Dozens of the top high school baseball prospects in America are together in Arizona this weekend, but it’s not all about balls and strikes.
More than 80 predominantly African American prep pitchers and catchers from more than 15 states and Canada gathered for the ninth annual DREAM Series at Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Angels. The amateur development experience, designed to help diversify the talent pool of minority pitchers and catchers, takes place in connection with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Before the guys grabbed their cleats, they spent Saturday morning giving back by stuffing duffle bags with everyday essentials for kids involved in The Foster Love Project, a nonprofit that provides support for foster children and families.
Baseball took a back seat as the players -- not much older than many of the kids Foster Love serves -- learned about the organization’s mission and also learned about one another as they sat together decorating the bags.
“We can’t draw,” joked Devyn Downs, 18, a right-hander from Sterlington, La. The junior, already committed to LSU, has a fastball that reached 91 mph back at the Perfect Game 16U 2024 National Elite Championship.
The partnership with Foster Love is part of a new initiative through MLB Together to pledge 250,000 volunteer hours by the end of 2026 to support charitable organizations and local communities nationwide.
As part of Major League Baseball’s celebration of America’s 250th, MLB Together combines the efforts of the Commissioner’s Office, the 30 MLB and 120 Minor League clubs, players of all levels and the league’s charitable partners to celebrate the country through community service.
The DREAM Series is part of that effort. The weekend is dedicated to giving back, interactive discussions focused on preparing athletes for the collegiate and professional levels, and getting out on the Tempe Diablo Stadium field just weeks before Spring Training for elite-level instruction from former Major and Minor league players, managers and coaches.
It also provides the players with, in a word, opportunity, according to Jerry Manuel, a former Mets and White Sox manager and current MLB baseball and softball development consultant.
“[We want to] create an environment where you have others that look like you playing the game,” Manuel said as Saturday’s practice wrapped up. “Try to see if that could motivate or initiate interest in the game and the culture. I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re trying to accomplish. A lot of times these kids play on teams and they’re the only ones on the team. It’s a little different.”
That opportunity may be what’s hardest to come by for African American kids, added Antonio Grissom, head baseball coach at HBCU Morehouse College.
“The biggest thing is the cost of it,” Grissom said while coaching the DREAM Series. “Travel ball has kind of changed the landscape for African American kids. It costs so much to play baseball these days, and it’s events like this that give our kids a chance.”
DREAM Series alumni include 2022 National League Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II of the Braves, Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, Angels shortstop Christian Moore, Twins pitchers Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson, and Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker.