Dallas, Texas -- After a three-month hiatus, youth baseball and softball returns next Monday to the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex presented by Toyota in West Dallas.

Under the guidelines established for youth sports participation as part of the State of Texas¡¯ reopening, the Texas Rangers Baseball and Softball MLB RBI programs (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) will begin seven-week seasons on June 15. Approximately 450 high school baseball and softball players will be competing on 26 RBI teams in both Junior and Senior Division play.

¡°The Texas Rangers are very happy to welcome back all of the baseball and softball players to the MLB Youth Academy,¡± said Juan Leonel Garciga. ¡°Many of these athletes were deprived of their spring seasons due to the COVID19 pandemic, and it will be exciting to have them back on our fields.

¡°We will have stringent protocols in place to ensure the health and safety of the players, staff, and spectators. This is a top priority as we enter the first phase of the Academy¡¯s reopening¡±

The baseball games will be played on the Oates Field and Field of Dreams with softball competition taking place on the Hambone Field and Clayton Kershaw Challenge Field. Due to safety protocols, the Globe Life Indoor Training Center will remain closed at the present time.

Off the field, the youth athletes are continuing to take part in virtual classes offered by Buckner International¡¯s Family Hope Center at Rangers MLB Youth Academy. Online summer classes in both English and Spanish began last week. In-person classes will resume once the Academy¡¯s indoor facilities reopen.

The Academy will also host a webinar for all RBI participants with Ranger pitcher Taylor Hearn on Monday, June 15 at 2 p.m.

The 2020 RBI Leagues begin with four games on Monday, June 15 with all contests starting at 7:00 p.m. The Leagues are scheduled to run through the middle of July.

The Rangers are currently formulating plan for additional summer programs at the MLB Youth Academy, including camps and clinics. More information will be available once details are finalized.

The Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy officially opened in December 2017 and is available to children throughout North Texas, especially the more than 9,000 kids who live within the West Dallas neighborhood and youth from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. In addition to providing year-round baseball and softball instruction and play, including hosting tournaments, coaching clinics and skills camps, the Academy will provide youth with access to tutoring programs, college prep classes, college and career fairs, financial literacy and internship programs, courses teaching math through the use of baseball statistics, and MLB industry alternative career workshops.

Additionally, all Academy members and other community youth benefit from Academy facilities and programs through baseball vocational programming, such as umpiring seminars, athletic field management, scouting and player development, sports information training, and athletic sports training.

The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation employs staff to oversee the Academy, and works with Mercy Street and their existing programming. The operations of the Academy are covered entirely by the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, which also will provide equipment, supplies, utilities and other operating costs.

More information on the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex presented by Toyota can be found on the Texas Rangers Foundation page at texasrangers.com.

Click here for the 2020 RBI Leagues schedule through the end of July.