2023 Andre Dawson Classic on MLB Network

The 2023 Andre Dawson Classic — an annual MLB-hosted baseball showcase that includes traditionally black faculties and universities (HBCUs) — is underway in New Orleans.

Launched in 2008, the fifteenth version of the round-robin match will characteristic seven HBCUs, together with one making its first look on the occasion. The motion begins on Friday when two video games will stream on MLB Network, MLB.com and the MLB App.

Dawson’s alma mater, Florida A&M, took on Southern on Friday afternoon, whereas Alabama State will sq. off with Grambling State at 8 ET within the nightcap of a double characteristic on MLB Network. Jackson State will face New Orleans — a co-host of the match and the one non-HBCU faculty competing — at 7 p.m. Alabama A&M beat Prairie View A&M, 13-1, earlier within the day.

“We’re honored to be in the tournament, especially because of the namesake of the tournament,” stated Florida A&M head coach Jamey Shouppe. “Andre’s not only, obviously, a legendary baseball figure and a Hall of Famer, but a guy that walked the same campus that our players currently walk and practiced on some of the same fields that our guys practice on.”

Dawson, who starred for the Rattlers from 1972-75, wasn’t chosen till the Expos referred to as his title within the eleventh spherical of the 1975 MLB Draft. He wasted no time making a reputation for himself on the subsequent degree, nevertheless, successful the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He went on to win the 1987 NL MVP Award with the Cubs, the ’87 Home Run Derby, eight Gold Glove Awards and 4 Silver Sluggers, all whereas making eight All-Star appearances throughout his 21-year Hall of Fame profession.

Dawson is one among simply three HBCU alumni — together with Lou Brock and Larry Doby — within the Hall of Fame.

This yearly occasion, initially referred to as the Urban Invitational, was renamed for Dawson starting in 2018. Regardless of the title, one faculty that has been there for all 15 tournaments is Southern University.

“It’s a rich tradition of playing in it,” stated Southern head coach Chris Crenshaw.

At the opposite finish of the spectrum is Alabama A&M, led by head coach Elliott Jones. While the varsity can be making its first look on the Andre Dawson Classic, Jones himself has loads of expertise with the occasion.

A former participant and assistant coach at Southern, Jones beforehand participated in a handful of those tournaments. That consists of the 2012 model, when he took the sector at Houston’s Minute Maid Park as a part of the three-day showcase.

“That was such a great opportunity. At an historically black college, not many guys get a chance to play in a Major League ballpark, and we were one of the programs that had that opportunity to play at Minute Maid,” stated Jones, whose Alabama A&M membership wraps up with a Sunday showdown towards Southern. “It’s going to be exciting. Coach Crenshaw has done a really great job at Southern, with the winning tradition there, so it’s going to be an exciting Sunday matchup that I’m looking forward to.”

Every membership collaborating on this 12 months’s Andre Dawson Classic options alumni of both MLB Development Initiatives or Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) applications.

In complete, there are 42 gamers who’ve participated in MLB Development Initiatives, such because the Dream Series, Breakthrough Series and the Hank Aaron Invitational. That’s a 121% improve from 2022. The ’23 model additionally consists of 44 alumni from RBI applications (a 47% improve from 2022) and 19 alumni of MLB Youth Academies.

“It’s important for the kids who come through our development programs and come through the RBI programs or Breakthrough Series or Hank Aaron Invitational, to get an opportunity to end up going to these schools and furthering their education and also having a chance to play baseball,” stated Del Matthews, MLB’s vice chairman of baseball improvement. “The surroundings on the HBCUs and the cultures there, particularly for baseball, is like no different.”

The annual showcase will not be solely an ideal alternative for the present student-athletes, however it has additionally supplied the colleges with a serious enhance on the subject of recruiting highschool ballplayers.

“I think the climate we live in now, for the kids, it’s huge any time you get a chance to play on MLB Network or any time you get a chance to play on TV period,” stated Davin Pierre, who has served as Grambling State’s recruiting coordinator since 2012 and is in his second 12 months as this system’s head coach. “It allows the kids to know this is a place where they can be seen. Playing in this tournament, there will be a lot of scouts there — so our kids will actually get an opportunity to be seen by scouts. So it’s big for recruiting.”

As vital as it’s to carry out effectively on the sector this weekend, the coaches additionally harassed the significance of the athletes taking satisfaction not solely to play on a nationwide stage, but additionally within the alternative to symbolize Dawson.

“He was not only a legendary baseball player, but an awesome man,” Shouppe stated. “That’s something we try to instill in our players: A legacy of playing in a tournament like this, it’s important not only how you play, but how you handle yourself in the process of playing, which is something Andre did throughout his career.”