We got a really good, strong team.
- Meet the Kings from the Baseball Beyond Borders organization.
You're second. You're catcher. Did I get everybody?
You could say they're just like a lot of
teams full of kids with big dreams.
Well, I've always wanted to be a major League Baseball player.
And they're ready to work.
I feel like the motivation is getting there.
So I feel like I can do it as long as I try hard.
But there's one thing that makes this group a little different.
I look at like teams in the MLB
and like, there’s... I don’t really see people that look like me.
Believe in yourself always.
The number of African American players in Major League Baseball
has declined steadily since 1981.
Just over 6% of all MLB players this season are Black.
- C’mon J.T., better throw. - a statistic
Coach Lenny Smith wants to change.
King's organization is offering every background, every nationality.
You want to play baseball, come to the Kings.
We will help you play.
- Almost got a hit. - With support from Baseball Beyond Borders
and the Seattle Mariners.
The Kings play against top level teams across the Northwest.
Making an impact in more ways than one.
We get some stares, but, like, I don't really mind.
I'm just here to play ball.
Coach Smith says his players are learning quickly and they're teaching others, too.
These kids are the next generation.
So, these guys work hard.
The effort they put in .... this, they can help change the future.
But along with that look to the future.
This team is also reckoning with our past.
Why are we so divided in what it is about sports that can bring us together?
Last year, the Kings and Converge Media traveled south
on a reconciliation tour holding a baseball clinic at Jackson State,
a historically black university, then continuing to Alabama
to visit the Equal Justice Initiative, Legacy Museum and Memorial.
You know, 20 years from now, man, I hope that the community can see
baseball beyond borders.
As a program that really focused more than just baseball.
Right.
It was an opportunity for student athletes
to really understand and get a sense of purpose and identity.
- The tour inspired a renewed sense of purpose for the Seattle Mariners, too.
It's important for us to serve our community.
Nova Newcomer is a long time
baseball fan and director of community relations for the M’s.
She also heads the Mariners Care Foundation.
We can't do what we do on the field if we're not also succeeding off the field
and making an impact in our community.
This season,
the Mariners have made a big impact by opening five new Mariners
training centers across the state, like this one in Columbia City.
It's the official training facility of Baseball Beyond Borders
and its sister organization, Softball Beyond Borders.
I love the energy of the game.
I also like the teamwork.
It also taught me how to trust myself and my teammates.
I love the intensity of the game.
I love how fast paced it’s going and I love how much fun the girls bring to the field.
Michelle and Isabella are Seattle area players
who are also part of the “Hometown Nine,” a scholarship program
set up by the Mariners to help players from marginalized communities
with financial and academic support and mentorship from players
and the Mariners front office too - It really taught me how to be a leader
on the field, on and off the field.
- It's a lesson that hits home for these players thankful to gain the access
to a game that can only be played when people come together.
No matter what color you are, no matter what age you are.
This is a game of fun.
It's a game of like love and friendship and like family, like
so everyone should be allowed to play.
The big payoff this summer for Baseball and Softball Beyond Borders,
they'll host the Major League sponsor, Reviving Baseball
in Inner Cities or RBI tournament for young players.
Right after the All-Star Game in Seattle.
And we just thought that that was such a great opportunity for our region
to see the game at the highest level
and then also see these kids that are coming up the next generation.
We know that those are things that that go beyond the sport,
that are really about tying back the fabric of our community.
Always go as hard as you can.
It's all part of an effort to add new energy to the game of baseball
with new faces, an effort that isn't without struggle.
- Don’t lay down. - Let’s go!
Get up and fight.
But these players say they're up for the challenge
and they're running full speed toward some major league dreams.
- I'm like, one day
I'm going to make a change and that's how I'm going to be in that lineup.
And there's going to be multiple African American kids following me.
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