Mobile, Alabama to Host 2020 Babe Ruth Baseball 16-18u World Series

Jan 9th, 2020

Once again, Mobile, Alabama will roll out the red carpet to welcome the country’s top talent for the 2020 Babe Ruth Baseball 16-18 World Series.  The competition dates of the 2020 World Series are August 1-8 with the teams slated to arrive in town on July 30.
The Babe Ruth League World Series, one of the largest youth sporting events in the country, will draw big crowds from across the country and meet a variety of economic goals and community involvement.  The World Series is rarely held in the same area for consecutive years.

As the host community, the Mobile Rawdogs will select its own 16-18-year-old squad to compete in the event, which will also include eight regional champions from across the country, as well as MLB China. Competition will begin with pool play before advancing to a single elimination bracket to determine the World Series champion.

The site for this year’s World Series will be Hank Aaron Stadium.  Affectionately known as “The Hank”, the stadium is named for Mobile’s famous native son, MLB Hall-of-Famer Henry “Hank” Aaron. Hammerin’ Hank was the last Negro League player to enter the Majors when he joined the Milwaukee Braves (later Atlanta) in 1954. During his illustrious 23-year career, the powerhouse slugger set a then-record 755 homeruns and still holds MLB records for RBI’s (2,297), total bases (6,856), and extra base hits (1,477). The stadium has 6,000 permanent seats, an electronic scoreboard, press box, ticket office, gift shop, concession stands, locker rooms, and both home and visitors’ bullpens. Also situated inside Gaslight Park in front of the stadium is the Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum.  

“We are excited to again host the World Series” said Tony Hendrix, Alabama Babe Ruth State Commissioner and Babe Ruth 16-18 League Manager (Alabama Rawdogs).  “The Rawdogs have had the pleasure to take part in several Babe Ruth World Series and have been fortunate enough to bring home ten World Series titles. In addition to a great competitive athletic experience, we were left with many lifetime memories to share.  It says a lot about our community - that our volunteers, host families, and others in our city left such an impact on the visitors from last year’s World Series that we were again asked to host.”

“With the Mobile area hosting the World Series last year for the first time since 1982, we at the Mobile Sports Authority are honored that our area will again be the host for the 2020 Babe Ruth 16-18 World Series.  We realize this does not happen often, so we’re proud Babe Ruth has chosen to come back to our beautiful, historic area,” said Danny Corte, Executive Director of the Mobile Sports Authority. “We are excited to once again work with Tony and Vickie Hendrix, as well as our first-time partnership with Mobile Sports and Entertainment Group for this event. And, as always, we very much look forward to showing visiting teams and their fans some famous Southern hospitality.”

“Tournaments like the World Series are incredible opportunities for youth to see a new city, explore new surroundings, make new friends, experience a social and cultural exchange, and play their favorite game,” said Robert Faherty, Vice President for Babe Ruth League, Inc. “Mobile is the type of community that is right for our players.  Just think about it; even 17 and 18-year-old kids can get a little nervous about going to a new town.  However, when our young athletes get to Mobile they will see a town like their own, where the people care about kids and put community first.  That’s why we are coming back with our Babe Ruth Baseball 16-18 World Series.”

"We are excited to be making our first official event announcement after taking over management of Hank Aaron Stadium,” said Ari Rosenbaum, Mobile Sports & Entertainment Group President. “We are even happier to partner with Mobile Sports Authority and the Babe Ruth World Series to bring such a prestigious event to this historic stadium.  We are committed to moving forward with events like this that align with our core mission and we hope our community enjoys them.”

The World Series serves as a gateway experience for many first-time visitors, inspiring large numbers to make plans for subsequent trips and vacations to the area and region.  Area hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, shopping outlets, gas stations, entertainment venues, and other local businesses will experience direct spending from attendees.

Babe Ruth League, Inc. is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to developing better citizens by providing properly supervised baseball and softball competition for 4 through 18-year-old players.  It is the basic intent of Babe Ruth League that every player who has a desire to play the sport is given the opportunity to participate and have fun. For more information, please visit https://www.baberuthleague.org/.

Mobile Sports & Entertainment Group is a new sports management company based in Mobile, Alabama and owned by native Mobilians and former Mobile BayBear executives. MSEG owns and operates the Halloween Nights of Lights of Mobile and the Christmas Nights of Lights of Mobile. MSEG will provide family-friendly sporting events, concerts, and festivals, as well as, venue rentals for parties, corporate functions, business meetings, family reunions, weddings, etc. For more information, please call
251-572-2327.