SAN DIEGO -- A year ago, the Padres RBI program for youth baseball and softball experienced a big leap in participation, as the numbers doubled to more than 800. This year, the club, in conjunction with the San Diego Hall of Champions, wants to grow that number of participants to nearly 1,000 children.
This program resonates deeply with Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler, who would like to see more youth come back to baseball and softball.
"I think over time, we've lost some of the young people and we want to get them back," Fowler said. "We went to Major League Baseball and told them how we wanted to approach it.