The Major League Baseball® All-Star Game® events, held in San Francisco July 8-11, not only celebrated professional baseball’s greatest, they also showcased the thriving, decade-long partnership between MLB and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Six deserving Boys & Girls Club youth were recognized as all stars of sportsmanship and good character, and a Club bearing the name of Hall of Famer Willie Mays was dedicated in the days leading up to one of baseball’s most cherished traditions.

The MLB S.T.A.R. Award – recognizing outstanding Sportsmanship, Team spirit, Achievement and Responsibility – is the newest component of the partnership with BGCA. The award is open to Club members ages 10 to 18. The program was launched this past spring, with some 300 Club members vying for the award. After BGCA selected state and overseas winners, an MLB blue-ribbon panel chose six regional winners.

The regional winners received a free trip to the All-Star festivities, where they mingled with past and present baseball greats, including Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter. MLB will choose one national S.T.A.R. Award winner from the six regional winners to represent Boys & Girls Clubs at the World Series® in October.

S.T.A.R.s and All-Stars Shine

The recognition program came into being through the leadership of Tom Brasuell, MLB’s vice president of community affairs and a former Club member.

“As a child I attended a Club that positively impacted my life,” says Brasuell. “I am fortunate that in my current role, I continue to help the Movement’s mission by facilitating the relationship between Major League Baseball and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, baseball’s official charity.

“It is truly an example of a successful public-private collaboration, benefiting both parties, but most importantly, benefiting millions of children.” The S.T.A.R. Award regional winners came from near and far, but they bonded over new experiences during the All-Star festivities.

One of them is Faith Hess. She was thrilled about many of the firsts she experienced in star-studded San Francisco, far from her home in West Virginia. “I met Derek Jeter and told him that he was my favorite player in the world,” says Hess, who surprised her advisor with her in-depth baseball knowledge.

“I just felt so special when Miss USA actually knew my name and wanted to talk to me,” adds fellow award winner Kristin Walker. “I called my mom and could not hold back the tears when I thought about all the people who wished they could be in my shoes. Totally unbelievable.” Club member Maddison Byrd, who traveled all the way from Germany, tried to put the fun-filled week into perspective. “I know at this age I probably can’t fully appreciate the extent of this awesome experience,” Byrd says. “I do know that later in life, I will look back and continue to be awestruck by what the people from MLB and BGCA have given me. I would have never imagined that I would get to meet any of the people I did during All-Star week.” The winners were treated like baseball royalty, with MLB generously providing replica All-Star jerseys, autographed bats and baseballs, and other memorabilia. In keeping with the very same traits, such as teamwork, that earned them this great honor, the S.T.A.R. Award winners said the best gifts they would take home were the friendships they forged.