by The Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) will absorb all operations of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation (PBSF) to further assist active and former scouts, B.A.T. and PBSF jointly announced today. In recognition of the organization’s legacy, B.A.T. will introduce the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation Grant to scouts that are in need of financial, medical and psychological assistance. B.A.T., which is a unique organization within professional sports that has since 1986 confidentially assisted members of the Baseball Family including scouts, has distributed $5 million in grants to nearly 2,000 individuals in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, B.A.T. has assisted more than 20 scouts with nearly $100,000 in assistance.
Dennis Gilbert said: “On behalf of the Board of Directors of PBSF, I want to personally thank the entire Baseball community and everyone who has supported the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation for the last 17 years, including those who attended our extraordinary annual dinner. We have been honored that Hall of Famers, baseball dignitaries, the media and members of the Hollywood film industry – including nine Academy Award Winners – have all contributed to the success of both our dinner and our Foundation’s mission. We thank everyone with the Baseball Assistance Team, and appreciate their unwavering commitment to continue supporting baseball scouts.”
“We want to thank Dennis Gilbert and the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation for their longstanding dedication to uplift members of the Baseball Family, in particular our scouts,” said Erik Nilsen, Executive Director, Baseball Assistance Team. “Despite the current transition of PBSF after a tremendous 17-year trajectory, we want to assure scouts that they will continue to have an advocate in B.A.T. We look forward to introducing the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation Grant and continuing to assist those most vulnerable within our sport.”
Established to assist baseball scouts who have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness, retirement or other setbacks, PBSF focused on creating a financial bridge by providing emergency resources through the awarding of grants to scouts or their immediate family. The organization raised funds and celebrated the scouting community each year at the PBSF Dinner in Los Angeles, which fêted baseball legends – such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Joe Morgan, Dave Winfield, Tommy Lasorda and George Brett – baseball executives – Commissioner Emeritus Allan H. (Bud) Selig and White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf – and entertainment luminaries – like Harrison Ford, James Caan, Regis Philbin, Michael Keaton, Bo Derek, Jane Seymour, Mary Hart, Larry King and many others.
In 2019, B.A.T., a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization, assisted a record number of applicants (620). To date, the organization has awarded more than $52 million in grants, benefiting nearly 7,000 members of the Baseball Family, including current and former, on-field Major & Minor League personnel (players, managers, coaches) as well as scouts, umpires, athletic trainers, Major & Minor League front office personnel, Negro League players, and players from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. B.A.T.’s coverage also extends to widow, widowers and children, ages 23 and under, of the above groups. All aid provided by B.A.T. is strictly confidential, allowing those in need to receive help discreetly. For more information about the Baseball Assistance Team, please visit: BaseballAssistanceTeam.com, Facebook.com/BaseballAssistanceTeam or Twitter.com/BATcharity.
