Hudson Valley Renegades to Make History by Hosting 12 Baseball and Softball Athletes from Kingdom of Bhutan Next Week
August 13, 2024 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release
Wappingers Falls, N.Y. - History will be made next Tuesday, Aug. 20 as the Hudson Valley Renegades, the High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, and the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association (BBSA) host 12 baseball and softball athletes from the Kingdom of Bhutan at Heritage Financial Park for Bhutan Night, a cultural program aimed at celebrating and promoting the future of the growth of the game of baseball in Bhutan.
Athletes from Bhutan will be given a VIP experience for the team's 6:35 p.m. game on Tuesday, Aug. 20 against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, part of a days-long baseball, sightseeing and cultural enrichment journey in New York.
After arriving on Sunday, Aug. 18, the athletes will head to Heritage Financial Park on Monday, Aug. 19 for a Media Day, Baseball Clinic with Renegades coaches and players, and a Business of Baseball Panel Discussion with Renegades Staff in the afternoon, to showcase careers in sport that extend beyond the playing field. Monday's events will be open to media.
On Tuesday, Aug. 20, the group will tour local sights in Dutchess County in a sightseeing tour led by Dutchess Tourism in the morning, before arriving at Heritage Financial Park for Bhutan Night in time to watch the Renegades and Blue Rocks take batting practice. The athletes and officials from the BBSA will throw out ceremonial first pitches, and the athletes will take the field alongside the Renegades as the Team of Dreams.
Throughout the night, game programming will be centered on celebrating the athletes and the Kingdom of Bhutan. During the game, the Renegades will wear special Bhutan-themed jerseys which will are currently being auctioned off to help raise funds to pay for the trip. The jerseys feature the Druk, the Thunder Dragon which is a national symbol of Bhutan and is prominently featured on its national flag, and heavily incorporates the Bhutanese national colors yellow and orange.
Fans can bid on the jerseys and other items on the auction page, which can be accessed. The game is also a T-Shirt Tuesday presented by Heritage Financial Credit Union with a Bhutan-themed t-shirt being given away to 1,000 fans.
We wanted to make sure that the jersey tastefully paid homage to Bhutan's national identity, said Betkowski. They look unlike anything that has been worn on a Minor League Baseball field before, and we are so proud of how they came out.
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the party will travel to New York City and stop for a visit at the Bhutanese-U.S. Consulate before arriving at Major League Baseball offices for a tour. The group will depart MLB's office and head to Yankee Stadium for a behind-the-scenes tour and V.I.P. experience including the ability to watch batting practice on the field before that night's Yankees game against the Cleveland Guardians.
As highlighted in a viral article by Michael Clair at MLB.com last August, baseball has become the fastest-growing sport in Bhutan, with more than 6,000 children playing in a nation of around 700,000 citizens. The Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association has organized youth leagues throughout the country to grow the game at a grassroots level, though most kids have never seen a professional game in its entirety before, only able to watch highlight clips of MLB games to learn the sport.
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