The World Series is back in Milwaukee, and for young baseball players in the Milwaukee Brewers RBI program, watching their favorite team has provided inspiration for their own baseball dreams.
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Julian Haliga, director of the Milwaukee Brewers RBI program for 20 years, said the program focuses on making baseball accessible to children in the area.
“We run the Milwaukee Brewers RBI program. And what that is, it’s reviving baseball in the inner city,” Haliga said. “It’s sponsored by the Brewers. What we do is make the program affordable for kids in our area. We do baseball year-round. We work with MPS closely to the kids that need it the most.”
The Milwaukee Brewers provide grant money to help the program purchase baseball equipment and keep it running.
Bodhi Schmidling, 12, is in his second year with the RBI program. His favorite player is Jackson Chourio, and Schmidling said watching Chourio has helped fuel his own passion for baseball.
“I love his swing. It’s very dynamic,” Schmidling said. “You see a very collective swing, but at the same time it’s a very unique swing. It’s just something about it. I love seeing him at bat.”
Schmidling said Chourio’s talent and excitement for the game particularly inspire him.
“When I see him every time he bats, there’s something that kinda runs through me,” Schmidling said. “It’s like a fire that he gives to me.”
For 17-year-old Andres Baez Jr., seeing the Brewers enjoying themselves on the field has also provided motivation.
“It’s very good to watch the Brewers, watching how much fun they have,” Baez said. “They inspire me by making me want to work harder and put more work ethic in and work harder to get at that level.”
Michael Machnik, 13, also pointed to the amount of work required to reach the Brewers’ level, saying their example shows young players “that you’ve gotta keep putting in that work.”
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