Howard uplifted by Field Refurbishment drive

The 2021 season is officially a wrap, and for one segment of Major League Baseball’s operation, that means a little something extra, separate from the conclusion of the World Series.

MLB has been a longtime partner of the Scotts® Field Refurbishment Program, which grants ballfield renovations to four underserved communities and youth organizations each summer. All of the fields are finished and ready for use by kids in their respective communities.

This year, more than $200,000 in repairs and upgrades were made at four renovated ballparks. The winning organizations were the Boys & Girls Clubs of Coastal Blend (Corpus Christi, Texas), Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay (Green Bay, Wis.), Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading and Berks County (Reading, Pa.) and SAY Detroit (Detroit, Mich.).

Former Phillies All-Star Ryan Howard, a member of the blue-ribbon panel that chooses the winners, attended the dedication of the ballfield at the Olivet facility in Reading.

The visit brought Howard back to his days as a Minor Leaguer coming up through the Phillies' system -- the club’s Double-A team plays in Reading.

“It was great seeing a lot of familiar faces, but even more importantly, it was great seeing the faces of the kids when they saw the newly refurbished field that they get to call their own, and be able to take care of and take pride in,” Howard said during an interview on MLB Network on Monday.

MLB and Scotts received more than 620 grant applications across nearly every state for the 2021 installment of the Scotts Field Refurbishment Program. The winning organizations were chosen by a special blue-ribbon panel that, in addition to Howard, includes Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., Olympic Gold Medalist & MLB Youth Softball Ambassador Jennie Finch, and Scotts and MLB executives.

Howard, who played his entire 13-year career with the Phillies and retired in 2016, has been a main spokesman for the Scotts Field Refurbishment Program for two years.

“This is something that's been very near and dear to me, helping to provide $50,000 [per city] worth of goods, services and products for underserved youth organizations that are really, really in need,” Howard said during his Network interview.

Through 2021, the Scotts Field Refurbishment Program will have renovated nearly 30 fields with nearly $2 million of support. In the past five years, it has renovated more than 30 fields across 18 states.

“It's been such a great program to be a part of,” Howard said. “Seeing the faces of not only the kids, but the parents too, and what it can do for the community -- uplifting these kids and giving them a safe place and a happy place, to be able to go out and pursue their baseball and softball dreams.”