GHS student, MLB players partner for a cause
Work to raise money to rebuild baseball fields in Puerto Rico
A Greenwich High School student is working with former Major League Baseball players to help rebuild baseball fields in Puerto Rico that were hit by natural disasters.
Junior Anthony Bozza, 16, launched the nonprofit Pitch In For Puerto Rico in 2023 with the aim of refurbishing baseball and softball fields damaged by
Hurricane Maria and Fiona, as well as awarding scholarships to young players living in hard-hit communities.
On Saturday, the organization will hold its inaugural fundraiser at a private residence in Greenwich featuring appearances from Joey Cora, a Puerto Rican former MLB player and the third base coach for the Detroit Tigers; Eduardo Escobar, a professional third baseman who played for the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets; and Roberto Clemente Jr., a former professional player and head of the Roberto Clemente Foundation, named after his father.
Bozza, who’s Puerto Rican on his mother’s side, said in an email that the money raised will go towards revitalizing a baseball field situated in the town of Adjuntas and to providing young players four-year scholarships to the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School, which provides schooling and intensive training to young baseball and softball players. Bozza said the event sold out at 125 attendees and as of Tuesday, they have raised $110,000 through ticket prices and other significant donations.
“It is amazing to see how excited people have been to help,” he said in the email.
Bozza’s mother, Rita Roure, said that $110,000 will be used to renovate the baseball field in Adjuntas and the funds raised at Saturday’s event will go towards the scholarships. They are hoping to raise
$50,000 so that Pitch In For Puerto Rico can award scholarships to both a softball and baseball player.
Bozza and Roure formed the organization to support Puerto Rican neighborhoods recovering from Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island in 2022, as well as those still feeling the impact of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. Bozza found that youth baseball programs took a hard hit from the storms and needed resources, he said.
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Puerto Rico, according to the island’s official tourism website, and the storms wiped out many ballparks.
“I have been playing baseball since I was five years old and I know what a special role it can play in someone’s life,” Bozza said.
Having visited his grandparents in Puerto Rico consistently since he was ten months old, Bozza has witnessed the importance of baseball on the island. One of his first books his mother gave him was about Roberto Clemente, the first Latin-American player to be honored in the MLB Hall of Fame and is “one of the ultimate symbols of national pride” for Puerto Rico, according to the Roberto Clemente Foundation. Bozza wears Clemente’s jersey and some of his favorite MLB players are from Puerto Rico.
A family friend introduced them to Escobar, who referred them to Cora. Cora then put them in touch with Clemente Jr., whose foundation is a partner of Pitch In For Puerto Rico. Roure said all three were enthusiastic to help out with the fundraiser.
“I’ve never seen anything come together this easily,” she said. “I think (partly) because it’s coming from a kid who loves baseball.”
Bozza plans to visit the town of Adjuntas and the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School in Gurabo next month to begin renovating the field and find candidates for the scholarship. His goals for the organization are to continue refurbishing athletic fields and awarding scholarships. He also plans on collecting equipment in his hometown to donate to youth programs in Puerto Rico.