Local youth baseball team made it to World Series

By David Woods

They didn’t know each other. Not really.

Players chosen for Indy RBI’s team might have been at opposing high schools or clubs and noticed who was on the other side. How could they not? Few Black teenagers play baseball in Indiana.

“Being able to connect with guys that look like me was really fun,” said Desmond Francis, a Notre Dame freshman who played at Park Tudor. “We shared some similar experiences. We were able to connect on a deeper level.”

There aren’t statistics on high school baseball, but the NCAA database shows only 6% of college players are Black. Omit HBCUs, and that figure is 3%.

Players on Indy RBI, for boys 16-18, shared a lot over the summer — including national runner-up trophies.

They were seat partners on long bus rides and roommates in hotel or dorm. They swapped stories and jokes. They chanted in the dugout. They played cards … and a lot of ball.

“We never argued once. All of us would probably say it’s the best team we ever played on,” said Jayden Odorno, a pitcher from Columbus North High School.
 

Mike Lennox, executive director of Indy RBI, said “you could just see the joy” with which the teens played.

Indy RBI is the local chapter of Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities, an outreach by Major League Baseball. The percentage of Black players in MLB was as high as 19% in the early 1980s, but that figure has declined to 6%. MLB is attempting to reverse the trend.

More than 200 RBI alumni have been selected in the MLB draft during the program’s 36-year history. Alumni include new Baseball Hall of Fame selection CC Sabathia.

Of the 16 boys on Indy RBI, 14 were minorities. Most were from Marion County, but others were from around the state.

They either heard about the league or were asked to participate. About 100 boys tried out for the team that went on to the RBI World Series.

There, in the championship game last month, Indy RBI built a 4-1 lead before losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla. It was televised by MLB Network.

The Diamondbacks (10-0) became the first team ever to go unbeaten in regional and national tournaments.

Indy RBI was 9-2 in the two tournaments.

“They kind of all just jelled immediately,” coach John Boggs said. “They became best friends. I mean, they’re going to remember this past summer for the rest of their lives.

“The chemistry was just amazing.”

Before the World Series, the team was 5-0 in the Central Regional at Kansas City, Missouri. Behind Adorno’s pitching, Indy RBI beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 for the championship. The White Sox have won the World Series four times since 2016.

“Everybody was shocked,” said Theo Kramer, a Hanover University freshman from Lawrence North. “We were like, ‘Let’s run with it.’

“We knew we could play with everybody else.”
 

Over 11 games, Kramer led the team in hitting. He had a .478 average on 11-of-23 with 13 runs batted in and a 1.000 slugging percentage. Francis hit .455 with 11 RBI and nine stolen bases.

Nick Johnson (Lawrence Central) batted .393, Mikey Williamson (Silver Creek, Sellersburg) .391, Jerron Miles (Silver Creek, Sellersburg) .364 and Mayo Fernandez (Fishers) .357. David Pina (Fishers) and Miles were second on the team in RBI with 12 each.

Adorno was the top pitcher, logging 13 1/3 innings with 3.15 earned run average.

Yet for all that, Indy RBI featured defense. The lockdown outfield of Francis in left, Maalik Perkins in center and Johnson in right was a “No Fly Zone,” according to Francis.

Boggs encouraged Adorno to throw strikes and let the White Sox hit the baseball. Those outfielders were going to catch everything anyway.

“It was the fastest outfield I’ve ever seen,” Boggs said.

The coach said not only is the program’s aim to induce more Black youths to play baseball, but to “put a spotlight” on those who do. His son, D.J., is an assistant coach and helped assemble this team.

“On the field, we played like we’ve been together for years,” Francis said. “That was kind of the biggest part.

“It wasn’t about ‘me.’ It wasn’t any ‘me’ ball. We were going to do what it takes to win these ballgames, and we’re going to have fun with it.”
 

Indy RBI loses only five players, so it could make another run to the World Series in 2026.
Closeness of the 2025 team was manifested by Perkins, who won the tournament’s sportsmanship award. The Whiteland High School graduate is now a Ball State freshman.

“The way that coach Boggs put the team together, just all of us knew how much it meant to him,” Perkins said. “We all just bonded right off the start.”

And finished right next to the top.

About Indy RBI
Indy RBI began in 1996. Its mission is to empower youth and families of inner-city Indianapolis through baseball and softball, nurturing values those sports inspire: teamwork, resilience, leadership, community spirit.

In summer and spring, leagues play on Indy Parks and Rec fields. Leagues are for senior baseball (16-18), junior baseball (13-15) and girls softball (14-18).

Indy RBI helps Indianapolis Public Schools run baseball and softball programs in elementary and middle schools.

Registration is $25 per season, although players aren’t turned away if their families can’t pay. About two-thirds of participants play for free, according to executive director Mike Lennox. He said coaches are screened but that there is a shortage of coaches.

More information is available at indyrbi.org. Call 317-626-2788. Email MLennox@indyrbi.org or bmoorhead@indyrbig.org.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

David Woods is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at dwoods1411@gmail.com or follow him on X @DavidWoods007.