During All-Star Week, more than 200 17U MLB Youth Academy athletes competed at the All-Star Commissioner’s Cup and Jennie Finch Classic in Philadelphia.
Each event hosted 14-15 athletes per team, from nine MLB Youth academies across the nation and Puerto Rico. The teams competed in a round-robin tournament from Friday through Sunday, and the championship game was held on Monday, the day before the All-Star Game.
Finch, the longtime MLB softball ambassador and former U.S. Olympian, is a regular presence at the tournament named after her and has been a huge supporter of the event, emphasizing the importance of youth sports.
“Honestly, I came to inspire and teach, but I always leave more inspired, and they teach me,” Finch said during an interview with MLB.com at the opening ceremonies.
On the baseball side, the Texas Rangers Youth Academy took home the Commissioner's Cup after a fierce 10-9 win over the Compton Youth Academy.
“Respect to Compton, an amazing team. Really close game,” said Rangers pitcher Diego Reyes. “In the end, they got the lead a little bit, but I never lose trust in my guys. We stayed in it 100 percent the whole time. We never gave up, and as you can see, it got us the game.
“That’s how we do it in Texas. No one really lays down and takes it. We keep the energy up, and that’s where it takes us.”
The Rangers competed at the famous Meiklejohn Stadium at the University of Pennsylvania alongside their coach, Juan Leonel Garciga.
“Once we got out of the top of the seventh and I saw the morale was down, I just got everyone together and was like, 'Listen, I don’t know how this top inning is going to go, but I just have to tell you guys I am incredibly proud of you guys, and man wouldn't it be something if we put a six-spot here?'" said Garciga. “Next thing you know, I walked away and boom, bases loaded, ball down the line, by the time they picked up that ball I said, 'Oh my god, we just walked them off.'”
On the softball side, the Compton Youth Academy Softball team took home the prize after a 12-0 win in five innings. Compton played against the Houston Astros Youth Academy and had an undefeated championship run.
Kalin Badgley, who played for the Compton team, shared how valuable the experience was.
“This was a tournament for us to come out, play, have fun and make new friendships," said Badgley. “Throughout the entire experience, our coaches emphasized the importance of playing freely.”
For Badgley, this tournament meant more than just the game.
“This was my first softball tournament in five years," she said. "For all of high school, I’ve just played baseball. I just decided to flip over and make the change, and it was so worth it."
The Compton Youth Academy came together and had only two months to practice before the big game, with many of the girls meeting each other for the first time.
“From the very beginning, we told ourselves we were going to win to represent Compton," Badgley said. There’s a lot of stigma around the city, but we wanted to show them what it was all about.”