No Days Off: Josiah Gray Continues Showing up for DC
Many current and former Washington Nationals players have poured their hearts and souls into the community that supports their team, and leading the way this week is starting pitcher Josiah Gray. Since his arrival in Washington, D.C., in 2021, Gray has been adamant in his conviction to help his community, particularly the young baseball and softball players of D.C.
“I was fortunate enough to have a coach who provided an opportunity for me and my brother to play,” said Gray. “He footed the bill most of the time for us to be able to play that next level of baseball. So, for me, it has always come down to if I was ever to succeed or excel at this game, I wanted to be able to give that to the next generation.”
Gray did just that during the Nationals’ most recent homestand. His first stop was Sunday, May 5, when he took the time to meet with kids from the Josh Gibson Foundation at Nationals Park.
Often called “the Black Babe Ruth,” Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest home run hitters and most feared sluggers of any era. Gibson played in the Negro Leagues, including two stints with the Homestead Grays here in D.C. Gibson is honored at Nationals Park with a spot in the Ring of Honor and has a statue outside the Home Plate Gates commemorating his impact. The children’s book Just Like Josh Gibson is a favorite during the team’s summer reading series, Story Time at Nationals Park.
Continuing the slugger’s impressive legacy, the Josh Gibson Foundation develops programming that help young people reach their full potential, providing tutoring, mentoring, nutrition and educational programs for at-risk youth — similar in mission to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, to which Gray serves as the official Player Ambassador.
During the Josh Gibson Foundation’s visit to Nationals Park, children from sixth to eighth grade gathered around Gray as he spoke to them about baseball development and life skills while taking photos with the young attendees. The foundation was treated to a surprise appearance by Nationals relief pitcher Derek Law, who is a native of Pittsburgh, where the foundation is based.
“For the kids to have Josiah Gray speak to them is great. As an African American player to come out and speak to the boys, it gives them hope that maybe one day they can become a professional baseball player and if not, be successful in other things in life,” said Sean Gibson, the great-grandson of Josh Gibson and the foundation’s executive director. “Just having a player that wants to give back their time and say a few words is great. The main thing is, hopefully [the kids] take away something from his message.”
Gray and Law were ecstatic to spend some quality time with the kids and welcome them the nation’s capital.
“We went up there and chopped it up for a little bit and any questions they had. I was all for them,” said Gray. “It was a really, really cool experience to meet [Josh Gibson’s] great-grandson and to shed some light on [my own journey for] those kids.”
Gray’s contributions to the community continued the following day when he used a team off-day to visit the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, a nine-acre campus in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 7, that provides holistic educational and athletic programming to children living in one of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.
Gray has built close ties and a strong attachment to the Youth Baseball Academy and its mission throughout his time in D.C Since arriving in the middle of the 2021 season, Gray has been active in the club’s community projects and was officially named the Player Ambassador to the Academy during the 2022 season. In this role, he acts as a link between the clubhouse and the Academy, serving as a resource to the school-aged children who participate in its programming. He follows the time-honored tradition of former Nationals Player Ambassadors Josh Bell, Anthony Rendon and Ian Desmond, who first envisioned the role when the Academy opened its doors in 2014.
“I know how much I have benefitted from fellowship and other people having graciousness in their heart,” said Gray as he watched the attendees run around the baseball fields at the campus. “So, I always try and give that back to the kids to show them that they can be big leaguers and there are people that they can look up to achieve their goals.”
When Gray arrived, he joined Rocco, Langston, and Nate — three Nike RBI players and alumni of the Academy’s BASE program — on the bleachers. The group caught a few innings of a Dunbar High School and School Without Walls game, discussing their love for the game that has taught them so much.
They shared that the Academy has provided a safe place to hone their baseball craft, get their schoolwork done, and grab a meal. “It has literally changed my life,” mentioned Rocco.
“It’s impactful [to hear],” Gray said after the discussion concluded. “Honestly to hear it from them, as the Player Ambassador, it means a lot because I can show that these kids can become big leaguers and even if they aren’t, that the Academy is setting them up for success.”
After the discussion, the Nationals star handed out bags of fresh produce to families as part of the Academy’s Field of Greens market, the only year-round farmers market in Ward 7. To wrap up his visit, he took to the field, teaching and interacting with more than 100 children that came for YBA Play, a fun, free developmental baseball and softball clinic offered to youth in Wards 5–8.
Even after a busy Sunday with the Josh Gibson Foundation and Monday at the Academy, Gray wasn’t done giving back. Less than 24 hours later, he was back at Nationals Park for Tuesday night’s matchup vs. Baltimore, joining members of the Nationals and Orioles Nike RBI programs on the field pregame to celebrate the teams’ joint commitment to youth baseball and softball access as part of 2024 BELTWAY SERIES: CITIES CONNECTED.
“This is where my passion comes from,” Gray noted. “Leaning on the next generation, because I know there are going to be success stories that I hear out of Nationals Baseball Academy alumni where they are cracking the big leagues and getting drafted. I want to feel that I had a part in helping them.”
