Major League Pitcher Mychal Givens throws a pitch at this year's Blitzball Tournament.
by Maggie Rodriguez
One of the Inner City Baseball teams
Tampa Native & Major League pitcher Mychal Givens gives local kids the gift of baseball by Maggie Rodriguez
photo credit The Givens Back Foundation
Colorado Rockies pitcher Mychal Givens throws two strikes, then pauses to talk to his opponent. “Take a breath. Loosen up,” he tells the batter, who exhales and nods. The next pitch connects, sending the ball deep into the outfield. “There you go!” Givens shouts and f lashes a big smile. The exchange would be odd if Givens were on the mound at a major-league ballpark. But it makes perfect sense at the small field in North Tampa where he’s throwing to 8-12-year-olds competing in a homerun derby. The event is part of the fourth annual Blitzball Clinic—a charity fundraiser for The Givens Back Foundation—aimed at making baseball accessible and affordable to any kid who wants to play.
photo credit Lauren Sawyer
“I was frustrated seeing grown men making money off of families and making baseball a huge, expensive sport when it should be about the kids and about having fun,” Givens says. Inner City Baseball player Grady Saw yer par ticipated in the foundation’s Christmas gif t giving event
Donate to The Givens Back Foundation or inquire about joining a team through email at GivensBackFoundation@ yahoo.com or Instagram @GivensBackFoundation60 26
TampaBayParenting.com FEBRUARY 2021
Playing in travel baseball leagues, Givens explains, is cost-prohibitive for families who can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars or whose kids aren’t superior athletes. To change that, Givens assembled two teams of his own, which he coaches during the MLB offseason. The players—aged 11 through 14— are from all over Tampa Bay and all walks of life. They play under the name “Inner City Baseball.” “When people say, ‘I’m from the inner city’, they think that you’re less privileged and it’s a negative term,” Givens says, “so we use the inner-city name to define the word as the one city you’re from—the inner
city of Tampa—kids from all over.” To join Givens’ teams, families are asked to pay a one-time commitment fee payable at their convenience. It covers everything from equipment to travel expenses. “If you want to play, we have the resources to do that. We have the coaches to help you. We’ll spend the time,” explains Ryan Fleming, who coaches the teams with Givens and played baseball with him as a kid. “That’s where I have my best memories,” Givens says of his days playing little-league baseball in West Tampa and Wellswood. Growing up in Tampa Bay and now raising his two young daughters here, Givens feels compelled to give back to his community. The Givens Back Foundation also focuses on community service. During the holidays, they partnered with the Tampa Police Department to distribute turkeys to needy families and with the City of Tampa to buy and hand out Christmas gifts for underprivileged kids. “It made me feel really good in the heart,” says 11-year-old Grady Sawyer, who plays for Inner City Baseball. To continue and expand its charitable giving and fund its baseball teams, The Givens Back Foundation depends on donations and fundraisers like the Blitzball Clinic, which raised around $40,000. A celebrity bowling tournament later this year is expected to raise double that amount. Watching Givens pitch to 22 kids in the homerun derby, offering support and encouragement, it’s obvious that he practices what he and his foundation preach: “We need to build each other up.”
photo by Maggie Rodriguez
GIVENS BACK
