Tampa team to MLB’s RBI World Series in Minnesota

Posted Aug 1, 2011 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Aug 1, 2011 at 06:05 PM

Tampa Bay has a shot at a World Series title – no, not that Tampa Bay.

Last week, the Tampa Rays RBI Senior Boys baseball team, sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club, won the Southeast Regional Tournament in Vero Beach to qualify for the 19th Annual Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series, a Major League Baseball program.

The series tournament, comprised of 24 teams from across the nation as well as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, will take place in Minnesota’s Minneapolis/St. Paul region. Tampa will compete against seven other teams for the Senior Boys title.

The squad, coached by Team X baseball coach Kenny Norman, went 4-0 during the regional tournament, which was held last week. Ironically, Norman was a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Twins, this year’s host, in 1989.

Tampa is participating in the Senior Baseball division, which includes: Central Region champion Union League Boys & Girls Club/Chicago RBI, Harrisburg RBI (Mid-Atlantic), Houston RBI (Southwest), Venice Boys and Girls Club RBI (West), Cleveland Baseball Federation RBI (East) and Venezuela RBI (Caribbean).

Tampa, playing in the East Pool, will face the Northeast team August 11 at 11 a.m. and play again at 5:30 p.m. that night against Cleveland. On Aug. 12 at 5:30 p.m. Tampa will face Harrisburg.

Competition continues Aug. 13 with interleague playoffs, pitting the four teams in the East pool against the four in the West pool. The top two teams remaining will faceoff at Target Field at 1 p.m. on Aug. 14. All times are Central.

Making up the Tampa Rays are: Lenin Sanchez, Carlton White, Leon Cusic, Dexture McCall, Tyler Lawson, Sean Cramer, Eric Comstock, Juan Mercado, Jacob Lopez, James Herget, Jordan Keys, Tino Mention, Einar Muniz, Gabriel Selochan and John Safe.

Launched in 1989 by Major League Baseball, RBI was created to help increase the participation and interest in baseball and softball among inner city youth. Thus far, more than one million kids have participated in the program.

Current MLB players who are RBI alumni include: Carl Crawford, Covelli “Coco” Crisp, Jimmy Rollins, CC Sabathia, Yovani Gallardo, Justin Upton and Dontrelle Willis.

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