While certain societal elements have defined American culture throughout the decades—capitalism, hamburgers and apple pie to name a few—nothing has captivated the hearts and minds of American parents and their children quite like the game of baseball.

And while a large number of Americans continue to enjoy “America’s Pastime,” one aspect of the game has become increasingly elusive for fans: Their emotional connection to Major League Baseball.

Once upon a time, game day programs and ticket stubs were viewed as collectors items, keepsakes that honored both the game and—typically—the time spent between fathers and sons or families at the ballpark.

But with the rise of digital technology, physical tickets and programs have gone by the wayside, taking with them the tangible memories kids have of attending baseball games with those they love.

One company hoping to tap into the emotional connection fans have been missing to the sport is Candy Digital, the digital collectibles company that launched as Major League Baseball’s first digital collectibles partner in 2021 and has since seen 1.5 million MLB digital collectibles minted on the platform.

“Candy started as a crazy idea coming out of the pandemic when collectibles and crypto were booming and nonfungible tokens started to feel real,” Matt Novogratz, co-founder and senior vice president, head of partnerships and business development of Candy Digital, said to me in a recent interview. “We got our first deal with MLB, which has been the perfect partner because people have been collecting baseball cards forever. MLB has also been very cutting edge on the digital side of things and hasn’t been afraid to lean into digital ticketing and other types of fan engagement.”

This year, the company has been leaning more heavily into gamification—around the All-Star Game specifically—and right now, fans can visit candy.com and mint either an American League or National League 3D digital helmet that represents the team they believe will win the game, which will be played later today. For the fans who chose the winning team, they’ll have a chance to burn the helmet in exchange for a special version of the helmet and a chance to win two tickets to an MLB game of their choice.

When fans check-in at a live baseball game through Candy, they receive an offer to claim a digital ticket. Claiming a digital ticket can enter them into contests and provide other offers, but they also serve as 3-D art pieces, and through the company’s partnership with Infinite Objects, fans can actually print their digital collectibles.

“More than half of the Candy digital collectibles that are printed seem to be tickets,” Novogratz said. “We’re seeing this from people who don’t necessarily like to collect a ton, they just want to commemorate the experience by putting the memory in a frame.”

It’s a nostalgic twist to something inherently very web3.

“Last year during the postseason, we added a new feature on the tickets where you could enter a memory,” Novogratz said. “It wasn’t super slick and the tech was still pretty new but I think 30 percent of the people who claimed a digital ticket entered a memory, which is pretty fascinating.”

For Novogratz, people entering memories validated his thesis that they’re missing a personal connection to the game and it’s something they desire.

“Especially as a first step into web3,” he said. “Entering memories is harmless and it’s something people want, so it seems like a pretty good jumping off point.”

While diehard baseball fans are more likely to adopt the digital collectibles aspect web3 affords, Candy is looking for ways to engage casual baseball fans through features such as the memory creation. 

“Our biggest customers and community members are our day-one guys, those real early web3 adopters,” Novogratz said. “But our challenge and our mission from day one has been to bring in the casual baseball fan. Our best effort so far has been through our digital ticketing, and in the postseason last year, we distributed close to 100,000 tickets—almost all new accounts.”

According to Novogratz, fans are able to wrap their heads around digital tickets because of their understanding of—and association with—traditional tickets. They’re not viewing them as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) or digital collectibles—rather just something cool to commemorate the game. They’re also tying digital items to special events surrounding the yearly ALl Star Game. 

“We’ve also created a game around the Home Run Derby where fans can test their knowledge around power hitters,” Novogratz said. “It’s ‘lite gamification’ and is a chance for people who might not necessarily get into the digital collectibles space, but who want to take their swing at trying to win some pretty cool merchandise.”

There are two versions of the game available, one free and one paid, with winnings like signed baseballs and other signed memorabilia from players like Jose Ramirez, Walker Buehler, Ozzie Albies, Gleyber Torres and Nestor Cortes.

“We also have a token-gated version where fans purchase a collectible, which will transform to show highlights of the player who wins the Home Run Derby after the fact,” Novogratz said. “We think these two offerings are going to be a really interesting and fun way to onboard new blockchain users.”

For Candy, it’s an attempt to bridge the gap between the casual fan and the early web3 adopters so as to broaden the overall user base. And for its part, MLB is not only on board, it’s been helpful in trying to expand Candy’s vision.

“I think 70 million people attended MLB games last year, so our ultimate goal is figuring out how we can get commemorative tickets to every one of those attendees,” Novogratz said. “The ticket could be the entry point that then starts their education process to what web3 is.”

Novogratz said his team recently sent the ten biggest Los Angeles Dodgers collectors on the Candy platform to an event where they got to visit the Dodger dugout and hangout with a player.

“In the web3 space, you’re constantly battling negative headlines every now and then, so how can you educate those who are curious who can bring potential passion into the space,” Novogratz said. “It’s about figuring out what we can do that traditional baseball cards can’t do.”

Traditional cards don’t have capabilities for allowing a collector to meet a player, receive a signed baseball or partake in a burn challenge that unlocks new card rarity. But with the digital assets on Candy’s platform, those scenarios are possible.

“It’s about gamifying the digital cards,” Novogratz said. “Physical rewards are still important in terms of bridging the gap between the traditional collector and the web3 collector, but we do believe gamification is the next big unlock for the next 10 million web3 users.”