So many All-Star volunteers, so few jobs - KCTV5

There is a lot of time and hard work going into making Kansas City a baseball fan's paradise for the All-Star Game, but most of those people are getting paid for it.

It turns out, though, that being an All-Star volunteer is one of the most in-demand jobs in Kansas City.

Come July there is going be a population boom in Kansas City. And most of them will be coming from Kauffman Stadium. For the first time in nearly 40 years, Kansas City will play host to the All-Star Game.

One would be hard-pressed to find anyone who is not pumped about the prospect, but there is a group that may have more All-Star fever than most - the volunteers.

These fans will give their time, energy and talents just to make sure all those out-of-towners have a memorable trip to Kansas City.

So far, more than 6,000 people have registered to volunteer.

"We got all the way up to over 6,000 names before Major League Baseball turned off the application process about a month ago. So it goes to show you how excited not only the Royals are, and all of us who work here, but the community is excited as well, and they really want to be a part of that," said Curt Nelson with the Kansas City Royals.

Katy Askeland is one of the more than 6,000 fans who jumped at the chance to volunteer.

"I made the cut," she said. "I'm a huge baseball fan myself so it's very exciting to have a chance to be a part of it."

Like so many people, Askeland grew up watching the Royals at Kauffman Stadium and said volunteering for the All-Star Game just felt right.

"The Royals have been here for a long time, there's a lot of loyal followers out there like myself. We've stuck with them through good years and bad so I think it's natural for fans to want to be a part of this opportunity," she said.

"We weren't really that surprised necessarily that we'd get that kind of response because we understand the excitement level and the way this community loves baseball and the Royals," Nelson said. "We were pretty confident people would respond that way."

Major League Baseball is in charge of the volunteers and just to be considered is quite the process. It starts with registration, then background checks, interviews and then training.

"We've gotten an overwhelming response from the folks in Kansas City and the areas around Kansas City," said Jackie Secaira-Cotto with Major League Baseball in New York. "So much that we had to shut down our volunteer registration at lot earlier than we have in the past."

Major League Baseball said it will only be able to use about 2,000 volunteers out of the 6,000 registered, so there will undoubtedly be some broken hearts.

"We haven't had this problem before, so you can say it is a good problem to have, but it is kind of a sad problem because, again, we don't like to turn people away," Secaira-Cotto said.

Those who make the cut will be working three days, four hours each day. They might find themselves at the airport, greeting baseball fans from across the country and around the world, helping to lead them in the right direction.

They might find themselves stationed in and around hotels to answer any questions guests might have, but the bulk of them will be at the convention center at Bartle Hall in the heart of the city, in the heart of FanFest.

"The majority of volunteers will be part of that. There is also what they call All-Star Summer, which kind of encompasses all the other events that come with the All-Star Game," Nelson said.

For Askeland, it's a chance to be part of something huge and maybe get a sneak peak at her all-time favorite player.

"I played softball as a child and played third base. He was my idol...so (I'm looking for) George Brett," she said.

All the volunteers' names will also be entered in a drawing to have a chance to win one pair of tickets to the big game.

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