Astros to Host Baseball Clinics at Renovated Community Leaders Ballfields on Saturday, May 25

HOUSTON, TX - On Saturday, May 25, Houston Astros President Reid Ryan and four current Astros players will participate in youth baseball clinics for at-risk youth at three of the Astros Foundation's newly-renovated Community Leaders ballfields. The clinics are part of the additional programming that will occur at the Community Leaders fields throughout the year and is made possible through the program's corporate sponsors' ongoing support. The clinics will be led by staff from the team charity's Urban Youth Academy. At each of the three ballfields listed below, children age 7 to 12 selected by the partnering youth leagues will participate in the clinics along with four current Astros players and Astros Foundation staff.

Current Astros players participating in the field visits include: third baseman Matt Dominguez, outfielder Brandon Barnes and pitchers Jose Veras and Wesley Wright. Newly appointed Astros President Reid Ryan will also stop by to thank the volunteer youth league coaches for their commitment to teaching youngsters the fundamentals of baseball and the life lessons children learn from the sport.

"The Community Leaders program is a great way for the Astros, The Astros Foundation and our generous sponsors to team up and make a difference in the community," said Ryan. "We are investing in both our city's physical diamonds in the rough that need repairs and maintenance and the children and teens of disadvantaged neighborhoods. And with additional programming and encouragement from our players and staff, the program can be a home run for Houston's future."

The Astros Community Leaders program is investing $18 million in city-owned public youth baseball and softball fields in disadvantaged areas of Houston over the course of the next five years. Jumpstarted by Jim Crane, the Community Leaders program is run by The Astros Foundation, the official team charity, and is collaboration with the City of Houston and its corporate partners. The reconstruction and safety features added to the city-owned ballfields were paid for through the Astros Community Leaders program and completed at no cost to taxpayers.

With the addition of the newly renovated fields at Ingrando Park, 11 fields have been repaired through the Community Leaders program, and reconstruction at additional inner city owned ballfields is underway. These revitalized public youth baseball and softball fields serve thousands of at-risk youth in Houston.

In addition to the newly renovated ballfields and assistance with field maintenance, the youth teams partnering with the Community Leaders program will receive additional programming, tickets to Astros games at Minute Maid Park, visits from players and alumni, coaching clinics and other donated goods and services over the course of the 5 year initiative. Additionally, the Houston-based corporations in the Community Leaders program will participate in community service projects with their employees and the youth teams other Astros Foundation-led special events at the fields throughout the year.

ABOUT THE ASTROS FOUNDATION:

The Astros Foundation is the official team charity of the Houston Astros. Led by Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane and his partners, the Astros Foundation seeks to harness the passion of baseball fans in our region to support our cornerstone charitable youth baseball and softball programs serving at-risk children and teens of Greater Houston. Those initiatives include the Astros Community Leaders program, the Astros Urban Youth Academy and the Astros RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) league. The Executive Director of the Astros Foundation is Astros Sr. VP of Community Relations Meg Vaillancourt. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.astros.com/foundation or email [email protected].