Julian Haliga founded Milwaukee Baseball Club in 2009 to help bridge the gap between suburban and central-city baseball programs.
Located a short distance from American Family Field, the home ballpark of the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers, the club offers local youth year-round access to batting cages, athletic training areas and meeting spaces.
It’s also set to receive key athlete-development technology in the form of HitTrax, a patented baseball data-tracking and simulation system that uses optical sensors and computer vision to track the flight path of a ball the moment it is hit, providing analytics like exit velocity, launch angle and distance.
The purchase of the new equipment is being made possible through an MLB Together World Series Legacy Project unveiled Friday morning at the club’s facility on Milwaukee’s South Side. The announcement came as the Brewers prepared to host Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“It’s a dream. Pinch me, because I need to wake up,” Haliga said at a celebration, emceed by Brewers play-by-play broadcaster Josh Maurer and held at Milwaukee Baseball Club’s facility, which was packed with young baseball players and their coaches. “This is a machine we never, ever would have gotten otherwise, and it’s going to bring kids to the facility by the droves.”
The $25,000 donation, along with an ongoing multi-year grant from the Brewers Community Foundation, will help preserve local youth baseball in Milwaukee and ensure long-term support for the facility, which also works in collaboration with MLB’s Nike RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program, an initiative to make the sport more accessible and inclusive for low-income families and children of color.
Kabel Scott, a 16-year-old Milwaukee resident and member of Milwaukee Baseball Club, described the donation as “very impactful.”
“I’m very excited about this new technology. It will help us improve our performance,” said Scott, who is an outfielder in his first year with the club. “I’m very grateful to be part of the MBC family, and I’m really looking forward to what the future holds for us.”
The HitTrax technology will put Milwaukee Baseball Club a “step above our competitors,” Scott said in an interview following the event.
Scott spoke glowingly about what the club has done for his development.
“They really push me to be a better player,” he said. “I’m really proud to be part of this community. It’s really great."
The support of Milwaukee Baseball Club is part of the Brewers Community Foundation’s effort “to impact families and youth at a high level,” said Cecelia Gore, executive director of the Brewers Community Foundation, which raised more than $5.7 million in 2025 and $66 million since the foundation's inception in 2010.
“This is just another example of the work we try to do every day,” Gore said. “MLB Together reflects the power of baseball to create lasting impact beyond the field. Through community focused initiatives and investments, Major League Baseball and the Milwaukee Brewers are committed to strengthening the community that supports the game. Brewers Community Foundation has long been committed to strengthening communities across Wisconsin, and MLB Together World Series Legacy projects align directly with our mission.”
Gore praised the work of Haliga and Milwaukee Baseball Club.
“We know that his commitment and perseverance will have a positive impact on our kids,” she said.
April Brown, MLB’s senior vice president of social responsibility, said Milwaukee Baseball Club has become a hub for young athletes from every background to play ball, build friendships and better themselves on and off the field.
“While the excitement of the Fall Classic captures the eyes of the baseball world, events like this one here today ensure the impact of Major League Baseball reaches far beyond the diamond,” Brown said. “Our goal goes far beyond celebrating baseball just at our Jewel Events. We are committed to leveraging the power and reach of our sport to make meaningful and lasting change off the field in each host community that we touch.”
The MLB Together World Series Legacy initiative is designed to “leave a permanent, tangible footprint long after that final pitch that will be thrown in this Series,” Brown said.
“We are directly investing in the future and the youth of Milwaukee.”