The MLB Community: Get Involved
- Ryann Smith
- Apr 17, 2020
- 3 min read
Major League Baseball (MLB) got its start in 1901 and was the first professional sport in America. With its rich history and roots, it is no surprise that the league has some great community relations initiatives and ways for fans to get involved. With 14 current community relations initiatives and 17 ways for fans to get involved, whether donating or volunteering, the MLB as a league does so much in the community, not even counting each teams’ community relations efforts. As MLB has various initiatives and ways of giving back, I chose five initiatives to discuss that stood out to me. You can find all the initiatives on the MLB Community website (MLB Community, 2020). The five initiatives I chose to examine more are MLB Green, 4ALS, the Youth Development Foundation, Shred Hate, and Jackie Robinson Day.
MLB Green
As a way to be more environmentally conscious, the MLB developed its MLB Green initiative to practice environmentally sustainable solutions to running team ballparks. This is practiced through “waste diversion, composting, sustainable purchase, water conservation, and energy-efficient practices” and this can be seen through efforts that include on-site gardens, recyclable collection, and LED and solar panel installation by some teams (MLB Green, 2020).To date, 10 ballparks use solar panels, 19 clubs use LED lighting, 12 ballparks use on-site gardens, 7 teams clubs have eliminated plastic straws, and the leagues’ clubs have diverted an estimated 18 tons of recyclables or composted waste in 2019 alone.
4ALS
The 4ALS initiatives a program run by all 30 clubs to find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease, through raising funds and awareness (MLB 4ALS, 2020). This is a particularly special initiative as Lou Gehrig was an MLB player for the New York Yankees and was one of their MVP players. With MLB’s long-standing history with ALS, they continue to assist in finding a cure for this disease. They have raised millions with their campaigns, including $100 million along with their ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014.
The Youth Development Foundation
Established in 2015 and then merged with the Baseball Fund of Tomorrow in 2018, the Youth Development Foundation is a grant program to expand youth participation in baseball and softball (MLB Youth Development Foundation, 2020). The foundation is a joint initiative between the MLB and the MLB Players Association, and it accepts grant applications for various purposes, whether field renovations, education initiatives, baseball/softball programs, and more.
Shred Hate
Shred hate is an initiative geared at bullying prevention program seeking to eliminate bullying through teaching the youth to spread kindness, rather than hate (MLB Shred Hate, 2020). In partnership with ESPN and X Games, the MLB works with a San Francisco based nonprofit, No Bully, that trains school staff on how to encourage kindness and compassion while eradicating bullying/cyberbullying. This program is an extension of the MLB’s anti-harassment policies and inclusion efforts that are in effect across the league.
Jackie Robinson Day
Since 2004, April 15th has been known as Jackie Robinson Day in the MLB. They chose this day to celebrate Robinson’s life, values, and accomplishments as a barrier breaker in the game of baseball (MLB Jackie Robinson Day, 2020). As the first African American in professional baseball, Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15, 1947, and left a lasting legacy in the sport as well as in the Civil Rights movement. Included with Jackie Robinson Day, every year during a regularly scheduled game, each team in the league wears his number, 42, in his honor.
Major League Baseball’s commitment and dedication to the community that supports them is outstanding. As the oldest professional sport in America, its rich history of involvement in the community, the league is unrivaled in that aspect. Although their community relations initiatives and fan involvement are significant, they could expand on their current community initiatives to create an even better community relations plan. An example could be expanding on Jackie Robinson day to make the month of April a celebration of inclusion in the game of baseball as a whole. To celebrate not only color barriers being broken but the inclusion of all people no matter race, religion, gender, sexuality, etc. The expansion of the league’s community efforts would greatly benefit not only the community but the league itself, creating a family with a love of the sport.
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