Joe Morgan cried.

To understand how big a deal the new P&G Cincinnati MLB Urban Youth Academy in Roselawn is, just remember that Morgan, one of the greatest second basemen who ever lived and an inarguable tough guy, cried at the opening ceremony.

The new facility is an attempt to bring the kids who have stopped playing baseball back to it. Or, perhaps more accurately, to bring baseball back to those kids, often poor kids and black kids.

The easiest way to measure this is to look at Major League Baseball. On opening day this year, only 8.3 percent of major league players were African-American That’s the smallest share since 1958, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The older players in attendance Friday said the opportunities to play are vanishing for kids in cities. Not as many fields, not as many coaches, not as much interest.

After all, children who cannot afford to join club teams or kids without access to good fields and instruction are being left behind regardless of the color of their skin.

The Urban Youth Academy addresses that. It is a stunning facility that will offer baseball and softball training for free to kids ages 5 to 18. There will also be educational and vocational programs at the complex.

Each person at the opening ceremony – from Hall of Famers Morgan and Frank Robinson to politicians Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and City Council members Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach – all agreed, however, that the $7 million facility is not about getting players to the big leagues. It is about getting kids to play and dream, and to learn to win and lose.

“I played a lot of baseball as a kid. We would play on the streets, in fields, anywhere,” said Morgan, who grew up in Oakland, California. “There were a lot of good players around there. I lost a lot of games. The game taught me to lose and to win and to be a teammate. Those are valuable lessons.”

The fields at this complex, both indoor and out, are so good that Joey Votto said the academy reminded him of the Reds’ spring training facility.

Simpson couldn’t believe the quality as she walked around the indoor field. “This is amazing. This is a big deal,” Simpson said. “Kids can come here and learn sportsmanship and teamwork and they can dream big.”

It doesn’t even matter, Simpson said, if big league dreams don’t come true because somebody can’t hit a curve ball. “If they don’t make it, they still have bigger dreams. They can have their next dream.”

And it will all be free. There will be no charge for kids to play or learn or practice. There are four outdoor fields, a batting cage and the indoor field. There will also be character development, academic tutoring and college preparation.

“I’m blown away. It’s incredible,” Seelbach said. “Top-of-the-line everything right in the middle of Roselawn and Bond Hill. Kids who would never have an opportunity to play now do, right in their own backyard.”

And that’s the whole idea, Morgan said. Baseball has become expensive. Too many of the good fields are in the suburbs. Much of the best coaching is on club teams or travel teams which come with a high price tag.

“Baseball has become an elitist sport,” Morgan said. “And I hate that.”

Not anymore. Now the best facilities in the region are right in the city, and they are free because of the generosity of Major League Baseball, Procter & Gamble, the city of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, and Reds owners and players.

This is the fourth Urban Youth Academy in the United States, joining others in Compton, California, Houston and New Orleans. Two more will open soon in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. But Cincinnati has the only one in the Midwest.

Morgan has been a driving force in the Urban Youth Academy movement. Robinson went so far as to call him a pest. Commissioner Bud Selig spoke of how hard Morgan worked.

And then on a rainy day in August, the facility opened. And that’s what made Joe Morgan cry.

“I can’t express how proud I am today,” Morgan said, his voice cracking. “This one is in my town.” ■

P&G Cincinnati MLB Urban Youth Academy

2026 E. Seymour Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45237

email: redsurbanyouthacademy@reds.com

phone: 513-765-5000

Twitter: @redscommunity