Brian Kettner has played eight times in the annual Gay Softball World Series, including the 2010 tournament, held in Columbus, Ohio.
And he's also been a team manager in the Series.
In 2006, Kettner's B-Division team made it to the championship game, played in Fort Lauderdale, but fell short of the title. That still reigns as one of Kettner's favorite Series moments.
Kettner, 36, who lives in Lincoln Square and works as a senior property manager for McKinley, Inc., plays second base. His C-Division team in 2010, Gotcha Covered Blinds/Green Team Properties G-Force, won its division in the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) season with a 15-3 record.
"The 2011 Series is a great opportunity to welcome people from all over the country and Canada to enjoy the city of Chicago," said Kettner, who made his Series debut in San Jose in 2001.
"Columbus put on a great World Series [in 2010]. The fields were phenomenal, and they were able to host the entire tournament in one location. With the size of the World Series, I am not sure there is anywhere else in the country that could do that."
The 2011 Series will be held Aug. 29-Sept. 3 at-field complexes in suburban Schaumburg, St. Charles and Elmhurst. More than 4,000 participants are expected for the 35th annual Series.
"Seeing how large the World Series has grown over the past 10 years gives a great vantage point of the success of the GLBT community," Kettner said. "I am proud to witness how comfortable people are to stand up and be proud of who they are, and our [straight] friends who are willing to stand next to their gay brothers and sisters without any concerns of how they are judged."
Favorite baseball team: Chicago Cubs
Favorite baseball player: Kerry Wood
Prediction about the 2011 Series: "After all the bad press that the Chicago Park District received during the [Chicago] Bears [playoff] game, they are going to insist that the Gay Softball World Series be played on Chicago fields to give them a chance to resurrect their good name."