Attending one Braves game at Turner Field with his dad turned 24-year-old Joseph Eichelberger into a lifelong fan.
And on Friday night, the Lithonia, Georgia native took the field of the team he grew up rooting for. He, along with 48 other HBCU athletes, participated in MLB’s third annual HBCU Swingman Classic at Truist Park.
“I’m just excited,” Eichelberger told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the game. “I’ve been a Braves fan since my whole life.”
The game, which saw Eichelberger’s American League team fall to the National League team 7-4, provided an opportunity for the players to showcase their talent in front of MLB scouts.
And Georgia native Kameron Douglas put on a show. His towering home run in the second inning gave the National League a 1-0 lead and landed in the center field pond, past Truist Park’s 400-foot wall.
He also later took the mound for the ninth inning and recorded two outs by unleashing fastballs that nearly touched 96 mph.
“Not a lot of people get to have this experience,” Douglas told the AJC before the game. “I’m not gonna take it for granted.”
Douglas’ performance likely garnered the attention of team representatives scattered throughout the stands, but it also impressed Brian Jordan and David Justice, the game’s two managers. Jordan said Douglas “deserved a shot” to pitch professionally, while Justice jokingly chastised his friend for letting the pitcher shut down his team.
“I was just hoping BJ would come get him after the first pitch,” Justice said after the game. “I think BJ did a horrible job of coming to get him late. It’s a shame that he mismanaged that kid like that.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Douglas and Eichelberger were two of four participating players that hailed from the state of Georgia. The group, which also consisted of KJ White Jr. and Jordan McCladdie, finished 2-for-8 with three runs scored.
The National League team, which included Douglas, took a one-run lead in the second inning but trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth. The group then scored six unanswered runs to take a 7-4 lead it never relinquished.
“They were just so calm and cool,” Jordan said of his team. “Next thing you know, they just played baseball. They taught me something today — just stay positive.”
The players embodied the mission of the HBCU Swingman Classic, which is to give the athletes a chance to enjoy themselves while providing them with an opportunity to compete on a big stage. They are treated like MLB players — from receiving all-you-can-eat clubhouse spreads to partaking in media availabilities — and get to have fun playing a game they all love.
And the Georgia natives certainly took advantage of the opportunity.
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