Within walking distance from the Staten Island Ferry, one can find a stadium that is home to the Staten Island Yankees, a Minor League Class-A affiliate team of the New York Yankees. This summer the Staten Island Yankees are working with Nagase-Kenko Corporation (NKC) of Japan, to hold clinics that are designed to promote interest in baseball and NKC’s innovative Air Safety Baseball™ among the children of Staten Island. This three-week clinic, which will take place from July through August, provides participating children with an opportunity to play on a professional field and to learn from many minor league players. The Staten Island Yankees have fielded many major leaguers, including most recently the likes of Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Chien Ming Wang.  The children that participate not only have a chance to work with these experienced ball players, but they are also exposed to NKC’s rubber Air Safety Baseball™, which reduces the chance of injury and changes the tempo of the game. This makes the ball perfect for youth baseball and it is currently used as the official baseball for youth play among many leagues around the world, including: Japanese Nankyu Baseball Federation, Italian Baseball Federation, Victoria States Baseball Federation of Australia, Asian Baseball Federation, Brazilian Baseball Federation, Mexican Baseball Federation and Pan American Baseball Federation (COPABE) youth baseball tournaments. The advantage to this ball is that the child that gets whopped in the chest from a scorching line drive is going to be feeling much better using the Kenko’s Air Safety Baseball™ compared to a conventional hardball.  This increases confidence and enjoyment of the game. Through these clinics, the Staten Island Yankees and Nagase Kenko are combining resources to transform the face of Youth Baseball and to give something back to the local community.

To learn more about why the Staten Island Yankee’s undertook this program, NKC’s Alex Rabin sat down with Gary J. Perone, Assistant General Manager of the Staten Island Yankees to discuss this program.

Alex Rabin: What is the nature of the program you are undertaking with Nagase-Kenko?

Gary Perone: This program covers all the aspects of baseball. Over a three-week span, the clinic exposes children to every facet of baseball, breaking down into: hitting, pitching, catching and fielding. The goal of these sessions is to promote interest in Youth Baseball, while giving these children a positive influence that will help them throughout their lives.

Alex Rabin: What is the role of baseball in the local community?

Gary Perone: The role of baseball is huge in Staten Island and it will continue to grow. In our community, you can view baseball on many different levels. It exerts a positive influence, provides entertainment and serves as part of our local culture.  This ranges from informal street games, to little league teams to the professional Staten Island Yankees.  The clinics we are holding are intended to increase awareness of the sport as well as NKC’s baseball and the Staten Island Yankees.

Alex Rabin: How do you view the internationalization of baseball that we are seeing today?

Gary Perone:  Across the globe we are seeing a rising interest in the sport, which is moving the game of baseball across the world. This effort can be viewed at its fullest when countries battled it out earlier in the year in the World Baseball Classic. This change can also be seen with the gradual increase we are seeing in imported players that now have joined major leagues teams. Their presence enhances interest in the sport back in their own countries as well. Although the major leagues have become more internationally focused, however, I do not believe the minor league teams have reached a similar level.

Alex Rabin: What is the Staten Island Yankees hoping to achieve with these clinics?

Gary Perone:  The Staten Island Yankees believe these clinics help in many ways.  Our main interest is to promote baseball among children and to use this opportunity to familiarize them with the Kenko product. We also believe this will increase interest and awareness of the Staten Island Yankees and our activities, as well as attendance at our games.

Alex Rabin: Why do you think there is such a profound interest for baseball in Japan and what makes their players able to generate so much popularity?

Gary Perone: Baseball in Japan is not just an interest or simply a sport -- but rather an embedded feature of their culture.   I am not exactly sure why baseball has reached that level of popularity, however; it is almost a different sport in their country. The game is played completely differently and if you examine each dimension from hitting to teaching, they put a different spin on the game.  I think the players have generated their popularity through their unconventional style of the game and their knack for success. This is reflected in the performance of players like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.

Alex Rabin: Why did the Staten Island Yankees choose to partner with Nagase Kenko to hold these clinics?

Gary Perone: I think the Staten Island Yankees decided to partner with NKC because they were the first party to test the water with minor league baseball. Previously there has been very little marketing for minor league teams. In addition, I believe the Kenko Air Safety Baseball™ fits very well with these clinics and the play that helps young people to enjoy themselves, learn skills and to become lifelong baseball fans.

Alex Rabin: How have these kids responded to the baseball clinics?

Gary Perone: The children are having a good time as can be seen in these pictures. Not only are they enjoying themselves, but also they are learning every aspect of the game. These children leave our clinics improving on every aspect of the sport as it helps them to develop a greater understanding of baseball. Additionally, our players and the coaches are also enjoying themselves as this gives them a chance to go beyond the business of baseball and to spend some time teaching children and remembering how they themselves first got involved in the sport.

Alex Rabin: What are the future plans of the Staten Island Yankees in terms of developing youth sports in your community?
 
Gary Perone: The future for youth sports on Staten Island is limitless. This borough is a heavy baseball town and it gives the kids an outlet to get away from their computers and videogames and to play outdoors and to develop their sportsmanship skills.  Parents and children in this community are always doing something, which I believe makes Staten Island the best borough to raise a kid and to play youth sports. As the local team we want to be a part of that and hope to build on these activities moving forward.

Alex Rabin: Thank you Gary. NKC is proud to be able to assist you in this task.

To view a photo album of Nagase Kenko’s Youth Baseball Clinic with the Staten Island Yankees, CLICK HERE