Astros, MLB to open baseball academy
Houston facility will be modeled after Compton operation
In the very near future, the Astros will have a Youth Academy similar to the original, practically in their own backyard. On Friday, Major League Baseball, the Astros and the City of Houston announced an agreement to renovate and work together to operate the Houston Astros MLB Urban Youth Baseball Academy at Sylvester Turner Park.
Plans for completing the project were presented at the park by a large contingent of dignitaries, including State of Texas State Representative Sylvester Turner, Astros owner Drayton McLane, Mayor Bill White, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon.
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was in attendance, along with many other former players, including Jimmy Wynn and Larry Dierker, both of whom work for the Astros' community outreach department, as well as MLB executives Darryl Hamilton and Bob Watson, and former Astro Mike Jackson, who lives in Houston and expressed interest in becoming involved with the academy when the facility is complete.
The Astros and Major League Baseball teamed to donate $600,000 to the project, a number matched by Mayor White and the City of Houston. The Astros and MLB also agreed to assume the costs and run the facility for the next 10 years.
"It's real easy to get people to give money to build a facility and then walk away, and then you go back in three to five years and the facility has deteriorated," McLane said. "We made a commitment that the Houston Astros and Major League Baseball would be totally responsible, not only for maintaining the facility but training young people."
Mayor White referred to President Barack Obama's inauguration message-- "teamwork and looking to the future" -- as a fitting parallel to the efforts to make the new Urban Youth Academy a reality.
"It takes teamwork," White said. "And people in the community responded to the challenge."
The Youth Academy will feature a main field complete with scoreboard, permanent seating for 500 fans with space for an additional 1,800 fans, dugouts and lights, one auxiliary field, two Little League/softball fields and batting cages, a 1,500 square foot office space and other facilities. Renovations begin in February, and Solomon said he expects the facility to be ready "sometime this year."
The Academy will staff local high school, collegiate, current and former professional ballplayers and interns to help run the different Major League-caliber training camps and clinics throughout the year, offering free programs to a minimum of 2,500 youth.
Additional instructors, collegiate coaches, scouts, and certified athletic trainers will also work with young athletes at the Academy, which will open its doors to all who want to participate from the Houston area with enrollment open year-round.
In addition to baseball and softball instruction, boys and girls attending the Academy will be given the opportunity to participate in free seminars on umpiring, athletic field management, scouting and player development, sports and broadcast journalism, public relations and statistics, as well as athletic sports training.
"There will be baseball instruction, but also vocational and educational components," said Darrell Miller, senior director of the MLB Urban Youth Academy. "We combine athleticism and education."
When the Compton Academy opened in 2006, former Astros outfielder and Compton native Enos Cabell, currently a special assistant to general manager Ed Wade, donated $35,000. McLane matched the contribution, and the money went toward batting cages.
Once the Academy opened, the Astros hired former Minor League manager Chuck Stone as an area scout to evaluate potential Draft prospects within the program.
The Houston Astros Academy at Sylvester Turner Park in Houston will be modeled after the Compton site, where more than 24 student athletes have been drafted since it opened in '06. In total, 49 student athletes have signed professional contracts and 76 Academy student athletes have gone on to participate in collegiate baseball and softball programs.
"Three years ago, this was an open field," said Turner, whom the Academy is named after. "We wanted to know, how could we take it to the next level? How can we make an investment in them for the future?"
He contacted Solomon, whose dream is to open Academies all over the country, "in the shadow of every Major League Stadium in the country."
That dream could easily become a reality, one field at a time.
"Major League Baseball is committed to improving the lives and increasing the opportunities of young athletes interested in our sport," said Commissioner Bud Selig in a statement. "I cannot think of a better way to prove our promise than by announcing today the development of a third Urban Youth Baseball Academy in Houston, Texas.
"We have carefully examined and identified areas where we felt there was a need for us to make significant and important investments for the growth of our sport, particularly among underserved communities. Thank you to the City of Houston, Drayton McLane and the Houston Astros for also showing their commitment to our future Major League citizens."