Commissioner's Cup teams nurture All-Star dream

CLEVELAND -- Mike Trout. Mookie Betts. Freddie Freeman. Christian Yelich. They’re different ages. They play for different teams. But they all have one thing in common: They’re 2019 All-Stars.

These players and their teammates will be celebrated on Tuesday at the 2019 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. It’s a time for fans to salute the achievements of their favorite players, the amazing plays they’ve made and their contributions to their respective teams. But the Midsummer Classic is also a time to feed the dreams of some young baseball players who might one day follow in the All-Stars’ footsteps, participants in the 2019 All-Star Commissioner's Cup competition, a part of MLB All-Star Week.

For instance, a group from the Houston area patrolled PLAY BALL PARK in downtown Cleveland this weekend, weaving in and out of the Major League trophy displays and checking out the games and activities available inside the Huntington Convention Center before stopping in their tracks at a monitor featuring highlight reels of their heroes.

“My favorite player is Freddie Freeman,” first baseman and pitcher for Houston Matthew Boult, said. “Because I like the way he plays the game. He’s the best first baseman in the game.”

“Mine is Mike Trout,” Boult’s teammate Brice Matthews said. “He can do everything. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

This group is all still in high school, yet their journey to be honored at the Midsummer Classic is similar to those on baseball’s biggest stage.

In the Commissioner's Cup program, the best players from MLB Youth Academy Network, Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) and other youth-oriented programs are selected to travel to the host city of each year’s All-Star festivities to compete against their peers.

“It’s good,” Matthews said. “I know that my hard work has paid off and that people are watching me and seeing me do well and choosing me to be a part of this week.”

And while there are many players from each team who are having their first Commissioner’s Cup experience, some, like Myles Eaddy from Philadelphia, have been fortunate enough to go through the experience twice.

“I mean, it makes me feel like I’m better than everyone,” Eaddy said with a laugh. “But no. It’s really cool, especially at my age, [to attend an event] that some adults and other players won’t ever get an opportunity to do.”

It’s a whirlwind of a weekend, from the teams’ arrival on Thursday afternoon to having three games to play by the end of Saturday to competing in playoffs on Sunday, all in hopes of being the last team standing to be honored on the field during Monday’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby. While all the kids will be in attendance regardless of how they finish, Eaddy and his Philadelphia teammates are on their quest to secure their second consecutive Commissioner’s Cup title.

“It was amazing,” Eaddy said, when reflecting on attending last year’s Derby. “Just to get a chance to walk on the field, I mean, it’s a great honor. It was really cool actually to see [it] behind the scenes and not just what’s on TV.”

MLB puts together a schedule of events to assure that each participant has a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The kids play games in the morning, have scheduled events -- including visits to PLAY BALL PARK, concerts, the Celebrity Softball Game and Futures Game -- in the evenings and in between get to kick back and play foosball in the lounge of their dorm.

“I’ve met people I never thought I’d meet before,” Eaddy said, “especially from, like, Puerto Rico. That was really cool that I got to talk to them. Now, I have friends from Chicago.”

And while they play their games three miles from Progressive Field at League Park, they are competing for a chance to stand on the very turf their idols will patrol on Tuesday night. And with a taste of what being an All-Star truly means, MLB is giving these kids an up-close look at where their own dreams could one day lead.

“It means a lot because not everybody gets the opportunity,” Boult said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, obviously.”