# Minor League Baseball Announces “The Nine,” a New Initiative to Celebrate, Engage and Welcome Black Fans

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/minor-league-baseball-announces-the-nine-a-new-initiative-to-celebrate-engage-and-welcome-black-fans/
- Published: 2022-02-02T08:33:09-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

_National Platform Adds To MiLB’s Inclusion Efforts Through America’s Pastime_

**NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 1, 2022 — **Minor League Baseball^(®) (MiLB™) today announced
the launch of “The Nine,” a new, Black-community focused outreach platform specifically
designed to honor and celebrate the historic impact numerous Black baseball pioneers
made on the sport, provide new opportunities for youth baseball and softball participation,
further diversify the business of baseball, and embrace millions of passionate fans
throughout MiLB’s 120 communities nationwide.

Named for the number [Jackie Robinson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinja02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)
wore during his only season playing in MiLB with the Triple-A Montreal Royals in
1946, The Nine will connect MiLB teams’ existing, Black-community focused development
efforts with new national programming and future special events in a coordinated
and centralized campaign. The new inclusion initiative follows MiLB’s Copa de la
Diversión Latino fan engagement platform introduced in 2017 that included 76 MiLB
teams in 2021.

[[

The Nine will recognize and honor numerous Black pioneers and trailblazing civil
rights leaders in all 120 MiLB communities, ensuring the heroes of the past and 
their contributions continue to be celebrated through ceremonies and events at MiLB
ballparks and in the community. Recent tributes and celebrations have included Negro
Leagues commemorative games honoring the Austin Black Senators in Round Rock (TX),
the Bradenton (FL) Nine Devils, and Page Fence Giants near Lansing (MI). Additional
tribute games are being planned for the 2022 season and beyond.

“The Nine will shine bright spotlights on these successful initiatives and transform
them into national campaigns reaching more fans and communities, further showcasing
our teams’ commitment to representing, honoring, and welcoming all fans to MiLB’s
unique brand of fun,” said **Kurt Hunzeker**, MLB’s Vice President of Minor League
Business Operations. “The Nine is just the latest example of MiLB teams being true
community champions.”

In addition to player- and team-related content, The Nine will focus heavily on 
creating new opportunities for youth participation among young Black boys and girls,
particularly in communities where youth baseball and softball programming is either
nonexistent or difficult to access.

Central to this youth-focused push is a planned expansion of Major League Baseball’s
[Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program](http://www.MLB.com/RBI) throughout
MiLB’s national footprint. New competitions in MLB’s Pitch, Hit & Run and Junior
Home Run Derby event series will also debut in MiLB markets beginning in 2022.

MiLB teams will continue to build relationships with local Black-owned and operated
businesses, local artists and entertainers in an effort to embrace Black culture
and make MiLB ballparks a hub for culturally relevant concerts, shows, and community
events.

With several MiLB teams having a Historically Black College or University (HBCU)
in their community, opportunities will be provided for those schools to start internship
and mentorship programs with their local team, creating opportunities for on-the-
job experience for students prior to entering the job market. Additionally, MiLB
recently partnered with TeamWork Online to create a more inclusive virtual job fair
and ongoing talent pipeline that aims to recruit and position qualified and ready-
for-hire candidates from across the country for potential management- and executive-
level roles within MiLB team front offices.

###

**About Minor League Baseball**
Minor League Baseball consists of 120 teams across
four classification levels (Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A) that are affiliated
with Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. Fans flock to MiLB games to see baseball’s
future stars and experience the affordable family-friendly entertainment that has
been a staple of MiLB since 1901. For more information, visit [MiLB.com](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.milb.com&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=cyYnwERtqZARX25_hnVmAc7UHpqtu7ffOOe7FLrwvfg&e=).
Follow MiLB on [Facebook](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_MiLB&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=PcQshWKzQ9xOCDK-7A3xPslIPVGX_0FwbHqOtH0kzBM&e=),
[Instagram](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_milb&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=DdDW0oq4W1LoQP7S37hNvascrkZPffDeaPXNjUkAzSY&e=)
and [Twitter](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_MiLB&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=_Bp6OhuBW124f3Ek8t7GfzHW6Fzrkcv-R6Cp5xko9l4&e=).

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