Dozens of youth across the country who have attended Major League Baseball-led programs participated in a special PLAY BALL event Saturday afternoon at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy before being celebrated and recognized during pregame ceremonies at Globe Life Field before Game 2.

The Arizona Fall League has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of The Valley to host two special events during the 2023 AFL season focused on engaging nearly 200 young fans, ages 8 to 14, per event. Students will be introduced to elementary concepts of baseball analytics by STEM Sports, combining science and math, while taking in an AFL game.

The first Boys & Girls Club of America was created in Hartford, Conn., in 1860. On Wednesday -- 163 years later-- the organization opened its 5,000th club outside Chicago to continue the spread of what the Boys & Girls Club mission stands for -- helping the youth and young teenagers reach their full potential.

This holiday season, MLB is supporting the Boys & Girls Club (BGCA) in Stamford, Conn., which helps more than 3,000 kids in need each year. Over the past several weeks, children from this BGC chapter wrote letters to Santa with their holiday wish lists, and MLB employees donated approximately 115 gifts to fulfill these requests.