TEMPE, Ariz. -- Even in the throes of mid-morning baserunning drills, arguably the most mundane of all the processes in baseball, there’s an unmistakable echo of laughter and jokes bouncing off the walls of Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday at MLB’s DREAM Series.
There’s an intangible looseness that exists among the participants, where they’re able to needle each other when they miss stepping on the inside part of the bag when rounding second or fall into hysterics when one of them tosses an errant behind-the-back flip -- as if they’ve known each other for years.
Well, it’s more than likely that they have.
A number of the players at the DREAM Series -- where close to 80 Black and Latino elite high school players receive instruction and mentorship to aid them in reaching the next level, whatever that may be -- also have roots in their local MLB RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) programs and Youth Academies. And with youth tournaments like the All-Star Commissioner’s Cup and RBI World Series, as well as nationwide showcase tournaments, there are plenty of opportunities for these players to become familiar with each other and build relationships.
And for many of them, these connections to each other are already worth their emotional weight in gold.
“The ones you build here are lifelong relationships,” said infielder/right-hander Bryce Robinson, a member of the New Orleans Youth Academy and a 2025 Tulane University commit. “If you keep playing the same people over and over, you’re going to start talking and keep building friendships. It’s amazing.”
“These are people that I’ve seen my entire life, and I’ve grown up with some of these people from across the country, that I’ve even looked up to at one point,” said infielder David Hogg II, a returning DREAM Series participant and a 2024 MLB Draft prospect. “It’s amazing, seeing people like Termarr Johnson last year, Nazzan Zanetello and Dillon Head -- seeing people that look the same as me and get that same chance to take advantage of these opportunities, it was amazing.”
Hogg, a native of Mansfield, Texas, and a Louisiana State University signee, began participating in MLB Develops programming when he was in eighth grade and started with the Texas Rangers Youth Academy at 13 years old. That program, and the one Robinson and his younger brother Dylan attend in New Orleans, is part of the 10 Youth Academies that operate in the contiguous United States and Puerto Rico.
Each Youth Academy is dedicated to a two-pronged approach -- providing baseball and softball instruction on the field, and helping to foster a safe environment for kids to become the best versions of themselves off the field.
“I’ll give an example from the [Rangers] Youth Academy,” Hogg said. “There are times I go up there in the middle of the week to take ground balls and hit on the field. Then we come back in and get our schoolwork done. They’ve got guidance counselors, mental health coaches -- they’re really committed to our development on and off the field.”
In a similar vein, RBI programs across the country attempt to deliver holistic support to youth athletes in cities where MLB teams reside. And while there’s a ton of focus and fanfare surrounding the flagship RBI World Series, where the best RBI teams compete for championships, the participants recognize the work that occurs in the margins.
Catcher Sir Jamison Jones, a Chicago native and 2024 Oklahoma State University commit, has been part of the White Sox RBI program since he was 10 years old. And while he was blessed with the tools to put the ball over the fence with ease and throw out runners from behind the plate -- and the work ethic to improve at his craft -- Jones refuses to overlook the impact that program has had on his growth as a player and as a person.
“They’ve given me a platform to perform at one of the highest levels,” Jones said. “I’ve been blessed to have great coaches and great mentors that have made me a better man outside of baseball and athletics. I’ve learned a lot of mental things that will just help me through life.”
But at the very heart of it all -- at the center of the barrage of drills, coaching and mentorship these kids receive through RBI, Youth Academy and MLB Develops programming -- is an experience that cannot be recreated or manufactured. There is a comfort that exists between these participants, one that stems from being able to look across the diamond and see 100 faces that look like their own. A collective relief that they're not alone in this journey as young Black baseball players trying to forge their own ways in a predominately white sport.
The chance to feel like they can belong, with no reservations other than trying to improve and make it to the next level, can never be overstated.
“It’s heartwarming, because where I come from, I’m one of the only Black kids on my team,” Hogg said. “And to come to an event like this, and see a field full of people that look like myself, act like me, that have the same swag and style that I do -- it makes me comfortable. It allows me to focus on my development and just continue to be great.”