Advancing teams will join Uganda, Curacao and Puerto Rico -- all of whom have already earned a spot in the International Championship Tournament of Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities
Major League Baseball has announced the 2018 RBI Regional Tournament schedule, which features more than 110 teams from approximately 56 different cities competing for a berth to the RBI World Series in Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota. Regional tournaments, situated in seven regions throughout the United States, will take place over the next two weeks leading up to the RBI World Series, which will be hosted by the Minnesota Twins from August 5th through the 16th.
The RBI Regional tournaments officially began earlier this month in Vero Beach, FL where 15 teams from Uganda, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, competed at Historic Dodgertown. Uganda and Curaçao, both of which were participating in RBI tournament play for the first time, earned their spots after defeating perennial RBI World Series baseball representatives in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Those baseball teams will join the softball team out of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to represent the World Region.
*Schedule of all upcoming RBI Regionals is below :
West Regional Tournament
July 19-22, 2018
Los Angeles, California
Hosted by Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament
July 19-22, 2018
Philadelphia, PA
Hosted by Philadelphia Phillies
Central Regional Tournament
July 20-23, 2018
Indianapolis IN
Hosted by Play Ball Indiana RBI
Northeast Regional Tournament
July 19-22, 2018
Springfield, MA
Hosted by Springfield College
East Regional Tournament
July 26-29, 2018
Detroit, MI
Hosted by Detroit P.A.L. RBI
Southwest Regional Tournament
July 26-29, 2018
Austin, TX
Hosted by RBI Austin
Southeast Regional Tournament
July 26-29, 2018
Atlanta, GA
Hosted by Atlanta Braves
RBI World Series
Baseball: August 5-10, 2018
Softball: August 11-16, 2018
Hosted by Minnesota Twins in St. Paul & Minneapolis, MN
The RBI program has provided a path for many players to enter the college and professional game. MLB Clubs have drafted more than 200 RBI participants throughout the program's 30-year history, and many others have been given the opportunity for higher education through baseball and softball scholarships. There have been more than 90 RBI alumni selected between the 2013-2018 MLB Drafts. Alek Thomas (Chicago White Sox RBI, 2nd round, ARI); Micah Bello (Nobu Yamauchi, Hilo, Hawaii RBI, CB-B Round, MIL); Taj Bradley (Atlanta Metro RBI, 5th round, TB); Lawrence Butler (Atlanta Metro RBI, 6th round, OAK) were all drafted in the first six rounds. Bradley (2016) and Butler (2016 & 2017) have both played in a previous RBI World Series.
RBI alumni currently in the Major Leagues include Justin Upton (Los Angeles Angels), CC Sabathia (New York Yankees), Nomar Mazara (Texas Rangers), Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals), Josh Harrison (Pittsburgh Pirates), Chris Young (Boston Red Sox), Yovani Gallardo (Texas Rangers), Hector Santiago (Chicago White Sox), Steven Souza, Jr. (Arizona Diamondbacks), Chris Iannetta (Colorado Rockies), J.P. Crawford (Philadelphia Phillies) and Dominic Smith (New York Mets). Gallardo (Fort Worth RBI - '03), Mazara (Dominican Republic RBI - '11), Crawford (Venice Boys & Girls Club RBI - '09) and Smith (Venice Boys & Girls Club RBI - '09) have each played in the RBI World Series. NBC News senior food analyst and former White House chef Sam Kass is also an RBI World Series alumnus.
The RBI program, which has served approximately 2 million young people since its inception, is administered by Major League Baseball and designed to give young people from underserved and diverse communities the opportunity to play baseball and softball, while also encouraging academic achievement and success and teaching the value of teamwork and other important life lessons. RBI currently serves young men and women in over 300 programs in approximately 200 cities worldwide. MLB and its Clubs have designated more than $40 million worth of resources to the RBI program, and all 30 Clubs support RBI leagues. For more information about the RBI World Series, please visit MLB.com/rbiworldseries.