Celebrating Youth Baseball Tradition in West Baltimore

Major League Baseball Players Association and past and present members, including Tony Clark, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, All-Star Adam Jones and others to celebrate youth baseball tradition in West Baltimore

New York, NY, Wednesday, June 10, 2015  … The Major League Baseball Players Association will lead a group of active and former Major Leaguers to West Baltimore on Saturday (June 13) to celebrate a predominantly African-American youth baseball league that has served the troubled neighborhood for more than 50 years.

“For generations, there have been those who have touched the lives of our young people through baseball,” MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark said. “So as part of the players’ and the Players Trust’s continuing efforts to recognize these essential people and programs, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the men and women who have helped guide and support kids year after year at the James Mosher Baseball League in Baltimore.”

Clark, the first former player to lead the Players Association, will be joined by, among others, Orioles outfielders Adam Jones and Delmon Young, Hall-of-Famer and Orioles legend Frank Robinson, former Orioles All-Stars Eric Davis and Jeffrey Hammonds, and Orioles first base coach Wayne Kirby, a former Major League outfielder with three different clubs.  Local dignitaries and community leaders will also be in attendance.

Together, they will host a day in honor of the James Mosher Baseball youth league, featuring two youth games coached by Major Leaguers, food and entertainment for more than 300 youth players and families.  James Mosher Baseball was founded in 1960 and is among the country’s oldest continuously operating African-American youth leagues.

“The troubles this neighborhood experienced earlier this spring saddened all of us and certainly didn’t go unnoticed by baseball players,” Clark said. “When games were moved out of town, there was a groundswell among players to come back and engage with this community, which has a rich tradition of baseball.

“A day of baseball and goodwill won’t resolve the myriad issues that affect inner-city neighborhoods, but it represents a start. Hopefully, the message we’re sending is that we did notice and we do care and we want to be part of a solution.”

The current and former players, in addition to serving as honorary coaches, will distribute autographed cards and participate in a question-and-answer session with the youth league players.

The Major League Baseball Players Trust, the 501(c)3 nonprofit operated by the MLBPA and its members, will provide new baseball equipment for the James Mosher Baseball youth participants.

[ Event information for members of the media : Saturday, June 13, 2015, 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM ET; James Mosher Baseball Fields, 1100 Wheeler Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216.  Media interested in attending are asked to please register in advance by contacting Sean McGrath of the MLBPA communications department at SMcGrath@mlbpa.org or 212/826-0808]

The Major League Baseball Players Association( www.MLBPLAYERS.com ) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and the Major League Baseball Players Trust ( www.PlayersTrust.org ), a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.  Follow: @MLB_Players; @MLBPAClubhouse; @MLBPlayersTrust

Media Contacts:  Greg Bouris, MLBPA Director of Communications, 212/826-0808, gbouris@mlbpa.org ; Chris Dahl, MLBPA Assistant Director of Communications, 212/826-0808, cdahl@mlbpa.org

Greg Bouris
Director of Communications
Major League Baseball Players Association
12 East 49th St., 24th Floor, New York, NY 10017
T: (212) 826-0808 I F: (212) 752-0336