Major League Baseball today announced the ceremonial & off-field activities for Game Four of the 2019 World Series presented by YouTube TV. The 115th Fall Classic between the American League Champion Houston Astros and the National League Champion Washington Nationals continues tonight, Saturday, October 26th, at Nationals Park with LIVE coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes and ESPN Radio. All games exclusively covered by FOX will be available to MLB.TV subscribers who are authenticated subscribers to the applicable network through a participating pay TV provider. ESPN Radio will provide live national coverage of all 2019 World Series games.

WORLD SERIES ‘PLAY BALL’ EVENT @ FORT BELVOIR: Prior to Game Four, MLB and the Washington Nationals hosted a fun-focused ‘PLAY BALL’ event. Hundreds of kids from military families stationed at Fort Belvoir participated in a series of fun baseball and softball activities highlighting the many ways the game can be played. Additionally, each participant received a bat & ball set, PLAY BALL-branded t-shirts and wristbands to take home. 2019 Roberto Clemente Award winner Carlos Carrasco and Olympic Gold Medalist & MLB Youth Softball Ambassador Jennie Finch were on-hand to participate in the various stations. For the third consecutive year, baseball and softball combined to rank as the most participated team sports in the United States in 2018 (25.6 million participants), according to the annual Topline Participation Report produced by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). Also according to the report, baseball has seen a 52.8% rise in casual participation since the launch of the PLAY BALL initiative. Since 2015, Major League Baseball and its many partners in the ‘PLAY BALL’ initiative, particularly MiLB, have hosted hundreds of PLAY BALL-focused events throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Panama.

IN-GAME SU2C MOMENT: MLB, Stand Up To Cancer and Mastercard will continue the annual Fall Classic tradition of an in-game SU2C moment at Nationals Park, with players, umpires, coaches and fans, as they all hold up placards with the names of loved ones affected by the disease. The moment will take place after the 5th inning and will air LIVE on FOX. MLB and its 30 Clubs are the founding donors of SU2C, committing more than $50 million, to date, to SU2C’s innovative cancer research programs. Carrasco, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia earlier this year, will be in Nationals Park for the in-game moment. He was on the field during the SU2C in-game moment during the 2019 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard.

PATRIOTIC PERFORMANCES: The U.S. Army Brass Quintet will perform the National Anthem prior to Game Four, and will be joined the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard Barracks 8th and I (accompanied by the Commandant’s Own, U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps). “America The Beautiful” will be performed by the National Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet during pregame ceremonies prior to the National Anthem. “God Bless America” will be performed by Technical Sergeant Paige Wroble of the U.S. Air Force Band.

CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH: Janyia Freeman, a Nationals Youth Baseball Academy scholar-athlete, will throw the ceremonial first pitch and will be accompanied by current Nationals and big supporters of the Academy Anthony Rendon and Max Scherzer.

“PLAY BALL!”: Longtime fan of Washington D.C. Major League teams Charlie Willis, 95, will announce “Play Ball!” before the game’s first pitch of Game Four. Willis, who’s been a Nationals season ticket holder since their return to the District in 2005, has seen a lot of the National Pastime’s history in the Nation’s Capital. He was born in 1924 (the year the Washington Senators won the World Series), saw his first Senators game in 1932, and has even seen Babe Ruth hit a home run. Willis is the author of “Washington Senators All-Time Greats” (published in 2004).

GAME BALL DELIVERY: Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2019-20 National Youth of the Year Sabrina McFarland will deliver the game ball for Game Four. A Club member for 12 years, she credits her Club with giving her an outlet to express herself. Sabrina, a freshman at Barnard College, Columbia University, plans to become a U.S. Congresswoman. Earlier in the day, Sabrina attended the PLAY BALL event at Fort Belvoir.

GOLD MEDAL-WINNING WOMEN’S BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM IN THE HOUSE: Members of the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, which won Gold at the 2019 COPABE Women’s Pan-American Championships, will be recognized tonight at Nationals Park. The members of the team in D.C. tonight include Alexia Jorge, Kate Blunt, Jamie McKay, and Denae Benites.

2019 RBI WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS RECOGNIZED: Several members from each championship team of the 2019 RBI World Series will be recognized during pregame ceremonies. Teams include Chicago White Sox RBI (junior baseball division out of Chicago, Illinois), Arizona RBI (senior baseball division out of Phoenix, Ariz.), and Houston Astros RBI (softball division out of Houston, Texas).

MEMBERS FROM SEVEN MLB YOUTH ACADEMIES TO ATTEND GAME FOUR: Ten members of the MLB Youth Academies from around the country also will be recognized during pregame ceremonies. The members are their respective Academy’s “Youth of the Year,” which recognizes a member who has had a positive year on and off the field, has overcome challenges in their lives, or has made a positive impact in their community. This year’s honorees include:

• Isabella “Bella” Leon (15) – MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif.
• Alexa Poche (17) – New Orleans MLB Youth Academy in New Orleans, La.
• Nicholas Thomas (13) – Houston Astros MLB Youth Academy in Houston, Texas
• Milan Schilling (18) – P&G Cincinnati Reds MLB Youth Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Julian “Juice” McPherson (14) – Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, D.C.
• Emily Gordon (17) – Philadelphia Phillies MLB Urban Youth Academy in Philadelphia, Pa.
• Kylie Cox (17) – Texas Rangers Baseball Youth Academy in Dallas, Texas
• Ramon Bonilla (17) – Roberto Clemente MLB Youth Academy/DREAM in Bronx, N.Y.
• Jared Fulghem (17) – Kansas City Royals MLB Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City, Mo.
• Joseph Cruz Torres (18) – Puerto Rico Baseball High School & Academy in Gurabo, Puerto Rico.

MLB’s Youth Academies aim to set the standard for mentorship and development in underserved communities through professional-level baseball and softball instruction, education assistance and career development programs – all while serving as positive members of their respective communities. Since their inception, the cost-free, year-round Academies have seen more than 500 players go on to play on the collegiate level, more than 100 players drafted by MLB clubs, and many more establish non-playing careers.

JENNIE FINCH EMPOWERMENT AWARD + CHURCH & DWIGHT CHECK PRESENTATION: The inaugural season of the Jennie Finch Empowerment Award presented by ARM & HAMMER, which honored four young women who demonstrated powerful characteristics, will conclude prior to Game Four. During a special on-field pregame ceremony, representatives from Church & Dwight Co., Inc., will present a $40,000 donation ($5,000 on behalf of each winner and an additional donation of $20,000) to the MLB Youth Foundation to benefit softball development initiatives. Finch and the four Jennie Finch Empowerment Award winners will be recognized on-field as part of special ceremony. An MLB blue-ribbon panel, including Finch, chose the winners, with one representing each of the following MLB softball development events: Breakthrough Series, Jennie Finch All-Star Classic, Elite Development Invitational, and the RBI World Series. Below are the names of each of the four winners:

• Daniela Ureña from Passaic, N.J. – Breakthrough Series
• Regina Fletcher from New Orleans, La. – Jennie Finch Classic
• Jaelynn Barrios from Jersey City, N.J. – Elite Development Invitational
• Valerie Orona from Anaheim, Calif. – RBI World Series

TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR GAMES FOUR & FIVE: ALL GATES at Nationals Park will open at 5:00 p.m. for Saturday’s game (Game Four), while ALL GATES for Sunday’s game will now open at 4:00 p.m. (Game Five). The Navy Yard neighborhood will be extremely crowded throughout the weekend and there will be several road closures in the immediate area (see map below). Nationals Park features a number of options for transportation, including nearby Metro stations and local bus routes, and WMATA has announced extended Metro hours for Nationals Postseason games. Nationals Park is also bicycle friendly, featuring a FREE bike valet located in Garage C and more than 250 bike racks around the ballpark. For more information on getting to and from the ballpark this weekend, please visit sportscapital.dc.gov.

RELIEVERS OF THE YEAR AWARD: The winners of the 2019 Relievers of the Year presented by The Hartford will be recognized prior to Game Four. Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera will be in attendance.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY DURING WORLD SERIES: MLB will continue to be sustainability-focused at its jewel events through the following environmentally responsible practices:

• Local Green Teams will work with the host Club to walk through the aisles between innings to collect recyclables and raise awareness for what fans can do in their everyday lives to be more “green.”
• All water and energy used at the ballparks during World Series will be offset through a partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation
• MLB will provide reusable water bottles and water filtration systems to broadcast crews with FOX and MLB Network working the World Series, eliminating the single use of thousands of plastic water bottles.

KULTURECITY REPRESENTED AT FALL CLASSIC CITIES: KultureCity will be at both Minute Maid Park and Nationals Park this World Series. KultureCity is the leading nonprofit that advocates for those with sensory challenges such as autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. A mobile sensory room will be on the concourse at both ballparks (Right Field Gate at Minute Maid Park and Section 109 at Nationals Park). KultureCity trained volunteers will be on-site to assist any guests and provide information on the organization. In addition, Sensory Bags filled with noise cancelling headphones, fidget tools and other sensory calming devices will be distributed.