‘It’s like a homecoming’: MLB’s PlayBall host Juneteenth clinic at historic Rickwood Field
CC Sabathia, a Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, and other former MLB players hosted a clinic at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, to share their love of baseball with Black youth players on Juneteenth. The post ‘It’s like a homecoming’: MLB’s PlayBall host Juneteenth clinic at historic Rickwood Field appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.
Black News 
BIRMINGHAM, AL. – The two kids in little league uniforms held a microphone aloft and stood next to the Baseball Hall of Famer. The kids, Shyne Moore and Ian Felton, both eight years old, are players in the Park West Little League Baseball program in Birmingham, and the former Major League Baseball star CC Sabathia is one of the best pitchers of his generation. All three individuals are Black, and they, along with many other Black former major league and youth players, were there to share their love of the great American pastime.
“Rickwood Field feels like home,” Sabathia said to a reporter who asked him about being back in town for the East-West Classic, an exhibition game involving former pro players. “I feel an obligation to come down here and put this on every year.”
Major League Baseball’s youth organization, PlayBall, hosted a clinic on historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham before the game this afternoon. The connection between a former Negro League ballpark and the Black youth players taking part in the clinic on Juneteenth wasn’t lost on some of the players, including a couple of former Atlanta Braves.
“Just the Juneteenth aspect of it alone is such a meaningful thing for people who look like me,” former MLB veteran BJ Upton said. Upton played two seasons in Atlanta in 2013 and 2014, and for a dozen years overall. “We know what the players went through to make it possible for me and my brother to be allowed to play in the major leagues.”
Upton paused and repeated the word “allowed” to emphasize the fact that Black players were prohibited from playing Major League Baseball for decades until the late Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The legendary debut of the future Hall of Famer and globally recognized trailblazer is now officially Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball.
“I think it’s important because all of us Black players come back here to where it started for a lot of Black players who came before us,” said Justin of Rickwood Field and players like all-time great Willie Mays. “Juneteenth is an important day for Black people, and this is kind of like a homecoming.”
The number of Black American Major League Baseball players remains low despite the interest in the sport, particularly in the South. There were 64 Black American players on MLB opening day rosters at the start of the 2026 season. That’s less than 7% participation from a population of nearly 52 million Black Americans.
The morning included kids hearing from former players, going through baseball drills, getting a bat and ball, and receiving baseball cards for their efforts. Asked if they enjoyed talking to players like Sabathia and others, Shyne said he did. “It’s good because I get to ask them questions.
Ian said, “ I like that I get to talk to professional players.”
When asked if either of them wanted to be Major League Baseball players when they grew up, both said they did.
Justin Upton signed t-shirts for some of the kids in between laughing and joking with other former ball players. A kid who once dreamed of playing Major League Baseball, too, Upton had his big brother, BJ, to look up to and emulate. The younger Upton, now 38, knows these kids are looking up to him these days, and events like this are among the few chances to see Black baseball players up close.
“I hope we can continue this,” Upton said. “It’s kind of like a tradition.”
This year was the third year for the East-West Classic at Rickwood Field.
The post ‘It’s like a homecoming’: MLB’s PlayBall host Juneteenth clinic at historic Rickwood Field appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.
