WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) – the program sponsored by Major League Baseball (MLB) to promote the game of baseball to kids in underserved areas – is coming to Washington.
D.C. Grays Baseball, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting baseball in inner-city D.C., will be operating the RBI program in a partnership with MLB, Grays President and Founder Michael Barbera announced.
The Grays also announced that they are donating baseball equipment and apparel to the John Philip Sousa Middle School baseball program. The school is located on Ely Place SE, across the street from the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, where the D.C. Grays summer college baseball team plays its home games in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.
"When D.C. Grays Baseball was founded in 2012, our goal was to make the great game of baseball available and accessible to every kid in our community, regardless of ability to pay," Barbera said. "Now that we have revitalized the RBI program for D.C. and are helping the ballplayers at John Philip Sousa Middle School, we are fulfilling our mission to be 'ambassadors for baseball' in Washington, D.C."
D.C. Grays Baseball will operate seven teams in “D.C. Grays RBI” for 2016 – five baseball teams and two softball teams. Each team will play a 10-game minimum schedule with a school-based baseball or softball team or with a D.C. Grays RBI partner program. One baseball team and one softball team will represent Washington in the 2016 Major League Baseball RBI East Regional Tournament in Bowie, MD in August.
There will be no cost for D.C. Grays RBI to the kids or their families.
D.C. Grays RBI will also sponsor a summer reading program for all kids in the RBI program, and will offer a “college access” seminar for the kids and their families – to encourage preparing for college.
D.C. Grays Board Member and Co-Founder Brad Burris, a former Howard University baseball player, will manage the D.C. Grays RBI 13-15 baseball team.
“I look forward to the opportunity to build a top-flight program that the residents of D.C. would be proud to be affiliated with,” Burris said. “The RBI program and purpose is meaningful and impactful to me. I would like to see the members of the inaugural Grays RBI team be accountable to each other as teammates, for accountability and commitment are a recipe for success. If you love the game, the game will love you back.”
The Grays commitment includes helping District school baseball programs, such as the one run by Coach Brie Whitmire at John Philip Sousa Middle School, which was the recipient of new baseball apparel and equipment donated by the Grays.
“The Grays generosity went far beyond providing us with material possessions,” Whitmire said. “They opened doors and empowered us to be the best team we could be. They truly took my boys under their proverbial wings. From dedicating mentoring time to spend with the boys to offering free clinics and letting my guys throw out ceremonial first pitches, the Grays went above and beyond to show my boys and me that we are all a part of the same family. I truly believe that the success of my program is in part due to the partnership that the Grays have built with Sousa’s baseball team.”
D.C. Grays Board Member Christopher Spera helped build the partnership between the Grays and Sousa Middle, which defines the mission of the Grays as much as any function the organization serves.
“Our partnership with the Sousa Middle School team started when I was at a meeting at the Nationals Academy and was able to observe a practice and be introduced to Coach Whitmire,” Spera said. “I saw some really devoted coaches and players working hard to get better, but I also saw kids sharing gloves because they didn't have their own and kids practicing in shorts because they didn't have baseball pants.”
“The D.C. Grays stand for reviving baseball in DC,” Spera said. “We are thrilled to have helped out the Sousa team and Coach Whitmire.”
Video of the announcement: Part 1 and Part 2
Pictures of the announcement: Dropbox
About Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) www.mlbcommunity.org
The RBI program was founded in 1989 in South Central Los Angeles by former Major Leaguer John Young. A success in Los Angeles, the RBI concept was adopted in New York, St. Louis and Kansas City within two years. Since 1991, the RBI Program has been administered by Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball serves as the central administrative office for RBI and, from 1993-1996, along with Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association provided start-up grants for programs demonstrating financial need.
The RBI program will be entering its 27th year of play in 2016. From its inception in 1989 through the 2015 season, RBI has grown from a local program for boys in South Central Los Angeles to an international campaign encompassing more than 200 cities and as many as 200,000 male and female participants a year.
RBI has been embraced in many communities because it teaches kids that being a success in life takes more than succeeding on the ball field – it also means succeeding in the classroom and the community.
About D.C. Grays Baseball www.dcgrays.com
A member of the Cal Ripken collegiate baseball league, D.C. Grays Baseball is named in honor of the Negro league champion Homestead Grays. The Grays play their home games at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, with the season scheduled to begin their 40-game schedule starting in June. Admission is free.
The mission of D.C. Grays Baseball is to provide opportunities for college players, particularly African-American players, and also to give inner-city youth a chance to learn the game of baseball. The Grays commitment is to be ambassadors for baseball in one of the most economically challenged areas of the District.
D.C. Grays Baseball has also secured partnerships with the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy and the following Washington, D.C.-based community baseball organizations: D.C. Knights Baseball; District #3 Little Leagues, including the Mamie Peanut Johnson Little League in Ward 7, the Southern District Little League in Ward 8 and JBAB, the Capitol Hill Little League in Ward 6, the Satchel Paige Senators Little League in Ward 5, the Banneker Little League in Wards 1 and 4, the Capitol City Little League in Wards 3 and 5 and the Northwest Little League in Wards 2 and 3, as well as other groups.
D.C. Grays Baseball welcomes corporate and personal sponsorships and donations. Volunteer opportunities are also available, as well as needs for host families to house some of the young men that come from around the country to play for the Grays and teach in the clinics.
