About Us

Our Mission

The Chattanooga RBI is a program of service to youth. Our mission is to provide an all-inclusive, positive learning environment for young men and women aged 13-18. This environment promotes quality instruction, advancement, competition, teamwork, and sportsmanship. In addition to teaching the basic skills of baseball and softball, our focus is to increase participation in the game, encourage academic achievement, foster a sense of community and social responsibility, and build the values of honesty, integrity, and commitment to excellence. It is our belief that the life lessons learned in sports participation are critical tools for the development of our young men and women.

Exclusive Chattanooga Affiliate of the MLB RBI Initiative

The Chattanooga RBI has been an affiliate of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) RBI program since 2013. During that time, over 700 young men and women aged 13-18 have participated in the league.  Since that 2013 inaugural season, the Chattanooga RBI has experienced its share of success. In 2014 & 2016 the Boys Senior Baseball Team & Girls Softball team both advanced to their respective Southeast Regional Championship games.
In 2016 the Boys Senior team won the Regional Tournament and advanced to the RBI World Series in Cincinnati, OH.

RBI Advance/All Star Team

The Chattanooga RBI program offers an opportunity for advanced players to participate in a more competitive environment. These all-star teams are made up of league players that have exhibited an advanced level of play, have attended a tryout, and have been selected for the team. These advanced teams will compete in the RBI Southeast Regional Tournament, which a chance to advance to RBI World Series, which is held each year in August. The Chattanooga RBI league will enter three teams (one per division) into Regional competition.

  • Junior Boys Team, ages 13-15   
  • Senior Boys Team, ages 16-18
  • Girls Softball Team, ages 15-18

Mission of the MLB RBI Initiative

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) is a Major League Baseball youth outreach program designed to:

  • Increase participation and interest in baseball and softball among underserved youth
  • Promote greater inclusion of youth with diverse backgrounds into the mainstream of the game
  • Increase number of talented athletes prepared to play in college and professionally
  • Encourage academic achievement
  • Teach the value of teamwork

History Of RBI Initiative

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) will be entering its 31st year of play in 2019. From its inception in 1989 through the 2018 season, RBI has grown from a local program for boys in South Central Los Angeles to an international campaign encompassing more than 200 cities and as many as 150,000 male and female participants per year. In 2010, Jr. RBI was launched, designed to create new playing divisions that provide baseball and softball opportunities for children ages 5-12 that also serve as a feeder to the age 13-18 baseball and softball divisions.

John Young, a former Major League Baseball player and scout, developed the concept of RBI to provide disadvantaged youth an opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of baseball. Mr. Young decided that the best way to revive baseball in South Central LA would be to introduce a comprehensive youth baseball program for 13- to 16-year-olds. This program would not only encourage participation in baseball and expand the pool of talented prospects, but, more importantly, it would provide young people with a positive, team-oriented activity that would keep them off the streets while challenging them mentally and physically. Major League Baseball endorsed the RBI concept and provided financial support for the program, as did the Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles. While the youth of Los Angeles were initially a little skeptical — only 11 people showed up for the first tryout — they gradually began to embrace RBI, and 180 kids participated in the first season.

Major League Baseball, which has administered the RBI program since 1991, serves as the central administrative office for RBI and, from 1993 to 1996, along with Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), provided start-up grants for programs demonstrating financial need. Since the inception of the program, Major League Baseball and its Clubs have designated more than $30 million worth of resources to the RBI program. Former National League President Leonard Coleman was the first Major League Baseball executive to run the RBI program. Thomas C. Brasuell, Vice President of Community Affairs for Major League Baseball, managed the day-to-day administration of the program until 2008. In April of that year, David James became the first Director of RBI at MLB, a testament to the League’s dedication to the RBI program.

A large component of the partnership established in early 1997 between Major League Baseball and one of its youth charities, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), was the merger and expansion of youth baseball and softball programs conducted separately by the two organizations.

Leagues also motivate participants to stay in school and pursue post-secondary education, and school attendance/performance is a requirement for joining and remaining on many RBI teams. RBI has been embraced in so many communities because it teaches kids that being a success in life takes more than succeeding on the ballfield — it also means succeeding in the classroom and in the community.

Major League Baseball Charities, Inc. established the RBI for RBI Scholarship Fund in 2007 to help provide financial assistance to youth who participate in the RBI program and wish to pursue secondary education. The RBI for RBI Scholarship provides annual scholarships of up to $5,000 to up to twelve RBI student-athletes who demonstrate academic achievement, leadership qualities and financial need. Since 2008, the RBI for RBI Scholarship program has helped more than 100 RBI student-athletes to enroll in prestigious institutions of higher learning across the country, including: Columbia University, Citadel University, Morehouse College (HBCU), Tuskegee University (HBCU), UCLA, University of Florida, Bucknell University, James Madison University and Wittenberg University.

Since 1998, Major League Baseball has fielded a national RBI team that has participated in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars and its predecessor, the National Amateur All-Star Baseball Tournament (NAABT). The USA Baseball Tournament of Stars, held each June, showcases the top 16- to 18-year-old players from (in addition to RBI) the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), American Legion, Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF), PONY Baseball and at-large teams from USA Baseball, the governing body of amateur baseball.