A few days before the 2023 MLB All-Star Game is played at Seattle's T-Moble Park, some of the best players from Historically Black Colleges & Universities will take the field. The inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic, which is presented by Ken Griffey Jr. and MLB, will feature 50 HBCU baseball players.
Some of the players who have been chosen to participate in Ken Griffey Jr.'s HBCU Swingman Classic have spoken about what it will mean to be part of the event. It's scheduled to take place on Friday, July 7.
“I’m very thankful to be there,” Bethune Cookman outfielder Hylan Hall said, via HBCU Gameday. “Coming from an HBCU and having this opportunity to be seen in front of scouts it’s a great opportunity and I just want to make the best out of it.”
Hall is one of the three HBCU Swingman Classic players who were invited to the 2023 MLB Draft Combine.
The 50 HBCU baseball players will get a chance to show off their skills in front of a national audience. Baseball fans will be able to watch the 2023 HBCU Swingman Classic on MLB Network of MLB.com
“It was super surreal,” Grambling State infielder Kyle Walker said of being picked for the event. “I was just thankful for the opportunity and I’m just really excited to play.”
“When you hear a name like Ken Griffey Jr. it’s like I definitely need to turn it on another notch. I feel like a lot of people are going to be out there watching and it could lead to bigger opportunities for the future.”