The R.B.I. Program

Ryan has supported the Chicago Cubs’ R.B.I.  program initiative by sponsoring his own team since 2005.  Nicknamed Dempster’s Dynasty, Ryan’s team participates in  Major League Baseball’s signature youth outreach program, Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (R.B.I.) program, designed to increase participation and interest in baseball especially among minorities, and to increase the number of talented athletes prepared to play in college and the minor leagues.

The Chicago Cubs and its players have supported the program since 1992. The Cubs program reaches over 300 mostly minority teens age 13 – 18 who live in some of the poorest communities in Chicago and is run by the Union League Boys and Girls Club of Chicago.  Each season the top two teams in each division (junior 13-15 and seniors 16-18) compete for the league championship at Wrigley Field. These teens are able to participate in the program for free. Their equipment, uniforms and coaching are all provided by grants made through the Cubs Care program and Cubs players like Ryan.  Ryan also invites his team to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field each season through his Dempster’s Dugout ticket program. Three of the players chosen in the 2008 MLB first-year player draft were from the Chicago Cubs RBI program and one selected in the 2007 MLB first-year player draft.

Former scout and Major Leaguer John Young developed the RBI concept in Los Angeles in 1989. Major League Baseball assumed administration of the program in 1991 and manages the program with the assistance of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the official charity of MLB. In its inaugural season, RBI had 180 participants. Today over 1 million teens participate in the program. Since the inception of the program in 1989, MLB Clubs have drafted more than 185 RBI participants. The 2010 launch of the Jr. R.B.I. program (ages 5-12) expanded the scope and increased the impact of the program.

Ryan hosted the 2010 Dempster’s Dynasty R.B.I. team at the September 5, 2010 game vs the New York Mets.

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