Yankees Host Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association

 

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone with members of the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association, who sat in on his pregame press conference. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees, in partnership with the Hudson Valley Renegades, their High-A affiliate, hosted the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association (BBSA) on Wednesday for a full day of activities around the Bronx Bombers' game with the Cleveland Guardians.

This was part of a larger six-day trip to New York City and Dutchess County, which the Renegades arranged. Hudson Valley General Manager Zack Betkowski learned about the BBSA from an article on MLB.com, and he reached out to BBSA's co-founders Matthew DeSantis, of Wilton, Connecticut, and Karma Dorji of Bhutan, to see how Hudson Valley could help the BBSA grow. Conversations started with making a donation to the BBSA to arranging for them to visit the United States.

Bhutan is located on the eastern edge of the Himalayas in Southeast Asia, and is home to nearly 800,000 people. The Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association currently features four baseball and four softball leagues for children ages 6-15, with free grassroots clinics for individuals with any level of experience. To find out more about the BBSA, their website is bhutanbaseball.org and on social media (X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), @bhutanbaseball.

BBSA players on the field before the Yankees take the field. Photos by Jason Schott.

The umpires have some new friends waiting for them as they head for home plate. Photo by Jason Schott.

Observing the lineup cards being exchanged.

With the Yankees on the field just before first pitch.

Yankees Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Cashman said, "Their joy of the game reminds me of how I felt about baseball when it was first introduced to me, and it also speaks to how many parts of the world still have room for our game to take root."

Delegates and 12 of the players from the organization took a tour of Yankee Stadium, had the chance to sit in on Yankees Manager Aaron Boone's pregame press conference, watched batting practice from the field, and had the chance to meet Yankees players.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone with the whole group after his press conference. Photo by Jason Schott.

Before the group headed to The Stadium, Major League Baseball hosted them for a tour of their offices on Park Avenue in Manhattan. On Monday, the Renegades hosted them for a baseball clinic with their coaches and players, followed by a business of baseball panel discussion at Hudson Valley's Heritage Financial Park.

BBSA players lined up with the Yankees during the National Anthem. Photo by Jason Schott.

To read the MLB.com article that inspired this visit, please click here.