Last Wednesday, November 19th, over 425 guests gathered at The Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center for The BASE Ball, an evening of inspiration and celebration for The BASE which raised over $300,000 for our student athletes.
As guests arrived they enjoyed live baseball practice from The BASE student athletes, while Lt. Governor-elect Karyn Polito threw out the “ceremonial first pitch,” and then Co-Host’s WEEI’s Michael Holley and El Mundo’s Alberto Vasallo, III lead an engaging program which honored Roberto Clemente, Jr., Charles Ogletree, Jr. and Theo Epstein, Paul Epstein and Peter Gammons.
Guests included Red Sox Drake Britton, Arizona Diamondback Bronson Arroyo, NBA great Dwight Davis, BPS Athletic Director Avery Eisdale, President Tony Benoit of Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Bay State Banner’s Mel Miller and Sandra Casagrand, Thomas Melendez of MFS, Boston Foundation CEO Paul Grogan, Jon Davis of The Davis Companies, Joe Kahn (formerly of The Boston Globe), Boston College Head Baseball Coach Mike Gambino, Director of Athletics and Baseball Coach Scott Dulin of Fisher College, and Matt Noone, Head Baseball Coach for Babson College.
“…you’re tricked if you think this [program] is about baseball. It’s a tool to make young people great.”
~Founder Robert Lewis
Prior to the Ball, The Base held a special reception for Roberto Clemente Jr. who came into town early to tour The Base and meet with its student athletes.
The event attended by local Latino business and nonprofit leaders, provided the student athletes with an opportunity to meet Roberto and share his passion for education. Roberto Jr. spoke about the memory of his late father Roberto Sr., a Baseball Hall of Famer, and how strongly he believed in getting an education and giving back to the community.
Roberto Jr. shared with the youth how as a seven year old child his fondest memory of his father was when he would talk to young people who’d come to the ball park to watch him practice. Robert Sr. would take the young people aside and tell them to stay in school and reach for their dreams. Clemente, said that his father Roberto Sr, “would be very proud of what Robert Lewis is doing in Boston,” adding that The BASE “should be a cookie cutter for similar programs across the country.”
Graduation rates in Boston and throughout the nation for Black and Latino males are just 58% and 52%, respectively. The stats for college graduation rates are even more meager at just 5%.
The Base plans to change the trajectory for Black and Latino males in Boston. Founded by the inspirational leader, Robert Lewis, The Base offers academic opportunities combined with year-round baseball instruction, mentorship, and college readiness for more than 600 youth in grades 7-12, most from Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester. Lewis has raised over $20 million in pledged academic scholarships from area colleges – with more to come.
As Lewis said, “Our players are resilient and dedicated but you’re tricked if you think this [program] is about baseball. It’s a tool to make young people great.”
The Base magic is teaching boys how to be successful men, both on and off the field. To learn more about The BASE visit: www.thebase.org
