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New York Times
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Forgettable all-star uniforms detract from the specialness of all-star games: Betancourt
If an all-star-specific uniform isn't worn does anyone miss it? The 2025 MLB All-Star game had multiple highlights. A swing off? That's new and exciting. Although, admit it, there was a part of you that wanted Bud Selig to come out and say the game was ending in a tie. But while that new element stole the show, there was something a little old school that was a widely welcomed sight for those who remember MLB All-Star game uniforms from a more civilized age (i.e. pre-2020). Each player wore their individual team's standard home or away jerseys when taking the field rather than matching one-off all-star uniforms. And as many all-star game scholars noted across social media in response to the change: that's the way it should be when it comes to all-star games. Advertisement Kobe vs. Jordan at Madison Square Garden. A-Rod telling Cal Ripken Jr. the Orioles legend is starting his final all-star game at shortstop. These games and the moments that define them are better when the all-stars are wearing the uniforms that made them icons in the first place, and not something less identifiable that almost always comes off as just a way to spruce up jersey and ballcap sales. Which leads to an even more serious question for those of us who take big-league merchandise seriously: what is the buyability of all-star gear given the small window of relevance? Does an MLB All-Star cap or jersey purchased in July get worn later that September in the home stretch of a playoff run? I don't need statistics to tell me in the chase for a wild card or a division title you're likely grabbing the merchandise that most closely mirrors what your favorite team is wearing on the field during their most important games of the season as opposed to something colored in a shade your team would never use. No one in the Bronx is reaching for anything ice-cream colored in October. If you're attending an all-star game, that's different. A wild-colored jersey with 'American' or 'National' (or as was the case at the Derby this year 'AL' and 'NL' in an Atlanta-inspired cursive script that I'll say was pretty slick and a little comic-booky) and a cap with a few extra stars and a patch to signify the year and location of the game are nice keepsakes and the perfect souvenir to say 'I was there.' Ditto for an all-star game that takes place at your local stadium, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. This year's MLB festivities treated us to new star-spangled fitted caps and all-star jerseys worn during the Home Run Derby, as has been tradition since the '90s. The derby is a wonderful multi-hour commercial for said merchandise. There are the biggest stars in baseball, wearing slightly different caps and new jerseys that are remodeled each year and never stay the same, giving a slight uniqueness factor for those who care. Advertisement Every year I spend those Derby hours pondering. Not over the jerseys per se. You can't convince me those all-star jerseys are purchased with the intent of frequent usage. Although CC Sabathia gushing over James Wood while wearing Wood's 2025 All-Star jersey almost got me to bite as a Washington Nationals fan. A post shared by Washington Nationals (@nationals) The all-star caps almost get me every summer. Maybe if Wood wore his during his at bats in the Derby I would have caved, but he didn't, so my Ripken-like streak of not buying all-star gear continues. The blast radius of enjoyment for these types of caps and jerseys, for me, really feels like all-star weekend itself. I'll wear a Washington Nationals City Connect cap (both of them) until the end of time, but all-star game gear? I just can't do it. Wearing a 2025 all-star cap in 2026? Never. Yes, I get it. The intended point is to get the next all-star game cap in 2026. But who is really collecting these things? And that's coming from someone with 25 fitted baseball caps by his office desk. A nice display piece? Sure. An all-star fitted can be that. A hat you're wearing during September call-ups? Unlikely. That's not to say perfect all-star game gear worth reaching for your wallet doesn't exist. It happened. Once. Those 1996 San Antonio-themed NBA All-Star game jerseys, the ones with the chili pepper on them that were worn by some of the greatest NBA legends of all time? Jordan. Shaq. Penny. Grant Hill. I'd wear that right now. But I also think pinstripes on NBA uniforms are cool. So maybe I'm just too into the '90s. The NBA then had players wear their own team's uniforms for all-star games from 1997-2002, and since going back to the one-off designs, nothing has stood out like those San Antonio threads. And while I'm convinced no great Pro Bowl jersey exists, I would without hesitation purchase a Sean Taylor No. 21 Pro Bowl jersey to commemorate his dimensional-rift-causing de-cleating of punter Brian Moorman in 2007, even though those uniforms look like they're from the first Captain America movie. And not the one with Chris Evans. The one you saw on HBO at your grandparents house, with the rubber ears. Advertisement What made that jersey special was what Taylor did while wearing it, not the jersey itself. There's also something special about seeing a player in a San Diego Padres uniform celebrate with a teammate in a San Francisco Giants uniform. But maybe I'm just bitter. Perhaps my refusal to buy into baseball merchandise custom-made for July comes from hurt feelings. Look at the all-star game optics I had to endure last year. In the 2024 MLB All-Star game, when Juan Soto got to first base and was greeted by Bryce Harper, the optics were just too much for me. There at first base was (soon to be) about a billion dollars worth of baseball players between the two. A billion dollars that my Nationals didn't have to spend (and yet the bullpen is still pending) after saying goodbye to both stars, illuminated in colors that could best be described as sherbet. That hurt. And not just because of how bright it was. All love between former teammates Bryce Harper and Juan Soto at the #AllStarGame ❤️ — MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2024 I don't think there's any coincidence MLB toned down the colors this year and went back to basics. But maybe the only thing all future all-star uniforms need to be memorable is a good chili pepper. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
New York Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Matthew Boyd's winding All-Star journey: ‘One of the best human beings you're ever going to be around'
In the summer of 2001, Matthew Boyd's father surprised him with tickets to the All-Star festivities in Seattle, a dream occasion for a 10-year-old residing in Washington state. They watched Luis Gonzalez out-slug Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez in the Home Run Derby. Boyd fondly remembers Giambi's first-round spectacle, as Giambi splashed 14 homers into the outfield seats in the pitcher-friendly venue. The next evening, Boyd and his father attended the midsummer exhibition, highlighted by a Cal Ripken, Jr. homer in his final All-Star Game. Advertisement Nearly a quarter-century later, Boyd is an All-Star. As the roster selection date approached, the Chicago Cubs pitcher downplayed his prospects. Of course he did. He offered that he 'would be honored,' that the recognition 'would be amazing,' but he stressed it was out of his control with the humble sort of 'aw, shucks' attitude that has become his big-league reputation. The reality is, he owns the second-best ERA among qualified National League starting pitchers. This shouldn't have come as a surprise. Now, if you rewind one year, this script might seem stunning. Thirty teams began their 2024 seasons, but Boyd was left behind, coaching his kids' softball and T-ball teams in Washington. His daughter regularly asked why he wasn't pitching. Boyd was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was a free agent. Beyond a healthy elbow, he wasn't sure what the season would have to offer. By June, he was cleared to pitch. He held a showcase for major-league evaluators at UCLA, but a lot of the responses involved minor-league deals. One night, he tuned into a game between the Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles. Marveling at the energy in Cleveland's dugout, it confirmed to him the Guardians were the right fit. He threw his first bullpen session at Progressive Field in July, and Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis — who has mentored five different Cy Young Award winners over his storied career — was, in his own words, 'blown away.' 'I told (team president Chris Antonetti), 'This guy is going to help us,'' Willis recalled earlier this month from the visitors dugout at Wrigley Field, shortly after Boyd hustled over to catch up with him in the outfield grass. Boyd's first live batting practice session in Cleveland was akin to a crowd of Parrotheads watching Jimmy Buffet go through a soundcheck. On a sunny July afternoon, the dugout was filled with Guardians players, coaches, front office executives and Boyd's wife and four children. As Cleveland general manager Mike Chernoff walked off the field following the performance, he said to anyone within earshot: 'How impressive was that?' Advertisement Boyd insisted his best baseball was in front of him. At the point in his career when he finally realized he should stop chasing stuff and strikeouts and perfection, that's when the injuries interfered with his ascent. But the recovery time following elbow surgery helped him zero in on how to pitch in a healthier way, and at an even higher level. Baseball's gentlest soul was ready to reveal his tenacious side. Within a major-league clubhouse, there is an unwritten rule for media during pregame access that is widely accepted and understood: Don't talk to the starter on the day he pitches. Even if you didn't know this expectation, most starting pitchers make this clear through their body language, wearing AirPods, not making eye contact, striding purposefully through the locker room and avoiding any unnecessary interactions. That is a classic baseball archetype, the starting pitcher with a bulldog attitude and an ornery disposition. The job is kind of self-absorbed, following an individual routine and pitching only once every five or six days. When it happens, he gets to set the tone. And then there's Boyd, only a few hours before first pitch at Wrigley Field, greeting a reporter by name with a smile. When Boyd joined the Guardians in the middle of last season, he already knew the names of each of the team's regular beat writers before ever meeting them. Nice guys do not always finish last. 'He's one of the best human beings you're ever going to be around,' said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. 'He's one of the best teammates you're ever going to be around.' When Boyd finally returned last August after 14 months, he appeared sharp, in control and confident. The Guardians essentially went wire-to-wire in the American League Central despite a lackluster rotation. Boyd was exactly what — and whom — they needed. He shared intel with young starters Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams. He offered guidance to Shane Bieber, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2024. He added another veteran voice — a calm, soothing, encouraging one — to a room full of players in their 20s. Advertisement Following that uncertainty in June, Boyd earned approximately $5 million, per a team source, and joined Bibee as the anchors of Cleveland's postseason rotation. He was handed the ball in a winner-take-all ALDS game in October, opposite his old club, the Detroit Tigers, and Tarik Skubal, the unanimous Cy Young Award winner and Boyd's former understudy. Unsurprisingly, Skubal referred to Boyd as 'the nicest guy in the world.' 'I told him that,' Skubal said. 'Like, 'Dude, you should act a little more mad sometimes.'' That's not how he's wired, though. At least, not away from the mound. Boyd posted a 2.72 ERA in eight starts for the Guardians last season, and he allowed only one run in 11 2/3 innings in the playoffs. It was the ideal summer fling that spilled into the fall. And Boyd had the courtesy to call Vogt when it was over. As Vogt detailed it, Boyd all but apologized for accepting another team's offer this past winter. The Guardians submitted a multi-year bid to retain Boyd, league sources told The Athletic, but they didn't match Chicago's two-year, $29 million structure. Boyd felt it was important to deliver the news to his manager himself. 'I'd run through a brick wall for him any day of the week,' Boyd said of Vogt. Chicago was the perfect landing spot. He's now pitching at Wrigley Field, once his late grandfather's sanctuary. His grandfather grew up in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan. He was able to witness them break their World Series drought in 2016, three years before he passed. Other branches of Boyd's family tree stem from Chicago or Gary, Ind. 'When the situation came about,' Boyd said, 'it was like, 'OK, of course.'' As an overwhelmed rookie in 2015, Boyd faced three batters at Wrigley Field, a few weeks after the Toronto Blue Jays dealt him to Detroit as part of a blockbuster deal for David Price. Boyd hadn't stepped in the building in the decade since. Now, he can't imagine pitching anywhere else. His kids wrapped up their baseball seasons, and the entire family now lives in the neighborhood. Advertisement It's hard to imagine where the Cubs would be without Boyd (10-3, 2.34 ERA), whose excellent performance has carried the rotation while Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad dealt with injuries. As Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said: 'We really needed Matt to step up.' Boyd has already thrown 111 2/3 innings this season, surpassing his total in each of the previous five years. Given his workload and medical history, as well as the timing of his last start — Saturday's eight scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium — he will not pitch in the All-Star Game. The Cubs want him ready for another deep playoff run. 'We don't know what causes pitchers to get injured,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'Otherwise, we'd be better as an industry. But everything we're looking at with Matt is in really good shape. I know we got a long way to go. He's got a lot of innings left to pitch. You're just really operating with the mindset that if there's a couple less throws, it's going to be better. But there's no signs right now of him slowing down. He's getting better.' Of course, there are no metrics for Boyd's intangibles. It's that positive energy in the clubhouse, the eagerness to share information with young pitchers and offer encouragement. The Cubs are in first place at the All-Star break with an ace who is extremely polite but could never be considered soft. 'He's just more evolved than the rest of us,' Counsell said. 'I don't know how he does it. I don't have it in me.' As baseball gets handed down from one generation to the next, Boyd is now the father taking his kids to the All-Star Game and creating priceless memories.
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
This Date in Baseball - New York Yankees set MLB record by homering in their 28th consecutive game
June 25 1934 — Pitcher John Broaca tied a major league record by striking out five consecutive times but pitched the Yankees to an 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Lou Gehrig had better luck at the plate, hitting for the cycle. 1937 — Augie Galan of Chicago became the first National League switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate in the Cubs' 11-2 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. 1950 — Chicago's Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to send the Cubs past the Philadelphia Phillies 11-8. 1961 — Baltimore and California used a major league record 16 pitchers, eight by each side, as the Orioles edged the Angels 9-8 on Ron Hansen's 14th-inning homer. 1968 — Bobby Bonds, in his first major league game, hit a grand slam off John Purdin to help San Francisco to a 9-0 win over Los Angeles. 1988 — Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game. 1998 — Sammy Sosa broke the major league record for homers in a month, hitting his 19th of June leading off the seventh inning of the Cubs' 6-4 loss to Detroit. Sosa passed the mark set by Detroit's Rudy York in August 1937. 1999 — Jose Jimenez, a rookie right-hander having one of the worst seasons than any other NL pitcher, threw St. Louis' first no-hitter in 16 seasons, outdueling Randy Johnson in a 1-0 victory over Arizona. 2002 — Luis Pujols of the Detroit Tigers and Tony Pena of the Kansas City Royals became the first Dominican-born managers to oppose each other in a major league game. 2007 — A fan charged at Bob Howry during the Cubs' 10-9 win over Colorado after the reliever helped blow an 8-3 lead in the ninth inning. Howry gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe and a three-run homer to Troy Tulowitzki. The fan then jumped onto the field from the roof of the Rockies' dugout and made it a few feet from the mound before security guards tackled him. Howry earned the victory when Alfonso Soriano hit a game-ending two-run single in the bottom of the inning. 2010 — Arizona's Edwin Jackson pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. 2010 — The Cubs suspend pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely after he throws a tantrum in the dugout after giving up 4 runs in the 1st inning of a 6 - 0 loss to the White Sox. 'Big Z' blames first baseman Derrek Lee for letting a Juan Pierreground ball past him for a double that starts the rally, although the hard-hit ball was hardly catchable. Tom Gorzelanny replaces Zambrano who is removed from the game by manager Lou Piniella. 2011 — Cleveland's Tony Sipp balked home the only run with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a 1-0 loss to San Francisco. Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win. There also were two errors in the inning by second baseman Cord Phelps that spoiled a strong start by Justin Masterson. 2013 — Eric Filia drove in a career-high five runs, Nick Vander Tuig limited Mississippi State to five hits in eight innings, and UCLA won 8-0 for its first national baseball championship. 2014 — Tim Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. 2015 — The San Francisco Giants hit four triples in a game for the first time in 55 years, including a pair by Brandon Belt in a 13-8 win over the San Diego Padres. Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy also tripled for San Francisco, which had not tripled four times in a game since Sept. 15, 1960, when Willie Mays hit three and Eddie Bressoud one at Philadelphia. 2018 — The St. Louis Cardinals record the 10,000th win in team history with a 4-0 defeat of the Cleveland Indians.. They are the sixth major league team to do so. 2019 — The New York Yankees set a new major league record by homering in their 28th consecutive game. 2021 — Philadelphia Philles pitcher Aaron Nola ties Tom Seaver's 51-Year old MLB record of ten consecutive strike outs in a 2-1 loss to the Mew York Mets. 2022 — Three Astros pitchers combine to no-hit the Yankees, 3 - 0. 2023 — George Springer leads off the bottom of the 1st for the Blue Jays against the Athletics with a homer off Luis Medina. The 55th leadoff home run of his career gives him sole possession of second place on the all-time list, behind only Rickey Henderson. The Blue Jays win handily, 12 - 1. _____
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
I'm a veteran. The Orioles' national anthem cheer is fine by me.
When I served in Iraq in 2008 and 2009, I had no shortage of challenges: the heat, the long days and, of course, the possibility of danger. But I never felt homesick — with one exception. One April day after returning to Baghdad after a multiday mission to Iraq's Diyala Province, I caught a few innings of the Orioles playing on Opening Day against the Yankees on the Armed Forces Network. I could almost smell the grass and hot dogs through the grainy television feed. But that's the magic of baseball: No matter the time or place, watching it brings you back home. My mother is from Baltimore, so I was born an O's fan. When I was 5, Eddie Murray hit a grand slam at my first game at Memorial Stadium. Cal Ripken Jr. was a rookie the year I was born, and I lived through his two MVP awards and the incredible feat of endurance that led him to break Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. I took issue with Matt Ragone's May 13 letter — 'The Orioles' national anthem chant is unpatriotic. Change it.' — that criticized the tradition of screaming 'O!' during the national anthem. Baltimoreans know a little something about the 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' The original poem was written in Baltimore by Francis Scott Key, a Maryland native. In September 1814, aboard an American truce ship, Key was inspired to pen that famous poem the morning after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. He learned of the Americans' successful defense of the Baltimore harbor after seeing our flag wave by the dawn's early light. It is appropriate that our country adopted Key's words as our anthem. His poem is not a vow (like Canada's), a rallying cry (like France's) or a prayer (like Britain's) — it is a question. When Key penned his poem, America was still in its infancy. It was still unknown whether the American experiment of democratically electing leaders and guaranteeing basic rights such as free speech would survive. Even today, with Americans so divided, these principles are still at risk. Ronald Reagan noted in his inauguration speech when he became governor of California that freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. Perhaps we need to relearn it's okay for us to disagree with each other. I do not expect Ragone to join me in shouting 'O!' during the anthem, but maybe he can recognize that some of us do it to respect the brave Baltimoreans who saved our early republic. Justin Swick, Arlington Matt Ragone's May 13 letter, 'The Orioles' national anthem chant is unpatriotic. Change it.' objected to the 'O!' shout during the national anthem. Rangone said the cheer was unpatriotic and was perhaps disrespectful to veterans. I for one, as the widow of a seven-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, am happy to hear the 'O!' when I see the Orioles play in Nationals Park or Camden Yards, and my late husband would be, too. Betty Booker, Salisbury The 2025 baseball season is barely seven weeks old and already — after too many embarrassing losses to Atlanta, Cleveland and St. Louis — the Nats season is all but over. An anemic offense, a bullpen that lets runs flow like water and a mistake-prone team is becoming a far-too-familiar sight for Washington baseball fans. It's been nearly six years since the Nats won the World Series — every one full of awful baseball. The long rebuild that was supposed to bring them back into contention looks like a failure. The trades of beloved stars Max Scherzer and Trea Turner yielded nothing. The Nats draft record has been woeful, as even 2023's 2nd-overall pick, Dylan Crews, struggles to hit over .200. And this year's crop of free agents has done nothing to help the team. Thank you, General Manager Mike Rizzo and Manager Davey Martinez for bringing Washington baseball the 2019 World Series championship, our first in living memory. But after years of lousy baseball, it's time for the Nats to move on with a new duo at the helm. Brian A. Cohen, Washington I was heartened to see The Washington Post-Schar School poll showing that a majority of District residents support the proposed redevelopment of the RFK Stadium site in the May 9 Metro article 'Poll shows stadium support.' Though I am instinctually skeptical of public financing for professional sports stadiums, I'm choosing to think of this plan as a housing project. Our city is in desperate need of additional units, and the project's pledged 5,000 to 6,000 new homes will represent a meaningful addition to the District's housing supply. I chose to make D.C. my home because it is one of the few places in America with a true urban fabric: our neighborhoods provide a pleasant blend of retail and housing; we have easy access to parks, museums and other amenities; and our robust public transit makes it easy to live without a car. The city's high housing prices illustrate that there is substantial demand for this lifestyle, and development of the RFK site will increase the number of people who can access it. The proposal is not perfect — D.C. taxpayers' dollars shouldn't be used for building roughly 8,000 parking spaces at the site, given that they will presumably be used by mostly non-District residents and contribute to our area's worsening air quality. I hope the potential addition of a second Metro station on the site could eliminate the need for these spaces. However, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good — and the status quo is unacceptable. As it stands, the rotting stadium surrounded by acres of baking asphalt is a blight on our city, and I'm glad that our leaders are taking action to address the problem. D.C. has a winning formula; residents are rightfully excited to expand our successful, transit-oriented urban layout to untapped areas of our city. I'm excited to see new homes, businesses and parks where there's currently cracked pavement. A couple of Commanders Super Bowl wins would be a nice bonus. Tom Nowlan, Washington A slight majority of D.C. residents support spending about $850 million to bring an NFL stadium to the city, according to a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll. But I wish the pollsters had asked different questions. I believe that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is hiding the full cost of the stadium, and the full extent of her giveaway to the Commanders' billionaire owner Josh Harris. Here are the questions that should be asked: D.C. has proposed more than $2.5 billion in subsidies, almost free land and tax breaks to the Commanders to build an NFL stadium, which one expert says might be the largest public stadium subsidy in U.S. history. Do you support that? The mayor's budget, which has not been released yet, is likely to include notable cuts to core services in light of D.C.'s tight finances. Does that affect your opinion of the stadium subsidy? No wonder the mayor is not explaining the full story: If D.C. residents knew the real costs of the RFK deal — the large subsidies and taking away the opportunity to develop RFK for the community — it's likely that few residents would support it. And because stadiums are used so rarely — and research shows they don't create many good jobs or a lot of tax revenue — the much better approach to the land would be to build out the RFK site as a waterfront residential community with much more housing, including affordable units. That would attract a population base large enough to support new grocery stores, restaurants and other amenities. Ed Lazere, Washington One advantage of buses over trains that was not mentioned in the May 6 Metro article 'Metro's future is on the road' is that riders have the option of 'giving up' if their bus is late. Once a rider enters the Metrorail system, there is a sunk cost. That's because bus riders do not incur a cost until they are actually on the bus. If a bus isn't arriving in a timely manner, sure, it can be frustrating, but riders can opt out and choose to walk, hail a cab, call an Uber or grab a ride using Capital Bikeshare. They are not incentivized to keep waiting because they've already paid. If there's a traffic delay, or other unexpected event, bus riders can usually disembark much sooner than they could while riding the rail. Additionally, if a bus breaks down between stops, riders are not stuck, unlike their unfortunate counterparts in a broken-down Metro car. Also, riders with mobility challenges do not have to play roulette to determine a path that avoids the broken elevators and escalators. Sure, they are sometimes too crowded to accommodate riders who need extra assistance, but again, those riders are not stuck in a system where upon reaching their destination they must backtrack to a station with a functioning elevator. Kevin Cole, Washington
CBS News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Cal Ripken Sr.'s Foundation marks 30th anniversary of 2131 with star-studded gala
On Saturday, The Cap Ripken Sr. Foundation hosted its 2025 annual Aspire Gala to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 2131, a commemorative baseball created by the MLB to honor Cal Ripken Jr's milestone of playing 2,131 consecutive games. The event serves to honor sports, entertainment, and business leaders who are committed to making a different in the lives of others. In attendance were none other than Cal Ripken Jr., and Bill Ripken, both co-founders of the foundation. David Rubenstein, current owner of the Baltimore Orioles, led a chat alongside hall of famers Jim Palmer, Harold Baines, Mike Mussina, and Eddie Murray. Since 2001, the foundation has been committed to serving unpoverished and underserved communities by youth mentoring, building youth development parks, and a national STEM center, according to Ripken Foundation . Most recently in 2024, the foundation was able to support over 1.4 million kids with the help of nearly 36,000 trained mentors, coaches, teachers, and police volunteers. They've created 120 safe spaces for children and kids with special needs. Additionallu, they've set up 671 STEM centers, supporting 284,000 kids. To learn more visit The Carl Ripken Sr. Foundation .
