The little boys walked with so much swagger and pride that it would have been hard not to ask them their names and what brought them to Truist Park on a warm Friday night. Cameron, 13, wore a blue “HBCU Pride” t-shirt and a matching Los Angeles Dodgers cap. Bubba, 9, wore a fatigue green and orange baseball jersey with the words “Tigers” on the front. Known as the Baseball Bros on Instagram, Cameron and Bubba were at the game to see the baseball players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
“We’re here for the HBCU game,” Bubba said.
“And for the Dodgers,” Cameron added, pointing to his ball cap.
It was Major League Baseball All-Star weekend after all, and with the HBCU Swingman Classic kicking things off, fans from all over the South were walking around The Battery and taking their seats inside Truist Park for the annual HBCU baseball all-star game. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the HBCU Swingman Classic is named after baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and brings the best HBCU baseball talent to the site of the Midsummer Classic every year. With Atlanta being the host site of this year’s HBCU Swingman Classic, many HBCU alums were at Truist Park for the game. In comparison to regular crowds at Truist Park for Atlanta Braves games, this Friday had an entirely different look, feel, and energy.
“This is unbelievable. HBCUs are taking over baseball,” said Morehouse College Athletic Director, former Morehouse basketball standout, New York Knicks, and NBA guard Harold Ellis.
Ellis’s father, Alfred, a former high school coach, worked for the Atlanta Braves organization. When the team played downtown, Ellis used to go to games at Fulton County Stadium. He recognized the difference in the energy at Truist Park on this day.
“We have a player in this game, Elijah Pinckney, and he’s a poster child for a game like this,” Ellis said.
Pinckney played for the National League team, which was managed by former Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons standout Brian Jordan. Along with Pinckney, Jordan was managing players from North Carolina A&T University, Florida A&M University, Alabama State University, Prairie View A&M University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Jackson State University.
One of those players, Kameron Douglas, a native of Woodstock (GA), used the opportunity of playing in front of Major League Baseball scouts to hit a pitch 400 feet to dead center for a solo home run in the second inning. A junior at Alabama State, Douglas is draft-eligible and could have written himself a ticket for the annual MLB Draft at the Roxy Theater in Truist Park on Sunday night.
Norfolk State University senior outfielder Jamal Ritter tripled in the second inning, displaying big-time speed and baseball IQ.
Former Atlanta Braves outfielder and 1995 World Series hero David Justice managed the American League team. One of his players for the evening, North Carolina A&T freshman shortstop JT Taylor, had a single and a stolen base during his first trip to the plate and time on base. Two innings later,
Former Morehouse College baseball player and Atlanta Public Schools employee Thomas Scott and his former teammate Ryan Christian, the head baseball coach and associate athletic director at Therrell High School, attended the game to soak up the baseball action and HBCU vibes.
“This is a fantastic way to highlight HBCU athletes, especially baseball players,” Scott said. “This is a long way from Perkerson Park.”
Scott proudly wore a Morehouse Maroon Tigers baseball jersey and said, “This is game-worn.”
When Christian was an incoming freshman, Scott escorted him around the Morehouse campus. Years later, the two men walked around The Battery, greeting people and swapping stories with others in Morehouse gear.
“Being able to see all of the HBCU players, it’s huge to see,” Christian said. “Back when I was playing in 2016, there wasn’t anything like this for us. It’s great.”
V-103 DJ Greg Street called the environment hours before the start of the game, “crazy.”
“I think it’s dope for HBCU players to do their thing in front of scouts on the eve of the MLB Draft,” Street said.
A pair of friends, Jeanette Meadows and Shanetta Mitchell, wore the colors of their respective HBCUs on t-shirts as they made their way to their seats. Native Atlantans, Meadoews attended NC A&T, and Mitchell stayed home to attend Clark Atlanta University.
Asked why they were at The Battery on Friday night, Meadows said it was to represent and support her alma mater.
“We have three players playing in this game tonight,” Meadows said. “Aggie Pride.”
One of those players, Diego Barrett, a right-handed pitcher for the National League, struck out two of the three batters he faced in relief in the fifth inning.
Before the start of the game, a DJ played “Boots on the Ground” as several ladies line-danced. On a weekend that has Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” tour touched down on Thursday and will be in town for four days, and the best players in Major League Baseball will partake in the Home Run Derby and 95th annual All-Star Game, the focus was on HBCUs and their baseball players.
“This game has come a long way,” Ellis said as he looked around. The former NBA player walked over to ticket window number two and waited in line behind three men in Grambling University baseball gear. They all wanted tickets to the show.
