Players Alliance tour visiting Washington

December 5th, 2020

The Players Alliance’s Pull Up Neighbor campaign is stopping at 30 stadiums over two months, and the Nationals’ organization and players are getting involved.

The cross-country tour was developed to provide food, COVID-19 resources and baseball equipment to the underserved in Black communities. The program will make a stop from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Washington, D.C., at the Temple of Praise (700 Southern Ave. SE).

Nats utility player and right-hander are among the 100-plus current and former Major League players involved in The Players Alliance, whose mission is “to create an inclusive culture within baseball and the community, where differences are leveraged to elevate racial equality and provide greater opportunities for the Black community, both in our game and the places we live in, play in and care about most.”

“This is a time for us to come together,” Harrison said Friday on a Zoom call. “We had support from a lot of people we didn't even know -- or even knew wanted to be a part of it. … It's being able to say, ‘No baseball affiliation.’ This is us as humans, taking a step back to say, ‘Let’s reach out to these communities,’ and do it collectively. … It’s cool because a lot of us are connected in ways that we never would have imagined. We were connected in smaller groups, but -- as a whole -- I think everybody's on the same page now."

Harrison and Ross will make appearances at stops near their offseason homes -- Harrison in Cincinnati on Dec. 17 and Ross in Oakland on Jan. 22. (Ross said he may attend all three Bay Area events.) The D.C. stop is scheduled to be attended by Tigers prospect Troy Stokes Jr. and Dodgers prospect Errol Robinson, both Maryland natives.

“We all kind of do things at home in the offseason or during the season at our local facilities -- we have the Youth Baseball Academy in D.C.,” Ross said. “I just kind of think that when everyone comes together collectively, it kind of makes it easier to take even further steps. … It's great to be able to give back and kind of have some impact on the younger generations, not just as far as sports, but also the community just as far as everything that's been going on with the pandemic and things like that."

The Pull Up Neighbor tour began in the Bronx on Dec. 1 and will travel nationwide until Jan. 23, wrapping up in Vallejo, Calif. To date, The Players Alliance has donated $41.7 million to Black communities.

“I don’t think anyone has a bad time giving back,” Ross said. “I look forward to getting out there and seeing some smiling faces underneath the masks.”