DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Days before the dawn of a new season, with massive expectations leaning on the Blue Jays, Bo Bichette was building the game in his own backyard.

Bichette hosted a Play Ball event recently in St. Petersburg, Fla., near his home, with 75 kids from the Wildwood Heights community. Hosted in partnership with the St. Petersburg PAL Wildwood baseball program, the event was held to grow the game of baseball and make it more accessible to young kids in the area.

“This is something that’s been on my heart since I was in high school, really,” Bichette said. “Giving an opportunity to people who didn’t quite have the opportunity that I did growing up. I love the game of baseball, too, and I want to see it grow. I want to see it become more fun for kids to watch. It’s headed in that direction, but I want to do my part to help.”

Bichette is just a few weeks from his 26th birthday, still representing the “young” part of the Blue Jays core. He’s already emerged as a leader and the face of this franchise, though, for who he is off the field, as much as for his play.

There’s always been a maturity to Bichette, the kind that comes from growing up around the big league game, but he’s stepped into a new level of confidence over the past two seasons. Bichette has been more vocal, at least publicly, and with a work ethic that is nearly unrivaled, fellow players gravitate towards him. Bichette is at the front of this team, pulling them forward.

Events like this show Bichette’s lighter side. He was setting up tees for hitting, throwing balls for the kids to make diving catches and handing out hitting tips, something that even other big leaguers would love to listen in on.

“Bo Bichette, his family and his foundation have become really important partners not only to Major League Baseball, but to this particular community,” said David James, MLB’s vice president of baseball and softball development. “This is our second time out here as we kick off Spring Training, and there are kids having a lot of fun today.”

Bichette had some VIP guests, too, including Chavez Young, the former Blue Jays Minor Leaguer who is now in the Brewers organization, a ball of energy who was beloved in his time with the organization. This group is being chartered into Nike RBI as it continues to grow and support more kids.

When Bichette is involved in community events, he’s always shown an impressive level of self-awareness. He knows that his upbringing wasn’t “normal”, which is an important starting point. When Bichette was born his father, Dante, was entering his 11th MLB season. By the time Bichette was a teenager, his father was the hitting coach with the Rockies. He recognizes the privileges he’s experienced in his own life and wants to close some of those gaps, making baseball accessible for kids who haven’t had the same advantages.

At the core of all of this? Bichette is part of what makes the modern game cool, so he’s the perfect player to build those connections with the next generations.

“They’re experiencing new things,” Bichette said. “This community is more about football and basketball, but they’re able to come out here and play for free and a lot of them are enjoying it. Once they hit their first home run, they can’t wait to come back.”