​July 23, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – With the conclusion of our 2018 season on Sunday, the D.C Grays would like to thank all of those who contributed to making this summer so special. We’d like to thank our sponsors, host families, supporters, and fans for everything that you do to help the Grays operation run smoothly.

 

Secondly, a thank you to the Nationals Youth Academy and their staff for being such welcoming hosts for our home games.

 

Finally, we’d like to thank our players and coaches for the incredible season both on and off the field. See you in 2019!

​July 15, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – On Thursday, the DC Grays joined with Major League Baseball to salute legendary Homestead Grays catcher Josh Gibson, one of the greatest sluggers to ever pick up a bat.  MLB unveiled a mural of Gibson on the side of the Lincoln Theater, across from the original Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW.

 

DC Grays players Jawan McAllister (Longwood University) and Ryan Shaw (University of Richmond) were on hand for the festivities at the request of Sean Gibson.  Gibson is Josh’s grandson and the executive director of the Josh Gibson Foundation.

 

The DC Grays are a proud member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League – one of the premier wood bat summer college leagues in the U.S.

 

Josh Gibson, 12-time Negro League All-Star catcher, was the cleanup hitter for the Homestead Grays who played home games at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. The Grays won an unprecedented nine consecutive Negro National League pennants with Gibson behind the plate. Gibson went on to play with multiple clubs before retiring in 1946. In 1972, Gibson became the second Negro League player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Sean Gibson referenced the DC Grays in his remarks, and called McAllister and Shaw to the podium.  The Grays are named in honor of the Homestead Grays, and strive to honor the Grays’ legacy and their important place in the history of baseball in Washington, DC.  Then Grays host a Salute to Negro League Baseball each season, in partnership with the Hubert Simmons Negro League Museum in Owings Mills, MD.

 

“It was so great to see Jawan and Ryan at the event,” said Sean Gibson.  “The DC Grays are keeping the legacy alive in Washington, and I know that my grandfather and his teammates would love what the Grays are doing to honor the history of the Negro Leagues.”  Gibson and DC Grays Baseball President are working on future ways the two groups can collaborate to celebrate the Grays and baseball i8n Washington.  The Josh Gibson Foundation is based in Pittsburgh, but will be working with the Grays to become more active in Washington, DC.

 

The Grays will also be honoring the legacy of the great Jackie Robinson at a Capitol Hill event on Tuesday hosted by Jackie Robinson Foundation.

​July 9, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

BETHESDA, M.D. – – With the Cal Ripken Collegiate League All-Star game approaching on July 11th, three D.C Grays were selected as a part of the 33-man roster that will represent the South division. Those three players are OF Jahleel Sewer (Virginia State), OF Mitch McIntyre (BYU) and P Isaac Olson (Cincinnati). P J.P. Woodward (Lafayette) has also been named an alternate for the All-Star contest.

OF Jahleel Sewer has been one of the most consistent contributors for the D.C Grays offense this summer. Despite missing a few games with a hand injury, Sewer has still amassed a .387 batting average, good enough for fourth in the Cal Ripken league. He also leads the league with a .525 on-base-percentage and is tied for second in stolen bases with 17.

Batting just before Sewer in many of the games this summer has been OF Mitch McIntyre, creating a dangerous combo for opposing pitchers. McIntyre is fourth in the league in home runs (4) and fifth in RBI (23), giving the Grays its main source of power. He has also been an impressive pitcher for the staff, allowing just one earned run in nine complete innings.

Ace Isaac Olson was also named to the team, due to his dominance on the bump this summer. Olson sits tied for the league lead with three wins and sits at eighth with an impressive 2.46 ERA in 29.1 innings. His true dominance has been picking up strikeouts for the Grays as he sits tied for fifth in the league with 32.

J.P Woodward was named an alternate for the South division team due to his impressive summer thus far. Woodward has pitched the most innings in the Cal Ripken league with 38 and he has made batters pay. He sits fifth in the league with a 1.90 ERA and has added 29 strikeouts this season.

These D.C Grays will be in action at the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League All-Star Game on July 11th at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Maryland.

​June 27, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – The DC Grays are named for the famous Negro League champion Homestead Grays, and on Friday June 29 the team will salute the great history of Negro League Baseball on Friday, June 29 at a home game against the Baltimore Dodgers at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy.

As it has done in year’s past, the Grays – members of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League – are partnering with the Hubert Simmons Negro League Museum, which is located in Owings Mills and has a well-known traveling exhibit of Negro League memorabilia. Ray Banks from the museum will be available to answer questions about the exhibit, the Negro Leagues, and about the museum.

Negro League veterans will be featured prominently at the game, including DC native and former Indianapolis Clowns infielder Jim Bland. Luther Atkinson from Temple Hills, MD will also be on hand. He barnstormed with the famed Satchel Paige All-Stars.

The Grays will sponsor special contests and giveaways during the game – giving away specialty hats and shirts and other Negro League merchandise.

There will be a wiffle ball Home Run Derby for the kids – with special prizes for the winners. Scholar-Athletes from the Washington Nationals Youth Academy will be honored before and during the game. The first 50 fans at the game will also receive a free Grays program.

​June 14, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – The DC Grays long relationship with Tony Kornheiser reached a stunning new level this week, as the Grays were named the “official summer college baseball team of the Tony Kornheiser Show.” The DC Grays beat out precisely zero other teams for this prestigious honor. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, no other teams requested this honor.

Thanks to the efforts of DC Grays Baseball vice president Chris Spera, the Grays have a relationship with the Tony Kornheiser Show that dates back several years – to when the show could be heard on ESPN 980. Each summer, Spera personally delivers Grays gear to Tony and the crew – they especially like the athletic tee-shirts with the Grays DC logo. Tony has been kind enough to devote a few minutes of the show on such occasions to a short discussion of the Grays, the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, and the Grays’ ongoing efforts to support inner-city baseball in Washington, DC.

This year, with the Tony Kornheiser Show now a popular podcast, the relationship reached a whole new level. On Tuesday, June 12 Spera personally delivered a game-quality Grays jersey to Mr. Tony – personalized with his HoF/WoF honorifics. (Kornheiser is a member of the Washington, D.C. Sports Hall of Fame and the Wall of Honor at Nationals Park.) The photo accompanying this article commemorates this presentation.

Mr. Tony was so overcome with emotion that he proclaimed the Grays the official summer college team of the show. Kornhieser also generously donated gift cards to his new restaurant Chatter to be used as prizes for the Grays’ in game raffle.

The Tony Kornheiser Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the industry and is broadcast from studios attached to Chatter at 5247 Wisconsin Avenue NW. It can be found online at www.tonykornheisershow.com, on Apple Podcasts and on other online outlets.

​June 11, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

ANNANDALE, VA – – The make-up game for a previously scheduled June 4th game vs. the FCA Braves (rain out) has been scheduled for Saturday, June 16th at 7pm at Annandale High School. ‬

Make sure to mark your calendars and come support the Grays!

​June 5, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – Coming off a disappointing 2017 season and looking to strengthen the roster for the 2018 season, the Grays released their first look at this summer’s team today. The 2018 DC Grays roster will feature a large majority of new players with only five returning players from last summer’s team for now.

Grays General Manager, Antonio Scott, has very few words to express his overall summary of this year’s roster. “We’re trying to figure it out still, but we are confident that the process is going to work at some point with some point being this season”said Scott. The GM feels that this year’s roster will be a more coachable team due to the fact that Manager Reggie Terry had way more input and say so with the making of the roster. Scott feels that coach Terry will naturally have more of an “attachment” to this roster and some of the details of last year’s team that went overlooked will not happen again this year.

Like most seasons, the Gray’s 2018 roster consist of a bulk of rising Sophomore players and/or players who are expected to become primary players next season at their respective school. Some of the notable returners to the Grays are Juwan McCallister (Longwood U.) and Khevin Brewer (Rice). Both outfielders and both are returners from the 2016 Grays team after playing on different teams in different leagues last summer in 2017. McCasllister was an all-star for the Grays in 2016 season while Brewer ended his 2016 season early due to an unfortunate injury to his wrist. Other returners include Cory Alexander OF (Old Dominion), Andrew Webb C/1B (Virginia Tech), and Mason Belcher LHP (Catholic U.) all returning from last summer’s team and expected to contribute more this summer.

Some of the notable new players added to the Grays for this summer’s campaign include John Marti 3B/2B (Lafayette) who received a spot on the Patriot League’s first team All-League roster. He is expected to man the hot corner for the Grays this summer. Both Mitch McIntyre OF (BYU) and Jhaleel Sewer OF (Virginia State) had good seasons this spring and are expected to contribute to this summer’s team as well. Although the Grays will not have the usual San Diego State connection as it’s west coast pipeline this year, a new connection with Santa Clara has emerged. Two players from the California school will embed the Grays roster this summer in Cory Moore 1B/DH and Cade Negley RHP. Another new school connection this is with the University of Cincinnati as the Grays will add two pitchers from that program this year. Nathan Moore and Isaac Olson are both RHP who are expected to be high impact players in DC this summer.

“With a condensed number of position players this year, we are hoping that we can focus more on our pitching and defense to help us win more ball games this year”, Scott added. Let’s just The Grays GM expects to make a play-off run but as always, fingers crossed!!

​May 29, 2018 | by: DCGrays.com Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – Just 16 months ago, DC Grays RBI helped start a softball program at KIPP DC College Preparatory High School in Northeast DC. In only it’s second season, the KCP squad captured the DC Public Charter School Championship, upsetting Washington Latin 18-15 on May 24th at Ryan Zimmerman Field in DC.

Sophomore LaShayla Clinton pitched the whole game for Kipp against a very experienced Latin squad. Junior catcher Ila McDougal, freshmen infielders Jakiyah Williams and Trinity Belle, and Kipp’s lone senior, Mikeyah Paige, anchored the KIPP defense.

Many of these players now also participate in DC Grays RBI’s developmental softball program under Coach Harry Thomas. They will be playing on RBI travel softball teams this summer.

“Most of the KCP athletes had never held a mitt or swung a bat before last spring. RBI planted a seed at KIPP by starting this program,” says Kipp volunteer coach Rachel Cohen, who was recruited by DC Grays RBI. “We now have a group of young women who love playing softball. They’re scholar athletes and, more importantly, they’re a team. The support of their parents has been fabulous. Coach Decius Brown and I are excited about the progress they’ve made in such a short time. We look forward to working with RBI and growing the program even more next season.”

May 15, 2018 | by: DCGrays Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – The 2018 summer collegiate team for the DC Grays organization will not only see some new names to this year’s team roster, but also two new fresh faces will help coach and develop the Grays players this summer.

This season will see coaching changes with the additions of Justin Thomas, pitching coach, and Tyler Thomas as the new hitting/assistant coach. Both new coaches will be replacing the likes of Michael Bowers (pitching coach-2017), and Kevin Tatum (assistant coach-2017). Manager, Reggie Terry, did not have much in-depth reasons as to why the changes were made this year but expressed that he is confident with his “New Blood”as he referred to the new additions to the coaching staff. “I think the energy that both of these guys bring to the table will help us have a much better season on and off the field” said coach Terry.

Learn more about the two new additions to the coaching staff HERE

​The DC Grays organization celebrated a great milestone recently, when the first group of DC Grays RBI high school baseball players committed to play baseball in college. These young men currently play for the DC Grays RBI 18u team, and have been on DC Grays RBI travel teams that have represented Washington, DC in regional RBI tournaments sponsored by Major League Baseball.
In 2016, DC Grays Baseball was approved by Major League Baseball to run the Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities (RBI) program for the District of Columbia. DC Grays RBI started that summer with one 15u baseball team, two softball teams (15u and 18u), and a small co-ed summer league for 9-12 year olds run by Ward 7 Baseball.

DC Grays RBI has grown dramatically since then, and now operates two summer baseball leagues (including Ward 7 Baseball – which has grown from four teams to five), two travel-level baseball teams, two travel-level softball teams, a full fall ball schedule for both baseball and softball, and a winter training program.
These ballplayers are the first DC Grays RBI participants to commit to play baseball in college: