Major League Baseball’s dedication to service and community-building is evolving to its next stage, elevating its social, responsibility efforts to new heights in the league’s history.
MLB is creating one unified social responsibility brand, MLB Together, to fold in the entirety of its community and outreach efforts under one umbrella, forming a unified initiative to strengthen its push for social change.
MLB Together acts as the embodiment of the league’s guiding principles of community engagement, nonprofit partnerships, social impact and volunteerism. By placing its charitable efforts under a recognizable brand, MLB hopes to empower global communities where its fans and players live or work, enacting social change through sport.
MLB Together’s six pillars are all tenets of the league’s existing community efforts: youth engagement; diversity, equity & inclusion; domestic violence & physical safety; health research & resources; military families & veteran resources; and disaster relief. Through strengthening relationships with the league’s current national nonprofit partners (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Jackie Robinson Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer), MLB plans to continue to positively impact its communities each day.
Through the league’s most forefront legacy events like Jackie Robinson Day and Roberto Clemente Day, MLB Together will be pushing initiatives that look to close equity gaps for underrepresented communities. With surrounding events such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Childhood Cancer Awareness Day as well as Lou Gehrig Day (another legacy event), MLB Together will continually strive to contribute to cancer and ALS research, dedicated to being part of the fight to find a cure.
In addition to the six pillars, MLB Together will feature a brand new initiative, increasing the breadth and width of its impact. MLB will undergo a new youth mental health program, showcasing its full-fledged support of mental health issues, encouraging young people to ask for help when in need and educating them on positive mental health & wellness.
The campaign will focus on public awareness and de-stigmatization, providing necessary education and countless resources (including a 24/7 Crisis Text line that offers crisis support in English or Spanish), and positive stories from MLB players about mental health within baseball.
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout, Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried, and Colorado Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard are among the players dedicated to spreading the message about the importance of mental health.
Part of MLB Together’s efforts will involve growing the game’s influence and impact outside the sport of baseball. Recognizing the power that influential cultural voices have at bringing attention to issues, MLB plans to engage prominent figures in its MLB Together programming. The league will continue to connect with celebrities, with the most recent example being Denzel Washington, who joined MLB in April to help open the 5,000th Boys and Girls Club in the United States, and former All-Star pitcher CC Sabathia, whose continued efforts with MLB and the Players Alliance help to form a stronger bond in community initiatives.
MLB Together is the league’s entrance into the sports world as a premiere social responsibility brand, representing a full-scale elevation of its already existing, top-notch programs. In doing so, it gives positive social change within baseball a recognizable face and name, one that’s easily identifiable.
MLB Together principles will be prominently displayed in the league’s jewel events — the All-Star Game, World Series, and the MLB World Tour experiences — ensuring that the program’s efforts are recognized on the grandest stages. Very quickly, MLB’s record of hands-on service, engagement in youth sports, and progress in DEI avenues will be synonymous with MLB Together, making an emphasis to continue to associate social change with baseball.
