wore a pearl necklace throughout the Braves’ playoff run. Instead of a gold or silver chain, Pederson — known for being a jokester around the league — chose pearls.

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Malone's experience has given her memories, perspective

Malone is a good student at SEBS. She also plays volleyball at Pueblo County and club softball.

Malone’s mother knew she excelled at school and sports but had no idea she was a natural in front of the camera.

“To see her in that environment, responding that way, made me feel so good to know that even though we're aware of a lot of her talents and abilities that there's even more in her and that she's willing to try new things,” Anderson said. “I was extremely proud ... extremely proud.”

One of the best parts of the experience, both said, was sharing it with each other.

Anderson accompanied Malone to both events. She watched, documented the experience via photos and enjoyed the time she spent traveling with her daughter.

“We got to see something that we couldn't have paid for, and we got to go behind the scenes,” Anderson said. “But for me, I just loved being with Zuora. It just meant the world.”'

Malone echoed that sentiment.

“Oh my gosh, it was a lot of fun to travel and to go with my mom,” Malone said. “I was really thankful to be there with her.”

The experience has given Malone plenty of perspective, as well.

She went to SEBS to someday pursue a career in science. Now, she thinks journalism may play a role in her life in some way, shape or form.

“After all of this, learning more about reporters and broadcasting and how journalism works, maybe I could use it for something else,” Malone said. “Maybe I can have like a double whammy and be an engineering journalist or something like that.

“I just want to try to bring what I learned into other areas.”

Malone hopes that winning the Play Ball contest will help others reach for goals and dreams they might not think are possible.

The experience, she said, has taught her to “just go for it.”

“Even if you doubt yourself, you can still try it,” she said. “You can still achieve a lot more than you think.”

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Luke Lyons is the news director of The Pueblo Chieftain. He can be reached via email at LLyons@chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County student reports at MLB All-Star Game, World Series