Angels' Gene Autry RBI League

Angels Baseball, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Orange County and Major League Baseball partnered together to create the Angels' Gene Autry Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) League. This youth program, offered to Orange County Boys & Girls Club members, provides an opportunity for 12 to 18-year-olds to play baseball and softball and learn important life skills.

The RBI League provides kids who would otherwise not have the chance, the opportunity to play baseball and softball in an organized league. On the field, RBI concentrates on fundamentals and teamwork, while stressing citizenship and academics. Off the field, Boys & Girls Club staff teaches RBI players the pillars of QuickSmart (Skills Mastery and Resistance Training). This nationally acclaimed Boys & Girls Club prevention program is designed specifically for RBI and assists youths in learning how to make smart choices regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.

Currently, twelve Orange County Boys & Girls Clubs are involved in the Gene Autry RBI League: Westminster, Garden Grove, Placentia-Yorba Linda, Harbor Area, Stanton, Tustin, Huntington Valley, Fullerton, La Habra/Brea, Capistrano Valley, Cypress, and Santa Ana.

The Gene Autry RBI League is broken down into four divisions:

All RBI League players receive a full game uniform and a league cap. Participants are also provided with catcher's gear, bats, balls and helmets. The league provides umpires for all games while Boys & Girls Club staff oversees the operation of the games and the playing fields.

Angels' Gene Autry RBI Clinics

Each year, the Angels' Gene Autry RBI League hosts morning Baseball and Softball Clinics in the outfield of Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Members of the league, ages 12 to 18, work on their fielding, batting, sliding, and pitching skills in the outfield with Boys & Girls Club staff, local coaches, and Angels' players and coaches. They also learn about QuickSMART, a prevention program designed to give kids the skills to make wise choices in their daily lives. The clinic provided the RBI players with many new skills as well as many great memories of playing on a big league field. This year, Angels catcher Mike Napoli, outfielder Tommy Murphy, and bullpen catcher Steve Solis were on hand to help coach the baseball clinic.

RBI Coaches Clinic

In addition to hosting a clinic for RBI players, the Angels Gene Autry RBI League also hosts an annual clinic for the RBI League coaches. Jim Perry from the Positive Coaching Alliance was on hand to instruct and Al Arevalos, Director of Prevention and Intervention Services of Helpline Youth Counseling Inc, conducted a QuickSMART session for the coaches. After the clinic, the coaches had an opportunity to meet and talk with Angels Manager Mike Scioscia in the Angels dugout.