Hundreds of Cleveland youth, ages 9 to 18 have been gathering for weeks to learn the fundamentals of baseball. They’ve put their lessons to work on the field, as they’ve played in multiple tournaments.
Boys and Girls Club spokesman, Ken Wood he aims to get inner-city kids involved.
“It’s very different saying, ‘we don’t play baseball,’ verses, ‘I don’t like baseball.’ That’s really what our intent has been in the Boys and Girls Club,” said Wood. “If you look at Major League Baseball right now, the percentage of African Americans in the sport has never been lower. Baseball was an African American sport. Somehow along the way we lost that, we lost the connection to the inner city.”
Participants said they enjoy the chance to learn.
“it’s experience, if you want to go Major League, then this is just experience for now,” said Angel Rivera. “I didn't think it was gonna be my sport. Kids don’t have opportunities like this. I feel safe- its bad things around here, but the boys and girls club make sure you’re safe.”
