Carter goes deep for the RBI program
02/23/2006
KANSAS CITY -- Joe Carter watched the video with the other 200 people in attendance at the eighth annual RBI First Pitch Luncheon. In it, Carter was launching the final pitch in the 1993 World Series into the left-field seats for a game- and World Series-winning home run.
At the conclusion of the video, Carter, who said it was the nine millionth time he's watched it, jumped into the arms of his jubilant teammates. When it was over, he turned to the crowd and said, "You have to have hope to have success. The RBI program provides hope to kids in the inner city."
Carter was the guest speaker at the luncheon at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, to raise support for the RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) program.
RBI is a national program of Major League Baseball provided locally by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City in partnership with the Royals, Kansas City Parks and Recreation and KPRS-FM. The program enables young players, who otherwise could not afford these activities, to enjoy a high-quality sports program and premiere youth development Boys & Girls Clubs programs.
"No matter how much success you have, there is always someone who helps you achieve that success," Carter said. "As I was running around the bases, I was thinking about my first coach, Mr. Galemore. I thought about Frank Moore Sr. I thought about all the people who were instrumental in building me into a baseball player.
"I lived my life for those people, and I never forget them. That's what we're doing here today."
Carter noted that it was appropriate that he would be a speaker for the RBI program. He was known for driving in runs in his career. He finished his career with 1,445 RBIs and drove in more than 100 runs in a season 10 times.
"I was known for RBIs," he said. "When they came out with the Hank Aaron Award for the leading RBI guy in each league, I won the first one. My license plate says 'RBI.' I should be here for the RBI program."
Anthony Dickson, the director of the RBI program in Kansas City, has set lofty goals for this summer. After reaching 1,000 kids for the first time in the history of the program last summer, Dickson and his board have set a goal of 1,300 for 2006.
"I partner with schools, with churches, with all the mom-and-pop organizations to get them excited about the program," Dickson said. "When you have a product, the dollars start coming. We just keep doing things to educate the people about the program."
Dickson has done amazing things since coming on board in 1999, when he had a list with 50 kids' names on it. This year, the goal is to field 86 teams on which those 1,300 kids will play.
"When I started, my goal was 500 kids," Dickson said. "We were successful and we just kept growing the program."
Carter also encouraged the youth in attendance to dream, and not worry about failure. He related a story from when he was 7 years old at the conclusion of his Little League summer season.
"I was confident that I would be a Major League Baseball player," he said. "We had our summer banquet with 700 kids. The speaker said, 'If one of you makes it out of here to Major League Baseball, you are the lucky one.' I stood up and looked around the room at all those kids. Then I said, 'All you guys can go home now, because it's going to be me.' I believed it. It took a lot of hard work."
Which made that magical moment in 1993 worth it.
"The biggest moment I got out of hitting that home run was not running the bases," he said. "The biggest thrill was watching a tape of every angle that CBS had of that home run. To see my teammates' and the fans' reaction, that's what I remember most.
"Dreams do come true. I know, because at 7 years old, I was sitting outside my father's gas station and it was the bottom of the ninth. There were two strikes with the bases loaded in the seventh game of the World Series. I hit a home run to win the World Series. You know, [in 1993] there were two guys on and it was Game 6. But it still counts."
And dreams still do come true, thanks to programs like RBI.
Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/
KANSAS CITY -- Joe Carter watched the video with the other 200 people in attendance at the eighth annual RBI First Pitch Luncheon. In it, Carter was launching the final pitch in the 1993 World Series into the left-field seats for a game- and World Series-winning home run.
At the conclusion of the video, Carter, who said it was the nine millionth time he's watched it, jumped into the arms of his jubilant teammates. When it was over, he turned to the crowd and said, "You have to have hope to have success. The RBI program provides hope to kids in the inner city."
Carter was the guest speaker at the luncheon at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, to raise support for the RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) program.
RBI is a national program of Major League Baseball provided locally by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City in partnership with the Royals, Kansas City Parks and Recreation and KPRS-FM. The program enables young players, who otherwise could not afford these activities, to enjoy a high-quality sports program and premiere youth development Boys & Girls Clubs programs.
"No matter how much success you have, there is always someone who helps you achieve that success," Carter said. "As I was running around the bases, I was thinking about my first coach, Mr. Galemore. I thought about Frank Moore Sr. I thought about all the people who were instrumental in building me into a baseball player.
"I lived my life for those people, and I never forget them. That's what we're doing here today."
Carter noted that it was appropriate that he would be a speaker for the RBI program. He was known for driving in runs in his career. He finished his career with 1,445 RBIs and drove in more than 100 runs in a season 10 times.
"I was known for RBIs," he said. "When they came out with the Hank Aaron Award for the leading RBI guy in each league, I won the first one. My license plate says 'RBI.' I should be here for the RBI program."
Anthony Dickson, the director of the RBI program in Kansas City, has set lofty goals for this summer. After reaching 1,000 kids for the first time in the history of the program last summer, Dickson and his board have set a goal of 1,300 for 2006.
"I partner with schools, with churches, with all the mom-and-pop organizations to get them excited about the program," Dickson said. "When you have a product, the dollars start coming. We just keep doing things to educate the people about the program."
Dickson has done amazing things since coming on board in 1999, when he had a list with 50 kids' names on it. This year, the goal is to field 86 teams on which those 1,300 kids will play.
"When I started, my goal was 500 kids," Dickson said. "We were successful and we just kept growing the program."
Carter also encouraged the youth in attendance to dream, and not worry about failure. He related a story from when he was 7 years old at the conclusion of his Little League summer season.
"I was confident that I would be a Major League Baseball player," he said. "We had our summer banquet with 700 kids. The speaker said, 'If one of you makes it out of here to Major League Baseball, you are the lucky one.' I stood up and looked around the room at all those kids. Then I said, 'All you guys can go home now, because it's going to be me.' I believed it. It took a lot of hard work."
Which made that magical moment in 1993 worth it.
"The biggest moment I got out of hitting that home run was not running the bases," he said. "The biggest thrill was watching a tape of every angle that CBS had of that home run. To see my teammates' and the fans' reaction, that's what I remember most.
"Dreams do come true. I know, because at 7 years old, I was sitting outside my father's gas station and it was the bottom of the ninth. There were two strikes with the bases loaded in the seventh game of the World Series. I hit a home run to win the World Series. You know, [in 1993] there were two guys on and it was Game 6. But it still counts."
And dreams still do come true, thanks to programs like RBI.
Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/
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