4214
Mission Statement
4214 is an outreach program designed to empower Student Athletes of Color in baseball and softball and increase their representation, preparedness, and success in little league, high school, college, professionally, and beyond.
How do we meet our mission
* Provide Student Athletes of Color a platform and resources to engage with one another as many have minimal to no teammates who look like them
* Collaborate with institutions and professional sports teams to diversify their athletic departments and grow their support of Student Athletes of Color
Our Name
4214 was named in honor of the jersey numbers worn by Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. Robinson and Doby were the first African Americans to play Major League Baseball in the National and American League.
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Kansas RBI:
What is RBI?
Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) was founded in South Central Los Angeles in 1989 by former Major Leaguer John Young. Young set out to overcome obstacles – such as crime and a lack of funding for fields and equipment – that prevented inner city kids from learning and excelling at the game of baseball. More importantly, Young wanted to use participation in baseball as a means to overcome academic and social disadvantages most inner city kids face. The result was a program that not only taught solid, fundamental baseball, but also promoted academic achievement and social responsibility as a requirement for participation. RBI hosts coaches’ seminars for instructors and administrators. The seminars cover on-field skills and discuss social skills that help young players cope with outside pressures. The RBI program at Success Achieved In Future Environments (S.A.F.E.) provides Kansas boys and girls, ages 3-12, with the opportunity to play organized baseball and softball, while teaching teamwork, leadership and life skills. Since 2010, the RBI program has been provided in Kansas via Kansas RBI (S.A.F.E.) in partnership with the Kansas City Royals and Major League Baseball.
History of Kansas RBI:
On May 30th, 2009 S.A.F.E held its first registration for the newly formed S.T.I.C.K.S (Support Towards Inner City Kids) Little League Baseball program. Over 150 metro area youth registered to play summer baseball, the age groups ranged from 3-18. The S.T.I.C.K.S Little League program became the only baseball program within Kansas City Kansas to offer summer baseball to players ages 14-18.
In December of 2009, Major League baseball granted Success Achieved in Future Environments a RBI Chapter under the jurisdiction of KCK RBI Executive Director Cle Ross. In December of 2015, KCK RBI was renamed Kansas RBI. After realizing that a good portion of kids who play in the KC metro area quit playing at the age of 16, a decison was made to change directions. The Kansas RBI Board of Directors decided during the 2016 off season that in efforts to keep kids playing and increase the amount of kids going on to play in college that our primary focus would be creating clusters so kids can play with their classmates and the development of our players and coaches.
Kansas RBI League Growth
2009
S.T.I.C.K.S Litttle League Baseball
155 baseball players
2010
KCK RBI
315 baseball players
2011
KCK RBI
428 baseball players and
40 softball players
2012
KCK RBI
603 baseball players and
76 softball players
2013
KCK RBI
678 baseball players and
78 softball players
2014
KCK RBI
818 baseball players and
86 softball players
2015
KCK RBI
901 baseball players and
105 softball players
2016
Kansas RBI
1025 baseball players and
115 softball players
2017
Kansas RBI
813 baseball players and
75 softball players
2018
Kansas RBI
927 baseball players and
80 softball players
•From 2010 to the present, the KCK RBI program has grown from approximately 6 youth, to over 1000.
•Since 2010, the KCK RBI program has given more than 6,000 urban boys and girls the opportunity to learn the sport of baseball/softball and important life skills in a safe supervised environment.
•Every year, the KCK RBI program sends teams to the regional playoffs where they have the opportunity to qualify for the RBI World Series. In 2012, KCK RBI had 18 (the classic 18) league participants and countless coaches and volunteers participate in the 2012 MLB All Star Week & Jr. RBI Classic. In 2014, KCK RBI became the first RBI program on the local level to win the RBI Central Regional located in Milwaukee and represented the KC Royals at the RBI World Series finishing 5th in the nation. In December of 2015, KCK RBI was renamed Kansas RBI.
