CLEVELAND — For young athletes, little is more powerful than having the chance to connect with successful professional player, and one former Cleveland star pitcher now doing just that, creating lasting memories for local kids along the way.
CC Sabathia started his PitCCh In Foundation back in 2008 with his wife Amber. The foundation focuses on three main forms of outreach - backpack giveaways, field renovations and All-Star baseball clinics.
The clinics give young players the chance to hone in on everything from fielding ground balls, to batting practice, and even running sprints. On the day 3News cameras stopped by, more than 200 local kids got an intensive opportunity to train for a day with the major league baseball legend, for free.
But for Sabathia, these clinics and camps are ultimately about the opportunity to create players that simply love the game.
"I think for the longest time I wanted to turn kids into baseball players, but just thinking about my experience as a kid, my mom was a fan," he recalled. "So seeing all these parents out here with their kids and having this experience is something that's cool to me and something that I feel like my mission has kind of changed and I want more fans and I think that's how we get more baseball players."
PitCCh In aims to provide kids with the tools to be successful in school and on the field. Sabathia says they started the foundation to give back to the communities that gave them so much – hosting events in California, New York, and right here in Northeast Ohio.
"It holds a special place in my heart because although I was born and raised in the Bay Area, I think I grew up here in Cleveland," he told 3News Special Contributor Matt Kaulig and anchor Jay Crawford. "I came here as a 17 year old boy, I left a 28 year old man...and that's why we take the time to come back here and really try to spend time and be a part of the community."
It's a day of opportunity touching young players like Dariyan Adams of Akron.
"It gives me inspiration to do, put in more hard work and do better," Adams said. "[My goal is to] make it, to get a D-1 scholarship...and then on to MLB."
That mission is supported, in part, by the team at Kaulig Giving.
"Getting to know the Sabathia family and their organization and all the people that they have involved has been absolutely outstanding," Kaulig said. "This is an unbelievable guy and a great citizen. He was a heck of a baseball player by the way, but we're just proud to be associated with them."
It’s a commitment that Sabathia knows firsthand, will impact the next generation of players.
"Showing at these camp for these kids, I think that's the biggest lesson. I think it really doesn't matter about money. You show up and donate your time and let people know that you really care about 'em and really care about the mission," Sabathia said. "I mean, that's all that matters."
"I'm a lefty pitcher too," Adams said. "And it's cool to see another person [who is the same] as me."
If you're interested in getting involved, you can visit PitCCh In.