Max Escarda and Michael Vogeler have a lot of baseball gear.
The 13-year-old members of the Tigers Eastlake Sammamish Baseball Association (ESBA) have played the sport since they were in third grade, amassing quite a pile of gloves, jersey’s, bats and other equipment. Most of the leftovers, still in great shape, were hanging around in closets, forgotten over time.
Escarda and Vogeler figured if they had this much equipment lying around, it was likely their teammates and the community did too.
Vogeler’s mom, Tami, looked into baseball charities and found Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI). Sponsored in part and operated by the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Seattle RBI is run out of the Boys and Girls Club Rainier Vista club.
Quincy Robertson, the program services and training director with the Boys and Girls Club of King County, said locally the organization has about 150 to 200 kids participate in RBI.
“It gives a great alternative,” he said. “It’s a place for them to be engaged where they can have a good time and be in a safe environment with a good coach.”
Children can choose to be on a team, or simply to work on skills, but Robertson said a majority of the kids at Rainier Vista choose to play on a team. The group’s main goal is to increase participation and interest in baseball for teens, and encourage members to keep up their academics.
For the Sammamish teens it was about doing something good for others; a way to share their love of the game.
“It’s fun,” said Escarda of playing baseball. The team has been playing together for years, basically as long as any of them can remember.
Joseph Johnson II, the president of ESBA, said the organization was very supportive of the group gathering donations and that ESBA donated older uniforms to the cause.
“It’s great to have the boys jump out there and pitch in,” Johnson said.
Robertson said throughout the year at least one or two organizations hold drives to gather equipment for the program, including the Mariners, who do their own drive during the year.
The team will be hosting an equipment drive day on Aug. 15 at Bill Reams East Sammamish Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park is located at 21300 NE 16th St., Sammamish.
Anyone with baseball equipment or clothing which has been gently used is welcome to donate.
Tami Vogeler said the items from the collection will be donated in later August after most summer leagues have finished for the summer.
Members of the team include: Grant Beahm, Riley Buck, Griffin Davis, Max Escarda, Jackson Foster, Lucas Henkel, Carson Iraola, Mark Matula, Mason Pierzchalski, Mathew Ross, Tanner Simpson, Michael Vogeler, Mick Vorhof. The team’s coaches are: Ryan Fugiwara, Brian Buck and Dave Iraola.
