NEW YORK -- Late Wednesday night, Francisco Lindor hit a 414-foot homer to extend the Mets¡¯ lead in a win over the Marlins at Citi Field. By 6:30 on Thursday morning, Lindor was back on his feet and serving up pitches to a number of New York-based baseball and softball kids in the heart of Times Square.

The event kicked off PLAY BALL Weekend, an international initiative spanning all seven continents to inspire participation in baseball and softball. Lindor was joined by Team USA Olympic gold medalist Natasha Watley, Women¡¯s College World Series champion Lauren Gipson (Chamberlain), 2024 USA softball collegiate player of the year NiJaree Canady, Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Bonnie Barczykowski and PLAY BALL ambassador Coach Ballgame (James Lowe), among others.

¡°This is fantastic. This is great,¡± Lindor said. ¡°It's almost like a dream that I didn't really dream about, you know? Because I always wanted to be on the stage, I always wanted to be at a place where I could help the game grow.¡±

A 10-year Major League veteran, Lindor has long served as an ambassador for MLB in its continued effort to promote and grow the game. In 2017, Lindor hosted a PLAY BALL event at his alma mater, Montverde Academy, while with Cleveland. Finding ways to connect with and give back to fans -- whether that¡¯s through participating in events like Thursday's or signing autographs pregame -- has remained a priority for Lindor throughout his career.

The Caguas, Puerto Rico, native grew up idolizing a number of players who he never had the chance to meet. It¡¯s what helped motivate Lindor to show up and be the familiar face kids can look up to and recognize what¡¯s possible.

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¡°It's my roots,¡± Lindor said. ¡°At the end of the day, that's just who I am. And they deserve that little time. I'm not signing autographs for an hour, I'm signing autographs for 3-5 minutes every day, max. And maybe I get 10-20 people. So it's just my way of giving back in a way. The game and the fans have given me so much, and I¡¯m super appreciative for it.¡±

In between sandlot-style games, kids gathered on the artificial turf to stretch and listen to baseball stories from Coach Ballgame. As the young baseball and softball players locked in for a story about Jackie Robinson, so too did their parents on the other side of the netting.

¡°I think my biggest passion is leaning into coaching the coaches and teaching the parents,¡± Lowe said. ¡°¡­ If the secret is: Let's get the next generation to love the game, the secret to that secret is you've got to educate and equip the parents and coaches.¡±

Lindor autographed the usual bats and balls after pitching to kids in a sandlot game, but he also signed a number of sashes and vests, squeezing his signature in between various Girl Scout badges. The event helped celebrate the new partnership between MLB and Girl Scouts, which Barczykowski said helps to show MLB¡¯s commitment to creating opportunities for girls in softball and baseball.

¡°We're so excited to partner with MLB,¡± Barczykowski said. ¡°For girl scouting, it's all about giving girls opportunity and a variety of experiences and things that they otherwise would never have a chance [to do]. And this is a perfect example of that. It gives our girls a chance to figure out how fun it is to be in activities like this. ¡­ I love [the PLAY BALL] tagline: ¡®However you play ball, play ball.¡¯¡±