Jeff Johnson wants to equip kids with what they need to get back to playing baseball and thrive in life.
“In the second half of my career, I’ve found out what my purpose is,” said Johnson, a former television personality in Charlotte and Atlanta who is working with the Knothole Foundation and the Carolina Metro Reds on the initiative. “They have a facility right across from West Mecklenburg High School. Right across from the school is the Stick Williams facility. Dream Park is what it is.”
Johnson’s goal is to re-introduce minority kids to baseball. He recalls going out to fields as a child and playing the sport with his friends. He doesn’t see it much in predominantly Black communities anymore.
“Baseball used to be played all the time,” Johnson said. “I grew up on Southwest Boulevard. We were babies born in the South. In every neighborhood from West Charlotte, Biddleville, and University Park, everybody had a baseball team. Everyone came out to games. It was fun.”
Johnson feels the sport’s financial aspect is a factor in moving minority families moving away from the game. That shift can be seen in the nosedive among Major League players who identify as Black or African American, which in 2023 was 6.2% – the lowest participate rate since The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida University started keeping track in 1991. The 2022 World Series marked the first time since 1950 that neither team had a Black American player.
“As you know, basketball and football are easier to an extent to play for many kids,” Johnson said. “Playing baseball can be very expensive and takes up space. But, there has been major attention getting Black people and people of color back to playing baseball and softball.”
The Knothole Foundation and the Carolina Metro Reds’ goal is more than just playing baseball. They are investing in the lives of the kids they interact with.
“We try to utilize baseball as a tool to help these kids with their academics, their social skills and help them to grow,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to reach the entire Charlotte community and our target is Black people.”
Carolina Metro Reds coach Morris Madden shares those goals.
“From 4- to 6-years-old, we have a reading program which is just to help make sure the kids are reading on their grade level,” he said. “We’ll do assessments with them periodically and also meet with them about three times a month to help enhance the reading progress they have made.”
Once kids reach the sixth grade, they move into the STEM program to gauge their interest in science, math and technology.
“There are various things we do with [the initiative],” Madden said. “Basically, it is just introducing the kids to what STEM is and what possibilities are there for them. Ultimately, it is there to encourage them to use it in whatever path they choose for what they want to do in life.”
Johnson and Madden have known each other for a while, and Madden knew Johnson’s passion for the game and people. To him, it was a perfect match having him as a partner.
“I thought there was an opportunity for [Johnson] to come into the fold and help out with what we are trying to accomplish,” Madden said. “It has been really good being that [Johnson] was raised on the westside. He knows the ins and outs of the community and has been helping us out a lot.”
Madden feels like the partnership has accomplished a lot already, but much more can be done moving forward to show more kids the game of baseball as well as better equip them for their future whereas otherwise, they may not get the same opportunities.
“We want to make sure the kids have a pathway to what they really want to do,” Madden said. “We want to help them get to where they want to be. One thing I always say is that we aren’t trying to make major league baseball players. We are trying to make major league citizens and that is the biggest thing for us.
