Mississippi RBI

An amazing story about a Mississippi RBI player came out of our trip to St.Louis in July during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.  It really speaks to the mission of RBI which is about inclusion on a team, enjoying the game, and promoting education. Timmy Crump’s story involves all of these values and you can watch it on ESPN 2, September 18th at 7pm CST.  

Timmy Crump’s 11-12 year old team from the Grove Park City League in Jackson was selected to play in the Inaugural Jr. RBI Classic presented by KPMG, a non-competitive tournament featuring the 16 pilot cities for Jr. RBI around the US.  They played Detroit, Cleveland, Dallas, and Tampa. 

The Team from Grove Park before a game against Tampa/Bradenton. Timmy is on the far left

When I arrived at the team’s regularly scheduled Thursday night game at Battlefield Park a few days before we left for St. Louis,  I was told that Timmy’s mother had passed away that day from a long battle with cancer.  He was playing in the game!  I asked his brother why he was playing, or rather, how he was able to play.  He said that Timmy’s mother insisted he not miss a game because she knew that he loved playing with that team.

To be honest, Timmy, being a first-time baseball player, is not one of the best players on the team.  He struggles to make contact with the bat, hits way down in the batting order, and gets stuck out in the outfield.  He is fine with that.  He would come back to the dugout smiling and say, “Man, that guy throws too hard, maybe I’ll get him next time, Coach!” 

Baseball is not the most important thing to Timmy.  He is a genius.  He has college scholarship money accumulating right now because of his submission in a science contest two years ago.  It will be enough to send him to any Mississippi state school.  He wants to be a nuclear physicist…did I even spell that right?  He is well spoken, thoughtful, and wears athletic plastic glasses all the time just so people know that he is also an athlete.

After the game that night I sat down with him, talked about his mother, and asked if I could pray with him.  He was fine.  He didn’t need to be consoled.  He told me that the long battle was over and he felt a peace in his heart and a burden lifted from his narrow shoulders.  His mother told him one more thing to do before she passed.  She insisted he go on the trip to St. Louis or she would be “mad at him.”

I was speechless…if he goes with us he misses his mother’s funeral.  Timmy let me know that there was no chance he was going to go against his mothers wishes.  

Timmy Crump (front) on the bus to another game

While in St. Louis I told the Director of RBI, David James, about Timmy’s story.  The next night MLB Productions interviewed him and then they interviewed me.  That story, along with other great stories from the RBI Classic, will be included in the ESPN 2 special.  Please don’t miss it.

We started Mississippi RBI to give kids like Timmy Crump a chance to succeed and experience opportunities that are seldom available to inner-city Jackson kids.

They get passed-up on life changing events like this one all the time.  But YOU can help make sure this doesn’t happen.  Your gift to RBI gives more kids like Timmy a chance to do what most of us take for granted—the chance to play on a real team.

If you would like to know more about Mississippi RBI please click here www.MississippiRBI.com for info on volunteering, signing up players, or making donations.  -Brian