Manfred promotes value of baseball to kids

Presiding over his first World Series as Commissioner, Rob Manfred walked into a Boys & Girls Club gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon before Game 1 of the Fall Classic, looked out at the eager faces of many kids sitting before him wearing white "Play Ball" T-shirts, and started off the proceedings by telling them this was "absolutely the best part of my job."

"We want kids like you out there playing baseball," Manfred told them. "It doesn't have to be 18 kids in uniforms with an umpire, but we want you using these Wiffle bats and Wiffle balls and playing the game every day. You know what, some of you may grow up and have an opportunity to play in a great event like the World Series when you're older."

Manfred is committed to a full slate of community events as a backdrop to the Fall Classic in both Kansas City and New York. First up was this effort at the Thornberry Unit of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, intended to highlight the game's commitment to youth -- particularly through the Play Ball initiative. It also was a natural way to celebrate 20 years of Major League Baseball's ongoing partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the official charity of Major League Baseball.

Play Ball launched a key initiative by MLB and USA Baseball this summer to spark widespread participation in all forms of baseball activities among all age groups, especially youth. It has dug in at the grassroots level throughout the nation, with support of more than 100 U.S. mayors and continued outreach such as this event. Manfred passed out caps to each of the kids, and Leonard led a fun and relaxed skills competition to fire them up.

"We have placed a tremendous emphasis on providing playing opportunities in underserved areas," Manfred said. "It was really the genesis of the Play Ball program. We want to simplify the game to make sure that kids have an opportunity to play no matter where they live. The Boys & Girls Clubs has just been a fantastic partner for us in not only the Play Ball initiative, but also our RBI [Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities] program as well."

The Commissioner said the World Series is "our best marketing tool" to spread this kind of message. He was asked about MLB's participation numbers at the youth level, obviously one of the reasons he felt the need to spark an interest among youth with Play Ball.