By Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA – “The Hometown Nine,” a program created by the Seattle Mariners in 2020 that helps student-athletes from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Communities follow their dreams and achieve athletic and academic success, is welcoming its newest class. The Class of 2027 for the five-year program features many athletes, including several members of the Baseball Beyond Borders Kings, and young people that will change the world. With the help and resources of the program, these young change makers will have a great opportunity to impact the community, the lives of others, and foster their own careers.

Members of Converge media were on site Sunday, October 2nd at T-Mobile Park when the nine new members were introduced. Charles Hamaker of Circling Seattle Sports spoke with Kaitlyn Washington, a 4.0 student that plays softball, and Bryan L. Hurd, a Baseball Beyond Borders King who aims to pursue engineering. Both of the new members of the Hometown Nine discussed how they learned about the program, their individual goals, and messages to future classes.

Kaitlyn Washington is a 4.0 student, dreams of playing division one softball at Georgetown University as well as becoming an ambassador with the UN. The young woman certainly has big plans ahead, and the Hometown Nine can help her in her journey. I wanted to ask Kaitlyn how she first heard about the program, and she shared "I met another member one time and we are already texting back and forth about Mariners games. I go to school with members and whenever we just see each others its always great to talk about it." Getting into the program is obviously a big deal, and to know that the class is already growing class is an excellent sign. Speaking to that excellence, I was curious as to what Kaitlyn's mindset was now that she had been accepted into the program, to which she stated "I think that I am going to push myself more, just to be better because I have so many resources now, and I just want to use them."

Bryan L. Hurd is a Baseball Beyond Borders King that is working his way towards becoming a major leaguer himself, just like the players that take the field at T-Mobile Park every summer. With a father that had been in the Baseball Beyond Borders family before, Bryan had seen what being part of a program such as this can do not only for him as an athlete, but in his life as well. Bryan talked about the excitement and culture the Mariners bring to Seattle, saying "As a fan, it is very exciting because I wasn't even alive during last playoffs... as a future big leaguer, I wanna play for the Mariners and remember them making the playoffs in 2022, and I wanna make it again when I play." Bryan, in a different perspective than Kaitlyn, understood what the opportunity of being in the Hometown Nine can do for his growth. "Now that I know what it can do for me, I'm gonna push even harder than I did before.”

After the brief discussions with Kaitlyn and Brian, Charles spoke with Nova Newcomer, director of Community Relations for the Mariners and Mariners Care Foundation Social Impact executive. Newcomer has a personal connection to the program, with a softball background that translates well to the softball players that join. The two discussed the newest class of the Hometown Nine and what other things the Mariners organization plans to do in the community.

After speaking to some of the members of the Class of 2027, I was curious to know what it meant for Newcomer to see these kids get to have these resources, to which she stated "You get in front of these young people and you're so impressed by their vision for the future and what they wanna do and how they wanna reshape the world and that's what this program is really about: making sure this game is for everyone. They are gonna be leaders in their community, being a beacon for baseball, softball, and having everyone feeling part of it." While it was apparent that this program is incredible for the kids that are in these classes, it has also had a positive impact on the Mariners employees involved. Newcomer explained, saying "What we have found with the Hometown Nine program is that yes, we believe we provide a lot of resources and fuel for the young people for their future, but we found that the impact on our front office and players could possibly be greater. What we learn from the young people, the experiences our players get to have welcoming them into the hometown nine, they are truly touched. It's a truly genuine connection to this program and it's because it was born out of their advocacy they came to Mariners leadership and said 'what are you doing to grow the game?'... When you have a program that is born out of advocacy like that, then it's that true genuine authentic connection."

Following the interviews, the Class of 2027 took the field at T-Mobile Park prior to first pitch. All nine members received the magenta-carpet experience, being introduced one by one before all stood together right in front of the mound. Another group of eight graders will now embark on their own journeys, with the resources and the support of the Mariners behind them. The involvement that the ballclub has had with the Hometown Nine and Baseball Beyond Borders is an excellent step in not only the growth of baseball, but showing the importance of encouraging the other interests in these young student athletes.

Lastly, I want to leave you with the messages that Kaitlyn and Bryan wanted to leave to future classes of the Hometown Nine.

Kaitlyn: "Take time to reflect on all that's happened, and live in the moment."

Bryan: "Don't try to be the next Ken Griffey or Julio: be the next you."

https://www.whereweconverge.com/circling-seattle-sports