Scotts MLB Pitch Hit & Run (PHR) is celebrating its 20th consecutive year as the Official Skills Competition of Major League Baseball, and NRPA is again encouraging departments to host a free local event. MLB PHR is an easily administered one-day program that provides boys and girls ages 7 to 14 with the opportunity to showcase their pitching, hitting and running abilities in either the baseball or softball division. Each year, 720 youngsters nationwide advance to one of 30 Team Championships at every Major League ballpark, with the top 24 competitors earning an all-expense paid trip to the National Finals at MLB All-Star.
Pitch Hit & Run is an exciting, educational program for kids of all skill levels. From the All-Star players in your town to those just learning the sport, PHR brings families together as a community to enjoy our country’s national pastime. For some lucky youngsters, your local event is just the starting point to an experience of a lifetime. Following is a list of boys and girls who last summer began their journey by competing in local games hosted by their community’s parks and recreation department and went on to become the 2015 PHR National Finalists:
- Lilly Stewart — Greenfield Parks, Indiana
- Abby Braby — city of Tipton, Missouri
- Haley Loffer — city of Hayden, Idaho
- Madison Hayes — Chattanooga Parks and Recreation, Tennessee
- Emma Kleinsek — La Crosse Parks and Recreation, Wisconsin
- Ethan Manock —Wahpeton Parks and Recreation, North Dakota
- Gregory Palamountain — Contra Costa Co. Parks and Recreation, California
- Trevor Cogley — city of Hayden, Idaho
- Andruw Criswell — Murray-Calloway Co. Parks and Recreation, Kenucky
- Chase Jans —Blue Valley Recreation, Kansas
The city of Hayden, Idaho, had two youngsters compete at the PHR National Finals in 2015. While Haley Loffer and Trevor Cogley were shagging balls at the Home Run Derby, local and sectional host Suzanne Cano was proud to know that it was the efforts of her recreation department that aided in making it happen. Cano describes the PHR program as “one of the easiest and most fun events Hayden runs.”
In the Midwest, the Kansas City Royals are not the only ball players celebrating a victory in the area. You can also probably spot Chase Jans of Overland Park, Kansas, sporting his PHR National Finals gear around town. Local and sectional host Jeff Todd couldn’t be more proud of Chase. Todd has been hosting PHR since 2006 and thinks the program “is an exciting event for the entire community that gives Blue Valley Recreation a chance to showcase our facility, while seeing the joy it brings to the kids.”
Give the kids in your community the opportunity to feel like All Stars by signing up to host your own Scotts MLB Pitch Hit & Run competition.
Kelly Peterson works with MLB Pitch Hit & Run Headquarters.