PLAY BALL Weekend

This summer, and as part of Major League Baseball’s PLAY BALL initiative, the Yankees will team up with the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Blue Chips Program, the New York City Parks & Recreation Department (NYCParks) and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to implement a program designed to keep area youth off the local streets.

Each Tuesday and Wednesday evening during the months of July and August – when many organized leagues have concluded – approximately 300 youth from the Bronx ages 12-18 will have the opportunity to take part in tournament-style baseball games at Elston Gene Howard Field – the site of the original Yankee Stadium.

Youth Engagement:

• Summer Night Lights is a collective effort to encourage youth to engage in baseball-related activities that demonstrate the positive way the game can serve as an outlet for recreation, social responsibility and healthy competition

Social Interaction:

• By gathering young individuals from all areas of the Bronx, artificial and territorial boundaries can be shattered in a way meant to bring communities together.

Overall Wellness:

• The issues of poor physical, mental and emotional wellness continue to be a problem in urban environments. Through consistent activity, positive ideals can be instilled and promoted.

Safety:

• Games will take place from approximately 5:30p.m. – midnight, a time period with typically high crime rates throughout the city during the summer months.

July:

• Tuesday, 7/11 / Wednesday, 7/12
• Tuesday, 7/18 / Wednesday, 7/19
• Tuesday, 7/25 / Wednesday, 7/26

August:

• Tuesday, 8/1 / Wednesday, 8/2
• Tuesday, 8/8 / Wednesday, 8/9
• Tuesday, 8/15 / Wednesday, 8/16
• Tuesday, 8/22 / Wednesday, 8/23
• Tuesday, 8/29 / Wednesday, 8/30

The PLAY BALL initiative is baseball’s collective effort to encourage young people and communities to engage in baseball or softball related activities, including formal leagues, special events and casual forms of play.

PLAY BALL events have become MLB’s signature youth engagement activity during the professional and amateur baseball and softball calendar, especially on key dates throughout MLB’s Championship Season and through the Postseason & World Series. PLAY BALL events demonstrate the positive way the game can serve as an outlet for physical activity, fun with friends and learning how to play the sport at its most basic levels.