On BASE

The Hometown Nine is a five-year commitment to nine incoming eighth-graders in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. The program provides financial, academic, professional, and social support to Hometown Nine Fellows to encourage success in their athletic careers and educational journeys.

The Mariners Equipment Donation Grant program awards ten $5,000 grants to high school baseball and softball teams in Washington and Oregon each year. These grants help pay for equipment, uniforms and field maintenance. Since 2018 we have provided $350,000 to help teams across the Pacific Northwest overcome socio-economic barriers.

The T-Mobile Little League® Call Up Grant is dedicated to helping families in need by covering registration fees associated with their local Little League program. T-Mobile and Little League share the belief that every child should have the chance to experience Little League, regardless of their financial or personal situation.

MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, presented by Nike, is the league’s youth initiative to provide baseball and softball playing opportunities for young people in underserved communities. Nike RBI teams including Baseball Beyond Borders in Seattle, Friends of Baseball in Portland and Gamers Alaska in Anchorage serve young players across our region, providing the opportunity to participate in PLAY BALL Weekend, hone skills and play in tournaments, train to be umpires, explore secondary pathways, serve as mentors and more.

Mariners Training Centers is a network of baseball and softball facilities throughout the Pacific Northwest working to train the next generation of young people in baseball and softball. Athletes of all backgrounds can gain and build on their experience, level up their skills and build character.

H9 is an intramural and workout league for middle school students to play in their neighborhood and combat the decline in children playing baseball and softball between ages 9 and 12.

Major League Baseball and USA Baseball partnered to create the Play Ball initiative, aimed at helping kids find new ways to engage with baseball and softball. We have teamed up with MLB Nike RBI programs, community organizations and local teams to host PLAY BALL events across the Pacific Northwest.

PLAY BALL Pitch Hit & Run is the official skills competition of Major League Baseball. A free, one-day event for children ages 7-14, Pitch Hit & Run tests how accurately a competitor can throw strikes to a designated Strike Zone target, how far and accurately they can hit from a stationary batting tee, and how fast they can complete a 120-foot sprint around third base and to home plate. Participants have a chance to advance through three levels of competition, including the finals hosted at the World Series.

Coaching has an outsized impact on the experience of young athletes, and we are proud to enlist the help of the club’s managers, coaches and staff to share insight into effective and empowering coaching techniques. In partnership with Mariners Training Centers, Nike RBI programs and other baseball and softball organizations, we host youth coaches clinics throughout the Northwest to provide instruction and resources to coaches that help them ensure players of all skill levels excel on and off the field.

Since 2018, we have worked with Little League® Challenger Division to provide memorable experiences for players, coaches and Mariners staff. Challenger Division is an adapted Little League for differently-abled athletes ages 5-22. Mariners players, families, staff and broadcasters team up to help Challenger athletes feel like the pros both at their home fields and at T-Mobile Park.