Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., MLB And MLBPA Announce Inaugural ‘HBCU Swingman Classic’
|
Posted By: S. Moore on December 07, 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. jointly announced today the launch of the inaugural “HBCU Swingman Classic,” an annual All-Star experience for baseball student-athletes from Division-I programs at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU). The philanthropic and educational event, which will center around an “All-Star” Game, will be held during 2023 MLB All-Star Week in July at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, the franchise for which Griffey Jr. played for 13 seasons during his legendary career. The HBCU Swingman Classic, which will be powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, will highlight the history and legacy of HBCU baseball programs while also providing 50 HBCU baseball players with the opportunity to showcase their talent on a national stage. The student-athletes will be selected by a committee that will include Griffey Jr., representatives from MLB and MLBPA, and scouts. Additional details about the HBCU Swingman Classic will be announced in the months ahead. Griffey Jr., who is an Ambassador for the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, said: “I am excited to help these kids get the national attention that they don’t receive compared to other college baseball programs. Over the years, we have seen the decline of African American players, not because they don’t want to play, but rather because they haven’t been seen. College scholarships for baseball are not comparative to other sports, and a lot of families cannot afford to pay the difference. So, this effort is the industry coming together to give these kids an opportunity to play the game they love on the national stage. Financial restrictions prevent them from going to schools that give more exposure. The HBCU Swingman Classic will try and close that gap.” “Major League Baseball is thrilled to continue to work alongside Ken Griffey Jr. and the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation to bring this groundbreaking event to MLB All-Star Week,” said Tony Reagins, Chief Baseball Development Officer, MLB. “Highlighting the talent at HBCU Baseball programs is an important part of how we connect with college baseball while also improving African American representation at all levels of our game. We are excited to offer this opportunity to these players and for our fans to witness this new All-Star experience.” “Players believe that creating opportunities to showcase underserved Black baseball talent will result in a more competitive and exciting game in years to come,” said MLBPA Senior Director, International and Domestic Player Operations Leonor Colon. “As the industry’s joint foundation, we are proud to create and invest in new opportunities to level the playing field and ensure that a family’s financial means isn’t a defining limit to having their youth play baseball,” said Jean Lee Batrus, MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Executive Director. “Our friend, Ken Griffey Jr., has been a tireless ambassador helping us achieve our organization’s goals. We are excited to launch the inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic as a unique and innovative experience to highlight African American talent on a national stage and encourage finding solutions to improving college scholarships for baseball.” MLB All-Star Week in 2023 will be hosted by the Mariners in Seattle from Friday, July 7 through Tuesday, July 11. The HBCU Swingman Classic is the latest major event added to the schedule of the annual Midsummer Classic, joining the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, the Sirius-XM All-Star Futures Game, All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, the MLB Draft, the High School All-American Game and a series of youth and fan engagement activities. The HBCU Swingman Classic joins the annual Hank Aaron Invitational as youth-oriented and diversity-focused programs powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, a joint initiative by MLB and MLBPA to support efforts that focus on improving the caliber, effectiveness and availability of amateur baseball and softball programs across the United States and internationally. Historically, many HBCU alumni have reached Major League Baseball, including Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Lou Brock as well as Marquis Grissom, Rickie Weeks, Jr., Vince Coleman, Tommie Agee, Tom Alston, Earl Battey, Joe Black and others. Hall of Famer Larry Doby is also an HBCU alumnus, but did not play baseball at the collegiate level. SOURCE BLACK ENTERPRISE If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest Career Content
 |
Meet CareSource Recruiters at the HBCU CONNECT Fall Virtual Conference & Career FairCareSource is hiring and will be participating in the HBCU CONNECT Fall Virtual Conference & Career Fair on October 21, 2026. HBCU students, alumni and experienced professionals are encouraged to regi ...more
Cata Rizzle • 169 Views • October 7th, 2026 |
 |
From HBCU to Global Leader: Building Future-Ready Skills through Peace Corps ServiceThe Peace Corps’ From HBCU to Global Leader: Building Future-Ready Skills through Peace Corps Service virtual conversation explores how service can help HBCU students and alumni build transferable ski ...more
Cata Rizzle • 297 Views • October 6th, 2026 |
 |
lululemon Is Hiring: Retail, Design & Asset Protection Roles Across North America and Europelululemon , the global athletic apparel company behind some of the most recognized activewear on the planet, is actively hiring across North America and Europe — and the company is inviting HBCU ...more
Roger The Great • 355 Views • September 22nd, 2026 |
 |
Callback brings job discovery, application preparation and application tracking into one appIan Royes, an Oakwood University senior studying Finance & Accounting and founder of Royz Media Group, has released Callback: Student Job Finder for iPhone.
Released on August 29, Callback brings j ...more
Reginald Claremont • 309 Views • September 21st, 2026 |
 |
Coming To Your Ward - Ward 8 Job, Resources & Homeownership Fair in Cleveland (Oct. 8)Free "Coming to Your Ward" job, community resources, and homeownership fair comes to Cleveland's Ward 8 (Hough/MidTown) on Thursday, October 8, 2026, hosted by Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones and T ...more
Roger The Great • 589 Views • September 21st, 2026 |
Popular Career Content
 |
Careers on the east coast with Johns Hopkins Medical Center!Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center offers a unique environment to medical professionals from many backgrounds—an environment that combines the prestige and opportunities of a respected academic medi ...more
Roger The Great • 59,533 Views • March 16th, 2009 |
 |
Procter & Gamble Student Internship Program This Summer!Procter & Gamble is offering the experience of a lifetime. During the months of July & August 2011, P&G will host five different programs at our Global headquarters in Cincinnati, OH. These workshops ...more
Roger The Great • 49,447 Views • March 8th, 2011 |
 |
PAID, federal internships with the Federal Diversity Internship Initiative!The Washington Center Federal Diversity Internship Initiative Now is your chance to apply for paid fall internships with the Federal Diversity Internship Initiative! This is your once-in-a-lifetime op ...more
Reginald Claremont • 44,845 Views • June 14th, 2017 |
 |
Today's Success Tip: Joachim de Posada says, Don't eat the marshmallow...yetWe were invited to the National Association of African Americans in Human Resource's reception held at the
Atlanta Marriott Marquis during the SHRM conference, and the gift/tip we walked away with w ...more
Hija Chang • 43,254 Views • June 29th, 2012 |
