Academy Notebook: Kansas City Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Invitational; Two athletes to receive Young Family Scholarships; Rangers Academy athletes fall short of Pitch, Hit & Run championship bid

Rangers Youth Academy heads to Kansas City for Negro Leagues Museum Invitational

Two teams of Texas Rangers Youth Academy athletes today departed for Kansas City, Mo., to participate in the Negro Leagues Museum Invitational, presented by Comerica Bank.

For the third consecutive year, 27 baseball and softball players will tour the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, learning the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues and its talented ballplayers from Museum President Bob Kendrick.

As part of the three-day trip from Sept. 15-17, the Rangers baseball and softball teams will play a trio of friendly games against the Kansas City Royals Urban Youth Academy. The opening games will be played on Friday night, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday and a proper Kansas City barbecue dinner with both Academies to round out the evening.

Before departing on Sunday, the Rangers Youth Academy teams will head to Kauffman Stadium to watch the Royals take on the Houston Astros.

Two Youth Academy athletes to be presented with inaugural Young Family Scholarships – Tuesday, Sept. 19

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young and his wife Liz, who serves on the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Advisory Board, will invest in the educational future of Rangers Youth Academy athletes with the new Young Family Scholarship program.

The Young Family Scholarship will annually see one baseball and one softball player selected to receive $20,000 college scholarships.

To be considered for the award, eligible Youth Academy student-athletes were asked to complete a scholarship application that required two personal essays, two letters of recommendation, proof of college acceptance, a high school transcript and information on their extracurricular activities.

The Rangers Youth Academy Scholarship Advisory Committee reviewed the applications with help from the Young Family. Awardees were selected based on several criteria, including the contents of the submitted written materials, overall academic achievement and financial need.

The inaugural 2023 winners will be announced Monday, Sept. 18, and participate in a pre-game check presentation with the Young Family on Tuesday, Sept. 19, before the Rangers face the Boston Red Sox at 7:05 p.m.

Academy athletes fall short of Pitch, Hit & Run National championship bid

Last Saturday, Sept. 9, eight Rangers Youth Academy athletes participated in the Texas Rangers’ Pitch, Hit & Run Team championship at Globe Life Field.

With a competitive pool of baseball and softball players from across the region, the competing Academy athletes were edged out in the three-part skills competition, preventing them from advancing to MLB’s Pitch, Hit & Run National Finals at the World Series.

Next year, the Texas Rangers Youth Academy will again host a local competition for athletes in the 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U baseball and softball divisions as they look to reach the elusive final round on the national stage.