Andre Dawson Classic concludes with hope for kids’ baseball futures

NEW ORLEANS — Competitive baseball is the centerpiece of the Andre Dawson Classic annually, however take a more in-depth have a look at the ambiance on the occasion, and it’s clear there’s far more occurring than simply the video games on the sector.

The annual gathering of baseball groups from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on the MLB New Orleans Youth Academy over the weekend was all-inclusive, extending far past the chalk traces. Hall of Famers had been in attendance as spectators. Former Major Leaguers, too.

And, maybe most significantly, the subsequent crop of up-and-coming younger ballplayers was included within the festivities, within the type of 5 groups from RBI and/or Youth Academy packages invited to New Orleans to play in a 12U event.

And that’s the hook. MLB’s efforts to extend curiosity in baseball amongst Black youth has been an ongoing effort that started almost 20 years in the past with the constructing of the primary MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif. Today, MLB Develops programming helps to create a pipeline of high-level expertise, an effort that was spotlighted within the 2022 Draft, which featured a number of Black gamers (and alums of MLB Develops programming) being chosen within the first spherical.

The secret’s to seize an athlete’s baseball fandom at a younger age. Create optimistic experiences early. And translate that into youngsters desirous to proceed to play into highschool and school – the age when many flip their consideration to different sports activities, or lose curiosity altogether.

In New Orleans, the 12U groups – the Atlanta Braves RBI, Chicago White Sox ACE, Houston Astros MLB Youth Academy, New Orleans MLB Youth Academy and Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy – performed in their very own event over the three-day occasion. They additionally spent ample time on the primary discipline, watching the faculty video games. During this time, many interacted with Dawson, who sat within the stands and greeted dozens of youngsters as they approached for images and autographs.

In different phrases, the youngsters had enjoyable. And they created reminiscences that may, in idea and hope, encourage them to come back again for extra.

“The kids, they’ve got to start young,” Dawson mentioned. “You need to preserve it enjoyable for them. They need to get high quality teaching, in the beginning, and never this mother and father teaching stuff.

“Let them play the game and enjoy it for what it is – recreation. But they learn the craft, too. This can take them to the next level. If you can continue to work with them and help them get better, you increase their interest in the sport.”

Statistics present the efforts are paying off, and in addition trace that the 12U youngsters watching from the stands over the weekend have a very good likelihood to sometime be the faculty athletes taking part in within the Dawson Classic.

“The kids are behind home plate and they’re rooting for their teams, their friends,” mentioned Del Mathews, MLB’s vice chairman of baseball growth. “They’re playing in their own tournament back there and some of the college kids were looking back there and watching them play. It becomes a familiar environment and an opportunity where everyone is supporting everyone. They can now see a tangible pathway for them to continue to keep playing the game.”

“It’s a direct result of these kids getting exposure,” mentioned Jerry Manuel, the previous Major League supervisor and longtime teacher at most MLB Develops occasions. “12U, they’ve got a dream now – ‘Hey, I want to play on this field.’ To see all this that has taken place at this time is very rewarding.”

Alumni of each MLB Development initiatives and RBI packages had been on each roster on the Dawson Classic, together with:

The conclusion? The youngsters who simply performed within the 12U event showing within the Dawson Classic in a number of years isn’t simply attainable – it’s possible.

“One of the great things about this tournament, our kids don’t get to watch a lot of college baseball,” mentioned Kenny Fullman, co-founder and program director of the Chicago White Sox ACE. “A whole lot of instances our youngsters don’t get to see individuals who appear to be them taking part in school baseball.

“This is a great opportunity for one, to see college baseball, and two, to see a lot of African-Americans and diverse people playing college baseball at a high level. I’m so thankful for this tournament.”