Activity at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy is in full swing, with multiple youth teams taking the field at the Mercy Street Sports Complex each day.
The Dallas facility, which opened in December, is currently hosting middle school and high school practices and games for softball and baseball and Mercy Street Little League practices (games begin March 23). The academy is home to all Pinkston High School practices and home games as well as Sunset High School baseball games and Edison Middle School softball games.
Spring programming is ongoing, with 345 athletes ages 9-18 passing through the facility in the first three weeks, working on hitting, fielding, throwing and defense with the academy coaching staff. Registration is free and still available at texasrangersya.leagueapps.com.
A Buckle Up For Life event is also on tap, hosted by Toyota and Children's Health on March 24. Predetermined families will have car seats installed and participate in an education course to promote safe driving habits.
The Dallas academy is the eighth Urban Youth Academy opened by MLB, joining the flagship academy in Compton, Calif., and others in Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Future sites are in development in New York City, Kansas City and San Francisco.
Its facility spans 17 acres and features two professional-sized fields, three youth fields and the indoor Adrian Beltre Field in the Globe Life Training Center. In addition to baseball and softball instruction, the academy provides access to off-the-field programs such as tutoring, college and career fairs and math courses taught through the use of baseball statistics.