Many people have done tours to visit all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB). Few have the purpose—more like a mission–of Scott Yelle as he continues the tour he began with his late son Jackson in an effort to raise funds for the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation and MLB’s Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.
Jackson Yelle, a baseball player at Elon University in North Carolina, was struck by a hit-and-run driver on April 30, 2023. He was 21. The Yelle family formed the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation, 501(c)3 non-profit organization, to put good into the world by giving to causes Jackson would care about.
“Jackson had a zest for life and baseball. I can’t think of a better way to honor him than by finishing our tour of all 30 MLB stadiums—we had visited 12—and helping other young men and women grow through the game he loved, baseball,” said Scott Yelle, a sales and marketing consultant and charter boat skipper from Eastham, Massachusetts. “On March 31, I’ll be in Texas and will donate the first $1,000 check to the Nike RBI program and begin a three-month odyssey to visit the remaining stadiums.”
The Nike RBI program supports the development of young men and women through baseball and softball. Since its inception, the Nike RBI program has served approximately two million young people. Many Nike RBI alumni having played in MLB, including Jackie Bradley, Jr. (Kansas City Royals), Hunter Greene (Cincinnati Reds), Alek Thomas (Arizona Diamondbacks), and Dominic Smith (Washington Nationals).
After opening night in Texas, Yelle will attend and make $1,000 donations in the following cities: Miami (April 1); Tampa Bay (April 2); Philadelphia (April 3); Atlanta (April 6); Cincinnati (April 7); Pittsburgh (April 8); Toronto (April 9); Seattle (May 13); Arizona (May 14); Los Angeles (May 15 and 16th); Milwaukee (June 2); Chicago (June 4 and June 6); St. Louis (June 7); Kansas City (June 8); and Detroit (June 9).
As part of the donation ceremony at each stadium, Scott Yelle will wear a special t-shirt with an MLB logo and that of the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation with the number on the back representing the number that stadium represents on the tour. MLB has also arranged for Scott to be on the field at many of the stadiums for batting practice.
“This is a dream come true, Jackson’s dream,” said Yelle. “I welcome and invite friends, family, and baseball fans to visit me at the game. And if you can’t make it, you can follow the stadium tour on our website’s blog, Instagram and Facebook.”
To donate, visit the Foundation’s website at https://jacksonyelle.com/. Donations beyond the $18,000 will go towards the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation’s efforts to support causes that provide resources/financial support to help young people “live their best lives” #justlikejackson.
“We—my wife Andrea and daughter Lexi—can’t thank MLB, our wonderful Board of Directors, donors and everybody else who have been so supportive,” said Scott. “I can’t wait to get to Texas and get this thing started. Jackson would have loved it.”
In addition to making a donation via https://jacksonyelle.com/ or Venmo (Scott-Yelle-4), you can make a check payable to “Jackson Yelle Family Foundation” and send to Jackson Yelle Family Foundation PO Box 86, North Eastham, MA 02651.