Reviving Baseball in the Inner City

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – There’s an effort to revive baseball in the inner city.

A local high school baseball coach says instilling a love for the game in kids early is a key to keeping them out of trouble.

Woodward Baseball Coach Ryan Glaze is collecting equipment for kids.

“Each kid that came in, they didn’t have a glove. Not one kid had a glove,” Glaze said.

18 kids have joined the baseball team at Woodward this year. Last year they only had three, so they had to mix teams with Rogers High School.

Coach Glaze believes kids are interested and says the TPS athletic department is very supportive in providing the basic equipment but kids are finding it hard to afford basic things like mitts and cleats.

“You have some kids that are on this end of it with money, and then you have some that are down here that have next to nothing and you don’t wanna make anyone feel like they are any different,” Glaze said.

Coach Glaze says he is collecting mitts, cleats, and other baseball accessories so interested kids can play ball.

He credits the Police Athletic League for their commitment to kids on the field.

“They do a great job over at PAL trying to get those things going, but we need more baseball programs we need more baseball leagues, more tennis programs more things to keep these kids involved,” Glaze said.

If you would like to help coach glaze with baseball equipment, contact him at [email protected].

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