FORT WORTH, Texas — The MLB All-Star Week has taken over parts of DFW giving fans the experience of a lifetime.
On Monday as a part of the festivities, the game of inches was brought closer to home for a group of kids in Fort Worth through the event “Community Catch”, an initiative created by the nonprofit organization Players Alliance. The organization works to expose more kids in the black community to the game of baseball.
Those who showed up were given a baseball mitt that players signed at the end.
The organization was created in 2020 by former and current players. Former big leaguers Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, and several others helped coach the kids, teaching them outfield and infield drills and throwing mechanics.
“Baseball is almost a game where we have a stigma where blacks don't play baseball, it's a different avenue for some of these kids who may have never thought they have an avenue,” said Jackson.
Jackson played 16 seasons in the pros with teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, and other clubs.
Granderson, who also played 16 seasons as an outfielder for teams like the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees, said baseball equipment, training sessions, and travel ball can cost thousands of dollars. He said because the sport is so expensive some black families can’t afford for their kids to even take a swing at the sport.
“We had those people that helped us we didn't do this by ourselves and we're here to let them know that this community can help everybody else as well,” said Granderson.
For Fort Worth resident Trae Atkins, it was an opportunity to share the experience with his five-year-old son Omari.
Atkins said he got his son into baseball a year before and wants him to grow in the sport. He said there was no better place for him to learn the basics than with former and current players.
“It's an opportunity that you don't normally get,” said Atkins. “You're seeing people play baseball and have fun with it. Especially people who look like us.”