The Marquis Grissom Baseball Association is helping the next generation on and off the field

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Marquis Grissom enjoyed the kind of playing career in Major League Baseball that most kids only dream of. He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves, took home four straight Gold Glove Awards from 1993-96, made a couple All-Star teams and spent 17 seasons playing at the game’s highest level.

He played his last game in 2005. He knew exactly what would come next for him: the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association, a nonprofit organization that’s helped a new generation of players live the same dream Grissom did for nearly two decades.

Grissom founded the MGBA in 2006 with the mission to provide athletes in underserved communities the opportunity to compete in a competitive baseball league. He sponsors travel baseball teams around the Atlanta area, ranging from age 7-22, while also providing coaching, mentoring, college placement assistance, tutoring and scholarship assistance in his hometown.

“I had some people that were very instrumental in my growing up and upbringing that really invested a lot of time with me, so I kind of knew what I was going to do once I retired,” Grissom said in a phone interview. “I even knew what I was gonna do, whether I made it to the league or not gonna make it to the league. I always wanted to go back and help kids follow their dreams and continue to dream and try to be whatever you think you are capable of being.”

There’s now a growing list of Major Leaguers who have been -- and continue to be -- influenced by Grissom and his association.

The Athletics’ Lawrence Butler, the Braves’ Michael Harris II, the Rays’ Taj Bradley and Pirates prospect Termarr Johnson are among those who played travel ball with the MGBA. There’s also a large group of players -- including Butler, Harris, Johnson, Marquis Grissom Jr., Xzavion Curry, Will Benson, Marc Church, Cam Collier, Ryan Spikes, Tink Hence and Chandler Simpson -- who train with Grissom and former outfielder Lou Collier during the offseason.

“He just cared. He's like an uncle to all of us,” said Bradley, who met Grissom when he was 14 after coming through MLB’s RBI program. “He just cares enough to tell you what's real and always keep optimistic points of view and stuff like that, but also tell you what really comes with this baseball stuff and how to act and carry yourself.”

Grissom said he was fortunate to have Little League coaches who invested their time, energy and money into him. They gave him rides to the ballpark, paid his $80 fee to play rec ball at a local park, fed him and taught him discipline. It started with T.J. Wilson, an Atlanta police officer who coached Grissom from age 7-9.

Then there was Gary Staab, a “pillar in the community and throughout the state of Georgia,” as Grissom put it, who helped him start the MGBA after helping hundreds of kids earn scholarships in his own right. Staab coached Grissom from age 11-13, and the longtime outfielder still counts his former coach as one of his heroes.

Inspired by their work, Grissom said he wanted to create a space for Black players in the Atlanta area to develop skills for both baseball and life. The idea, he said, is to shape a “complete player and a complete person on and off the field.”

“I just wanted to get those kids who were still in the community that wanted to play baseball and give them a platform and give them a safe environment where they can go play and learn the game of baseball and just go have fun,” Grissom added. “Not really trying to create a Major League Baseball player. Deep down, I knew that was going to happen once we got to the level where I could participate in travel ball, but it’s all about development for me.”

Grissom’s career gave him instant credibility with the kids. Butler, who started there when he was 15, said he felt like his group was “a little more advanced” than other players their age. Bradley said he probably took it for granted as a teenager, just thinking it was cool to be in such close proximity to a well-known big leaguer, then later came to appreciate how much the work ethic Grissom preaches prepared him for his career.

"It's been great being with Marquis and having him as a resource. He's been very helpful for me ever since I've been 13 years old,” Johnson said. “From practices to games to opportunities, to everything -- he's been a big help for me in the Atlanta area. He's been a big help to a lot of families. Definitely grateful for him and the knowledge and the opportunities he's put in my hand."

There’s an obvious sense of camaraderie and pride among the big leaguers who played or train with Grissom. You can see it in the bond between Butler and Harris. Or in the smiles shared between Butler and Bradley when they faced off last August. Or in the way they speak about each other, following their friends’ careers with pride then wanting to beat them on the field.

“It's a tight-knit group. We're all just trying to make it to the big leagues,” Simpson said. “Lou and Marquis are like the pinnacle of what we're trying to get to -- multiple years in the big leagues, 10-plus years in the big leagues -- so we just look up to them, listen to everything we can hold on to and then use that to our practice and play.”

The offseason group has come to be known as the “Hill Boys,” so named for the grueling workouts that involve sprints up a hill on Grissom’s land in Fayetteville, Ga. Those days are as much about mental strength as they are physical endurance, according to Butler -- but it takes plenty of both. Grissom wants to prepare them for a long season so that, as Simpson put it, he feels ready for 100 more games even after playing 162.

Grissom said he takes pride not just in those players’ success, but in their growth off the field. He remembers seeing a 14-year-old, 140-pound Butler and a younger version of Harris who had never lifted weights. He’s seen them give back to the community, too, continuing the cycle as he did before them.

But he’s pretty proud of the impact they’re making on the field, too.

“They’re five-tool players,” Grissom said. Then he laughed.

“And they’re much better than I was at that age.”

MLB.com reporters Martín Gallegos and Alex Stumpf contributed to this report.