RICHMOND, Va — Later this summer, the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League (MJBL) will host it's 33rd annual championship tournament featuring teams from all across the Southeast in six different divisions.
This year's roster also includes a team from Nassau, Bahamas in the 8U coach pitch division, but the MJBL currently does not have local opponents for them.
"We have an urgent need for those teams" said MJBL Commissioner Micah Crumm. Interested teams and coaches can sign up at www.mjbl-va.org or by calling Crumm at 804-218-9769. The tournament runs from Tuesday July 30 through Sunday August 4.
"Baseball isn't being exposed to minority kids" Crumm continued. "We want to bring it back. We like to start the kids out in T-ball or coach pitch and then have them work their way up."
Pool play games will involve six divisions, 10-under, 12-under, 14-under, 16-under, 19-under and a women's 18u softball championship. Some states involved in the championships include Virginia, Connecticut, Flordia, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington, DC. On Saturday, championship games will be played in the 10-under, 12-under and 14-under competitions.
The 16-under, 19-under and women's championships will end this year's extravaganza on Sunday. The Ken Free Most Valuable Player Classic Scholarship will be awarded to the top 19-under player. The Charles "Pee Wee" Robinson Award will be presented to a 12-under or 10-under division participant. All registered players receive a free pass to nearby Kings Dominion Theme Park.
This year's event will also include a symposium on the game in the inner city hosted by Representative Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) in Washington, DC.
Some of the panelists will include Paxton Baker, Washington Nationals minority owner, Howard University professor Ricky Clemens, former Major League Baseball (MLB) VP for the National League, Sonja Stills, Commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, David James, VP Baseball and Softball Development for MLB, Jarvis Stewart, founding partner of the Washington Nationals, and former MLB player and manager, Dusty Baker, with opening remarks via zoom.
