On a sun-drenched Saturday in October, the sounds of baseballs popping into mitts and children’s laughter echoed from the Humble High School baseball stadium.
Two hundred children, ages 6 to 16, participated in a free Legends for Youth Baseball Clinic presented by Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in conjunction with Extreme Networks.
“I felt this opportunity was too good to pass up not only for Humble High School and Humble Baseball, but for the entire Humble community,” Humble High School baseball coach KC Carroll said. “To have had the camp here in Humble, felt huge for the community, school district and High School. Having hosted ex-big leaguers and conversing with a number of them was something I can put on my bucket list.”
Legends for Youth is a charitable program running over 180 events a year nationwide, with the mission of promoting the game of baseball to America’s youth using positive sports images and personalities.
The children in attendance got the opportunity to learn more about the game of baseball from guys who have played it at the highest level.
Major League Baseball alumni Jeff DeWillis, Chuck McElroy Sr, Archie Corbin, Charles Gipson, Chris Sampson, Robert Manuel and Humberto Quintero attended the event.
“Having the MLBPAA out at our facilities for an instructional camp was amazing,” Humble ISD Assistant Athletic Director Eric Matthews said. “Watching retired big league players coaching kids in our district was special and I cannot thank them enough for making the day so memorable for all parties involved. We look forward to doing this again in the future.”
Gipson, Sampson and Quintero all played for the Houston Astros at one point of their career. Quintero starred for the Astros from 2005-2011. He played 12 years in the Major Leagues. Sampson played five seasons in Houston from 2006-2010. Gipson played the final of his eight-year career in Houston in 2005.
Having the chance to learn from former MLB players was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the children who attended the camp.
“The kids seemed overjoyed to have been able to hang out with the alumni for the entirety of the camp,” Carroll said. “A number of the alumni took the opportunity to talk to all the campers and provide some words of wisdom and life lessons to help them be successful not just in the game of baseball but life. Every player was very personable and seemed to have a great time helping the youth of Humble.”