Helping to Revive Baseball in Inner Cities

• Spring Training at Citizens Bank Park | RBI/Rookie Coaching Clinic photo gallery
• Rookie and RBI League season kicks off!

The Phillies RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program began in 1993 as a part of Major League Baseball's international RBI campaign, which today encompasses more than 200 cities and as many as 120,000 male and female participants a year.

The RBI Leagues focus on instruction and also have a competitive nature. Participants have the opportunity to capitalize on their learned skills during true game situations. Though RBI was open to boys and girls, both were playing baseball. Softball was folded into the RBI program in 1995. The integration of softball has helped the number of teenagers participating in Phillies RBI Leagues in the area grow to over 2,000 participants in over 20 locations.

Volunteer with the Phillies Rookie or RBI Leagues and help children play baseball and softball! For more info email fandev@phillies.com.

In addition to the traditional RBI Leagues, the program supports three All-star teams - a Junior (13-15 years) and Senior (16-18 years) boys baseball team and a girls softball team (15-18 years). These teams travel and compete in MLB sponsored local and regional RBI competitions for the opportunity to play in the RBI World Series held each year in August.

Participate in the RBI All-Star Baseball League for the chance to make the RBI Baseball All-Star Team.

The RBI Leagues are sponsored by Turkey Hill.

 • A Phillies Rookie League Banner
 • A uniform, T-shirt and hat for each participant
 • Catcher's equipment
 • Bases
 • Batting helmets
 • Bats

Each year participants of the RBI Leagues have the opportunity to participate in various special events.

Coaches from the Phillies Rookie leagues were instructed by Frankford High School's varsity baseball coaches Bob Peffle and pitching coach Michael O'Connor in the Phillies batting cages at Citizens Bank Park. The clinic covered the fundamentals of baseball, including stretching, throwing, fielding, hitting and pitching. Over 30 coaches from the Philadelphia region were in attendance.

For the past three years, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has been the RBI League Chairman. Chase loves working with the children and has met with members of the RBI Leagues on several occasions to give baseball tips, answer questions, sign autographs and help hand out gloves to those in need.

Many of the children in the RBI Leagues have never been to a professional baseball game, so each year the Phillies provide tickets to the players and their coaches to come out and cheer on the home team.

Each year the Phillies honor RBI League participants during a special pregame ceremony. In 2006, members of the RBI League helped present a Thank You plaque to Chairman Chase Utley.

 •  The team must be located in an area that serves children who are unable to afford to play in an organized baseball league without assistance
 •  Must have dedicated personnel to organize and run the league.
 •  A league is made up of a minimum of four teams of the same age level. You may have more than one league at your location, for example, 13-14 year old league and a 15-16 year old league for a total of at least eight teams.

• Boys & Girls Club of Delaware, Middletown, DE  • Cibotti PSI RBI, Philadelphia  • Columbus Square, Philadelphia  • Cruz Recreation Center, Philadelphia  • District 9 Girls Softball, Philadelphia  • Elmwood Park, Philadelphia  • Edward O'Malley A.A., Philadelphia  • FAJR 2 ISHA, Philadelphia  • Feltonville Boys and Girls Club, Philadelphia  • Finnegan Playground, Philadelphia  • Germantown Boys & Girls Club, Philadelphia  • Germantown Wolverines, Philadelphia  • Hank Gathers, Philadelphia  • Heston PSI RBI, Philadelphia  • Hunting Park, Philadelphia  • Hunting Park Ballers, Philadelphia  • Ivy Hill, Philadelphia  • Kingsessing Recreation, Philadelphia  • Marion Anderson Recreation, Philadelphia  • Martin Luther King Recreation, Philadelphia  • Newark Boys & Girls Club of Delaware, Newark, DE  • Norris Square, Philadelphia

• North Hills, Philadelphia  • North Light/Venice Island, Philadelphia  • North Philly Flames, Philadelphia  • Northeast A's, Philadelphia  • Northwest Raiders, Philadelphia  • Overbrook Athletic Association, Philadelphia  • Overbrook Park Athletic Association, Philadelphia  • Parents of Carmella Youth Association, Philadelphia  • Pleasant Panthers, Philadelphia  • Sayre/Morris PSI RBI, Philadelphia  • Shepard Playground PSI RBI, Philadelphia  • South Philadelphia Girls Softball, Philadelphia  • Southeast Youth Athletic Association, Philadelphia  • Tabor Rams, Philadelphia  • The Lighthouse, Philadelphia  • Tioga RBI League, Philadelphia  • W.E.M.A. (Delaware) Youth League, Middletown, DE  • West Kensington Boys & Girls Club, Philadelphia  • West Oak Lane Stars, Philadelphia  • Whitman Park Youth Association, Camden, NJ

If you are interested in learning more about the Phillies RBI Leagues or to see if your organization qualifies, e-mail fandev@phillies.com or call 215.463.1000.