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DETROIT (FOX 2) - Gregory Pace started playing when he was 3 years old. "That's why my favorite number is three and that's why I'll always wear three on my back," said Pace.
Trenton Newby has been at the sport for just as long. "I started playing baseball when I was three-and-a-half," he said.
Newby and Pace were practicing their batting at Corner Ballpark Wednesday afternoon. Good thing too, they have a big tournament on the way. Both members of the Detroit Police Athletic League and, with aspirations of competing at much higher levels of baseball, Pace and Newby are part of a nation-wide initiative to get more inner city kids playing sports.
"MLB RBI is reviving baseball in the inner cities," said Michael Harris, head coach of the league. "It's an opportunity for inner city kids to play the game of baseball."
That effort is culminating on Friday when teams around the country will converge in Indianapolis for the Major League Baseball's RBI Regional Tournament. It won't be only luck that carries them to victory this weekend however if they do see ticks in their win category.
These players are some of Detroit's best.
"The majority go on to college, we have quite a few in the minor leagues playing right now," said Harris.
Both Newby and Pace echo that sentiment too.
"I play at Kellogg Community Center," Newby said. "This will be my sophomore year, so I'm looking forward to big things."
I plan on going to college and after college I plan on going pro. I don't want my dream to stop at high school," said Pace.
Winners of the tournament are invited to compete in the finals at Vero Beach in Florida.
"Going to Indianapolis is like a business trip for us, so we take this as a business," Newby said. "So we're gonna go down there and whoop everybody."