By Shari Ryant
Good things are happening for Blowfish outfielder Ty Jackson. After recently winning the
SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference ) baseball tournament championship this past season
with Florida A&M University, he has just received an invitation to the MLB’s inaugural HBCU
Swingman Classic. Jackson gives his thanks to God, FAMU coach, and teammates.
“It was a blessing, I had one of the best years playing this year and I can only thank God,”
Jackson said. “Coach Shouppe and the team pushed me and it’s just a blessing.”
The event is a All-Star showcase for Divison-l baseball players at Historically Black Colleges &
Universities, giving them a platform to show off their skills. Only 50 players are chosen from a
high status committee according to the MLB’s website.
“The student-athletes will be selected by a committee that will include YDF (Youth
Development Foundation) Ambassador and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., representatives from
MLB and MLBA and scouts.”
This is Jackson’s first season with the Blowfish and he’s already developed a strong bond with
the team.
“I love the Blowfish team, we glue together so well. I love the squad, it’s like a brotherhood and
I’ve known them for a month and feels like I’ve known them for years,” Jackson said. “Love the
coaching staff and the team, we are super talented”.
The Blowfish community sends their luck to Ty Jackson as he heads off to the Swingman Classic,
which will take place on July 7 at 7:30pm in T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington.
The inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic is in the books after giving some of the best and brightest in HBCU baseball a night to shine in Seattle.
Randy Flores (Alabama State) hit a double with one out in the eighth inning, stole second and finished with the go-ahead run with on a dive home after a wild pitch, as the American League team went on to a 4-3 victory late Friday in the inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic.
North Carolina A&T pitcher Xavier Meachem threw two scoreless innings for the American League Squad while Daalen Adderley of Texas Southern drove in two early runs to give that squad a 3-0 cushion.
The HBCU Swingman Classic was the kicker for the MLB All-Star Game. It is the brain child of Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who spent the majority of his career with the Mariners in Seattle.
“It’s all about trying to get seen,” Griffey told the Seattle Times on Friday. “I mean, if I can give an opportunity for a kid, one kid, two kids, three kids to be seen, how many kids can that be over the next five, 10, 15 years?” Griffey said. “How many lives will that one person change? That’s all we’re trying to do.”
Griffey’s son, Tevin, plays baseball at Florida A&M University. His father, Ken Griffey Sr. was a coach. The opening pitch was thrown by another Baseball Hall of Famer in Andre Dawson and caught by former Mariner Vince Coleman. Both players matriculated at Florida A&M.
The two teams were composed of players from 17 historically black colleges and universities.