NEW YORK – Baseball is the national pastime, and as such, it is intertwined with the country’s history and the idea of America itself. That connection will be on full display this year, when Major League Baseball will celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary with a wide-ranging series of initiatives.
On Thursday at MLB’s Manhattan headquarters, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that MLB will recognize America’s Semiquincentennial by amassing 250,000 collective volunteer hours in 2026 across the Commissioner’s office, all 30 MLB clubs, all 120 Minor League clubs, players of all levels and the league’s charitable partners. This volunteer work will fall under the “MLB Together” platform, which encompasses the league’s community outreach, charity work, awareness nights at MLB ballparks and more.
MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger was on hand to emcee the event, and VIP guests including journalist Tom Verducci, former MLB player John Franco and Mets prospect Chris Suero were also in attendance.
MLB is a partner of America250, the official nonpartisan organization established by Congress to lead the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration. The MLB Together volunteer commitment aligns with America250’s initiative called “America Gives,” which is designed to make 2026 the largest year of volunteerism in U.S. history.
In his remarks, Manfred emphasized the importance of baseball being on full display as part of the anniversary and the idea that this large volunteer pledge is the overarching umbrella that MLB’s other America250 activations will fit under.
“Our great game has been a source of entertainment and enjoyment for Americans for more than 150 years,” Manfred said. “During difficult times, baseball has served as a source of strength for Americans and the country as a whole. … When you have a nickname like America's pastime, we feel that it's really important that we have a special obligation to appropriately commemorate the 250th anniversary of the country.”
To kick off the year’s festivities, in conjunction with Thursday’s announcement, MLB hosted an event benefiting Foster Love, a nonprofit based in California that supports kids in foster care across the country. It’s a natural pairing to anchor the initiative, given that, as MLB’s SVP of social responsibility April Brown put it, “children are core to our sport.”
More than 60 MLB volunteers and 15 VIP guests donned “MLB Together” T-shirts and worked to pack 80 “Sweet Cases,” duffel bags filled with everyday items like blankets, hygiene kits, art supplies, teddy bears, umbrellas and MLB-branded water bottles for foster children in need. The volunteers lent a personalized touch to the bags with stencils and pastels, adding flourishes of decoration ranging from animals to artistic swirls. These kits will soon go to helping foster children in the New York area.
Since founder Danny Mendoza started the organization at age 19, Foster Love has helped over 1 million children in foster care and today serves one in three foster kids and foster parents around the U.S. in all 50 states.
“We've been working with Major League Baseball for a few years now, activating their staff, activating their teams, and providing a safe way to help children in foster care,” Mendoza said. “And they've been so receptive and open to helping and wanting to do more in the community. So when they made this huge commitment of their 250,000 hours, it was a great pick for both of us.”
The league’s long-standing partnership with Foster Love, which operates on a national and local scale, will continue later this month as part of the America250 initiative. On Jan 17, high school-age participants in MLB’s DREAM Series will give extra support to Foster Love by decorating duffel bags and assembling essential kits for local foster children in Tempe, Ariz.
For MLB, the idea of America250 extends beyond just its volunteer goals. The league unveiled a new logo that will help promote its year-long commemorations and symbolizes the deep-seated connection between baseball and the United States. That sentiment will continue at this year’s World Baseball Classic and culminate at the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, which is taking place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia mere miles from where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Philly also hosted the All-Star Game for America’s bicentennial at Veterans Stadium 50 years ago, in 1976.
The league always has a strong community presence during All-Star Week, and this year will be no different as MLB works towards achieving 250,000 volunteer hours. Throughout 2026, fans can follow along with the progress towards this goal via a thermometer featured on MLB Together’s custom microsite for the initiative, and will also be able to submit their own volunteer hours and photos from those events to directly contribute to the cause.
In this way, MLB will truly be combining efforts across every branch of its business and fan base to work towards this goal while celebrating baseball’s role in American history and culture.
“All year long, every year, we're in the community, we're off the field, helping residents and families and individuals throughout different partner causes,” Brown said. “And so what better way than to showcase and amplify even more [than] with America's 250th birthday?
“Our sport is core and ingrained in America's history, and what we know is we can bring everyone together, and the power of that, let's showcase it.”