Houston Astros Nike RBI wins Senior Baseball Division Championship of the 2023 Nike RBI World Series
Tonight, in Holman Stadium at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla., the Houston Astros Nike RBI program won the senior baseball division championship of the 2023 Nike RBI World Series. Houston won following a 5-4 walk-off victory in an extra innings battle over the Atlanta Braves Nike RBI program.
Houston has now won their fifth overall championship in Nike RBI World Series history. The victory earns Houston’s second overall baseball championship, also in the senior division (2010).
Houston shortstop Vernon Clay was named the MLB Develops Chevy MVP of the Senior Division Championship Game after driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Clay finished the game with a team-high three hits and two RBI. Clay, who is a Georgetown University commit, participated in the 2022 Hank Aaron Invitational.
Nike RBI alumni who have appeared in the Major Leagues in 2023 include Jackie Bradley Jr. (_currently a free agent_), Taj Bradley (Tampa Bay Rays), who participated in the 2016 RBI World Series Jr. Division, Isaiah Campbell (Seattle Mariners), J.P. Crawford (Seattle Mariners), Chase DeJong (Pittsburgh Pirates), (Hunter Greene (Cincinnati Reds), Mike Harris II (Atlanta Braves), who participated in the 2016 RBI World Series Jr. Division and the 2017 and 2018 RBI World Series, Josh Harrison (Philadelphia Phillies), Eloy Jimenez (Chicago White Sox), Ramon Laureano (Oakland A’s), Anthony Rendon (Los Angeles Angels), Dominic Smith (Washington Nationals), Dillon Tate (Baltimore Orioles) and Alek Thomas (Arizona Diamondbacks). Bradley (Texas Rangers Youth Academy RBI – ‘16), Crawford (Venice Boys & Girls Club RBI – ‘09), Green (Venice Boys & Girls Club RBI – ’13), Harris II (Cincinnati Reds Nike RBI – ‘17), Jimenez (Dominican Republic RBI – ’12), and Smith (Venice Boys & Girls Club RBI – ‘09) have each played in the RBI World Series.
The Nike RBI program, which has served approximately 2 million young people since its inception, is administered by Major League Baseball and designed to give young people from underserved and diverse communities the opportunity to play baseball and softball, while also encouraging academic achievement and success and teaching the value of teamwork and other important life lessons. Nike RBI currently serves youth in over 150 programs in approximately 200 cities worldwide. MLB and its Clubs have designated more than $40 million worth of resources to the Nike RBI program, and all 30 Clubs support Nike RBI leagues. For more information about the Nike RBI World Series, please visit MLB.com/rbiworldseries.