Fantastic Start to the 2012 President's Cup

It's hard for me to express what a wonderful sight it is to see fields all over Baltimore City filled with the sounds and scenes of spirited high school baseball. The first week of my 2012 President's Cup tournament was a tremendous success, and it will continue this afternoon with games at 3:30 p.m. at Swann Park and Druid Hill Park.

No matter what the scores are, I've heard from dozens of players that this tournament is one of the highlights of their season. These kids all want to play good baseball, and they want to play on good fields. I want to see baseball played like it was when I was growing up, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, when family and friends came to watch the kids play and everybody watched the kids play the game we called America's Game.

Not only are the students enjoying the competition, but together, we're providing safe safe places for kids to play. New to this year’s event is Growing the Game, a major financial campaign to help provide Baltimore City youth with an opportunity to play on safe, well-maintained baseball fields. Already the campaign has raised more than $166,000, thanks in large part to a matching gift of $83,000 from Orioles’ Principal Owner and Managing Partner Peter Angelos.

All proceeds from this campaign will be used to help renovate and maintain city ball fields and to ensure that children have a safe place to play in their own neighborhoods. Council President Young is encouraging Baltimore residents and businesses to support Growing the Game by visiting baltimorepresidentscup.com/growing and contributing to the fund.

After tonight's games, tournament play will resume with the semifinal games on Saturday, April 14 at Johns Hopkins University and conclude at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 with the championship game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. For a complete schedule, visit baltimorepresidentscup.com/schedule.

I encourage you to help Growing the Game in any way you can, and to join us at all of the tournament games.