Category: Uncategorized
Not Your Regular Internship
by James Dailey & Dustin Pickert
As new interns here at Pitch In for Baseball, we expected to learn a lot , but we didn’t expect to be inspired. It happened when an average day at the office turned into an eye-opening experience. A man named Jim Tamarack from Northern New Jersey traveled to the office to pick up their equipment that they were taking with them to Kenya. What started out for them as a vacation traveling through Africa, led to the creation of multiple baseball teams, that leaves them going back once a year to give more equipment and teach more kids the game of baseball. He explained to us how he collected equipment on a much smaller scale but has come to Pitch In For Baseball for assistance due to the unexpected growth of baseball in Kenya.
(from the left Dustin, Jim, James, Tom)
What caught our attention was their amazement of our facility and how large of a scale we work on. As they continued to talk of the things they accomplished in Africa, it made us realize that we were not just working in Harleysville,Pa. We realized that when they were thanking us for helping them.
As we have progressed into this internship, we have helped supply kids in Columbia with baseball equipment and kids in New York City. We have realized that as individuals we can make a small impact on making the world a better place for children.
Hall of Fame donation
by David Rhode
For those of you with an interest in collectibles, you should make your way to the Pitch In For Baseball warehouse here in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Among the 20,000 plus items on hand is a unique bin of baseballs. There you will find that we have almost a thousand balls autographed with Hall of Fame signatures like Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. The slight problem with these signatures is that they are all fraudulent.
It seems that someone, somewhere thought they could replicate the signatures of famous ballplayers. It also seems that somewhere along the way their plan got on the radar of the Feds and these balls got confiscated. Bad news for them, good news for Pitch In For Baseball.
One day we got a call asking if we’d accept these otherwise pristine baseballs as long as we’d be willing to a) make sure the signatures got Sharpeed into oblivion and that b) the balls were shipped overseas. Done and done.
When you work at a charity that donates equipment, you go through a lot of baseballs.
So now imagine a young child in Slovenia or Cameroon or Mexico having a nice catch with a Joe D “autographed” ball. Kind of makes you smile.
Meeting a hero
by Tom Schoenfelder
Before working at Pitch In For Baseball, I never thought I’d get the opportunity to meet some of my idols growing up. My first week on the job I was told I needed to call Zack Hample, ballhawk of all ballhawks and awesome author. I remember as a twelve year old boy reading his book entitled How to Snag Major League Baseballs. During that phone call I realized Zack was a normal guy…a normal guy that’s snagged 5,819 baseballs at Major League ballgames.
This past summer I had the pleasure of meeting Zack, along with his family, during a visit to our warehouse in Pennsylvania. I was asked if I didn’t mind being on camera for a Korean documentary. Of course I didn’t shy away from the limelight and relished the opportunity to have my 15 mins of fame in far away land. Here is what ensued…
Zack is a unique person and the best at what he does. If you do not already follow Zacks blog you are missing out.
My First Glove
by Roy Smalley III
“A glove, a child, a difference” is a perfect summation of our mission at Pitch In For Baseball. I was asked recently if I could remember getting my first glove. Remember? It is a memory I will carry forever. It was Spring Training in 1958 and I was 5 1/2 years old. My dad, Roy Smalley Jr (I am Roy III) was with the Philadelphia Phillies. My dad would take me to the ballpark every morning and I would hang around the dugout watching my heroes go through their workouts. One day the great Hall of Famer-to-be, Robin Roberts came up to me with an old, worn glove of his, handed it to me and said, “Here young man. I’d like you to have this.” I know he meant it to be a souvenir–he even signed it. But for me, it was my glove–one I would use until my dad bought me my first brand new one when I was 10. It was ten years of growth too big for me and was too worn for Robin to use, but it was mine. I took if everywhere, used it in Little League games and had it next to my pillow at night. I am convinced that using that way-to-big-for-me glove helped develop my “hands” as a young shortstop. When I did finally get that brand new Rawlings I couldn’t believe how easy catching a groundball was.
I know that very few kids will ever be lucky enough to be given a glove by a major leaguer. I also know that there are far too many kids who will never be given a glove at all. The point of my story is not where the glove comes from. A kid getting a glove is a magical moment. It is a moment of pure joy that will be relived for days and days to come in the child’s life. Thank you for continuing to help us bring those moments to more and more kids. There are so many more magical moments waiting to happen.
Roy Smalley III is the current Board President of Pitch In For Baseball
A Glove, A Child, A Difference
by David Rhode
The theme of this upcoming year at Pitch In For Baseball is “a glove, a child, a difference”. Pitch In For Baseball is not a difficult concept to grasp. We collect and redistribute equipment. The result of that work is to create joy and positive outcomes in the lives of kids by giving them a chance to play a game that so many of us find so special.
At the heart of Pitch In For Baseball is the baseball glove. It is the item, more than any other, which unlocks the door to the game. So many of remember having a catch with a sibling, a parent, a grandparent, a friend. In the days when breaking in a glove was part mad scientist and part urban legend, it was the glove that captured our imagination.
At Pitch In For Baseball, however, the glove is our real bottleneck, our nemesis. We never have enough donated gloves to meet the needs of those requesting help. It is the purchasing of new gloves that consumes a big piece of our annual budget. It is frequently the only item we cannot fulfill to a recipient in the quantity they request.
So if you ever want to know what you can do to help Pitch In For Baseball, the answer is gloves. Help us unlock the idea that gets more donated. Write us the check that lets us buy more. The formula for making kids happy is not a mystery. One more glove brings lasting joy to one more child and that is the difference we are seeking at Pitch In For Baseball.
Here’s to 2012, may it be our best ever!
Baseball weather
by Tom Schoenfelder
With the start of February it usually means two things… its cold outside but spring training right around the corner and I need to find a date for Valentines day. Beautiful weather like today in the Philadelphia region makes me feel like digging up my old glove. If you are anything like me, you have a basement full of dusty old equipment and boxes of participation trophies.
Pitch In For Baseball can help…with the equipment. If your old gear has rounded third, find it a new home. Go on our website to learn about how you can make a difference in some child’s life.
A True Mittsvah
by David Rhode
Somehow Pitch In For Baseball has become a great landing spot for young boys and girls who are required to conduct a Mitzvah Project in preparation for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Truth be told, I’m not sure what Pitch In For Baseball would do without them.
Kids are truly the backbone of our organization. They collect equipment, raise funds, volunteer time in our warehouse.
For those of you not familiar with the term Mitzvah, it’s a Jewish word and loosely translated means “an act of human kindness or good deed”.
In the last 7 years, well over 100 kids have chosen Pitch In For Baseball for their Mitzvah project. It’s really a great experience for the kids to translate a passion they have for baseball to a meaningful act of philanthropy in helping kids who are less fortunate to be able to receive the equipment needed to play.
This past year we’ve had dozens of great projects and to choose the “best” one is like a parent have to say which child they love the most (Casey). That said, Jacob Gurvis of Newton, Massachusetts collected a 2011 best 105 gloves in addition to numerous other items that benefited kids in need. He called his effort a “Mittsvah”, which was not only creative, but apparently effective as well. Jacob put together a short video describing his involvement with our organization. Listen in to hear in his words why connecting with PIFB was meaningful to him.
Uganda baseball–continued success
Many of you may not know that the Little League team from Uganda that qualified for this past year’s Little League World Series, never made the trip to Williamsport due to trouble and challenges obtaining their visas. They would have been the first team from Africa to ever take the field in Williamsport. You certainly wouldn’t know that the team Uganda was scheduled to play (Canada) in the Little League World Series recently made a visit to Uganda to play this game. For what it’s worth, in a game that was delayed almost six months, Uganda beat Canada 2-1. The outcome itself is immaterial. What mattered most was that the experience for both the Canadian and Ugandan kids was one they will never forget and for that we should all smile and say “job well done”.
Ugandan Little League players celebrate their 2-1 victory against the Canadian team from Langley, British Columbia. Felix "Abooki" Barugahare is hoisted on his teammates shoulders after scoring the winning run.
The success and passion for baseball in Uganda is truly special and inspiring. There are many people who deserve credit and there are many folks who get recognized for their role in that success. Jimmy Rollins and Derrek Lee made the recent trip to Uganda and helped bring much needed attention to the potential of the game in the region. Ruth Hoffman and her organization Right to Play helped raise the funds that made the trip and playing of the exhibition game possible. Jay Shapiro and his group are helping to tell the Uganda Baseball story in a beautiful documentary that will hopefully be released later this year. Richard Stanley is the engine behind much of the growth of Little League in Uganda. He has put up a tremendous amount of his own money and dedicated years of effort to see things reach this point. All this is good stuff.
Funny thing is, they wouldn’t be playing much baseball without equipment and most of the equipment they are receiving is from Pitch In For Baseball. We’ve helped the program in Uganda for the last 5 years. It is one of the true success on our organization’s resume. While privately we are genuinely thanked from all parties for role we play, when push comes to shove, the attention and the financial resources fall onto other groups for the role they play. This isn’t sour grapes, this is reality. Equipment isn’t sexy. Yet, in the thousands of projects we’ve completed in 7 years and the several hundred thousand kids we’ve impacted, the passion kids feel for baseball would be just a dream without the equipment to make that dream a reality.
Making dreams a reality is what Pitch In For Baseball specializes in. We invite you to get involved with our organization so you can be part of the joy we help spread both here in the US and around the world.
Pitch In For Baseball® teams with Carl Pavano to record his first save
Ludlow, Vermont–Carl Pavano has appeared in almost 300 games during his 13 major league pitching career, but it’s likely his role in restoring the youth baseball program in Ludlow, VT will earn him his first official “save”.
While millions prepared for, and ultimately dodged a bullet, when Hurricane Irene took aim on the Eastern seaboard this past September, one state that took a direct hit was Vermont. Historic flooding ensued in towns across the state. One such town, Ludlow, was deluged by 15 inches of rain from the storm and suffered great losses including its youth baseball program where fields and equipment were effectively washed away.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano makes his offseason home in Ludlow and saw an immediate need to step in. “Disasters like this effect communities and families for years,” said Pavano. “I have been fortunate enough to have met great people throughout this town. And some of these people have been impacted by this disaster in ways that I could not imagine. I would not know what to do if I was in their position. I am in a position to help Ludlow restore the things that keep the kids in this town smiling. It was a true team effort. With the added support of the Major League Baseball Players Trust, the Minnesota Twins Community Fund and Pitch in for Baseball, the town of Ludlow will get the equipment back they lost in this disaster and come spring the fields that were flooded out will be back into shape giving the kids a place to laugh, smile and play.”
Pavano and Ludlow Parks & Recreation Director, Howard Paul reached out to Pitch In For Baseball to see if the youth baseball charity would be able to step in and make sure the waterlogged and missing equipment could be replaced in time for the start of the spring season. Pitch In For Baseball and Carl Pavano will present that replacement equipment to the league on January 11 at the Ludlow Community Center where the town’s resident Major Leaguer will also conduct a baseball clinic for the local kids.
“The decision to help the community of Ludlow was an easy one,” said David Rhode, Founder and Executive Director of Pitch In For Baseball. “It was clear from the start that Carl was determined to make this happen.” Just earlier this year, Pitch In For Baseball had provided equipment to numerous towns across the state of Mississippi impacted by flooding, and to Joplin, MO after tornadoes devastated that community, and most recently in Japan to help kids in schools and Little League programs who lost so much in the historic earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.
“A heart-felt thank you goes out to Carl Pavano and Pitch In For Baseball for helping us to rebuild our youth baseball program after the flood,” commented Howard Paul. “Baseball is such an important part of our community, so the damage to our fields and loss of equipment was devastating. Opening day of our baseball season will truly be special this year!”
In addition to its work when Mother Nature impacts a youth baseball community, Pitch In For Baseball works closely with communities around the United States and around the world seeking to help give kids a chance to participate in the games of baseball and softball.
“Much of the equipment we donate—some new, some gently used—is from kids and youth baseball organizations who share our passion for the game.”
Those wanting to support Pitch In For Baseball’s efforts can make a donation of equipment or financial support by going to www.pitchinforbaseball.org. “We need to build our supply of equipment so that we can continue to say ‘yes’ whenever and wherever the need arises,” said Rhode.
Pitch In For Baseball 