Magical Summer of Baseball for the RBI Dbacks

Five local baseball players represent the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Nike RBI League.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Five local baseball players have had the opportunity of a lifetime representing the Arizona Diamondbacks on their RBI League team.

Caleb Rosado, Andrugh Yee, Ernesto Vizcarra, Cesar Chavira, and Juan Pablo Chavez all starred for their high school teams this past spring and this summer they have been taking the field in Dbacks threads as a part of the RBI League, which is sponsored by both Nike and Major League Baseball.

"Wearing these jerseys, playing with the guys that I've met and I think we're family now," Yee said.

The Diamondbacks organization has funded this program and have truly given these players the big league experience.

They've done it first class," Gila Ridge and Dbacks RBI coach James Kuzniak said. "Whether it was the jersey reveal with their own lockers or using salt River fields to practice. We're there with Merrill Kelly throwing bullpens. Anything the guys need, they've been on it. It's made them feel like big leaguers. They're treated just like big leaguers are.:

"Especially being there, we want to be them one day," Yee said. "That is what we work for. That is why we play baseball." 

The players on the RBI team each got custom fitted and personal jerseys that are the same that the big league team wears on game days.

"When we got them for the first time, and you see your locker, you see the uniforms, you feel like a big leaguer, and it's something that you dream about," Rosado said.

The team comprised of 16 players from across Arizona, including the five from the Yuma area, came together to win the West Regional in Seattle.

"We came as just random 16, and now we're a family," Rosado said. "I see them as brothers."

After winning the regional championship, the Dbacks have qualified for the Nike RBI League World Series in Florida.

"My family is from Puerto Rico," Rosado said. "So, being able to call my grandparents and [tell them] they're going to Florida to watch us play, that was probably my favorite."

It hasn't all been glits and glammer to get to this point. The players and coaches have had to put in an incredible amount of work, including traveling to early morning practices in Phoenix.

"We're meeting at circle K at 3:30 in the morning," Kuzniak said. "The guys from San Luis are waking up at 3 a.m. We're driving three hours through traffic. We're getting out of the car, maybe grabbing some McDonald's, and these guys are out performing."

This was the first year that Yuma county was included in the RBI program and these five players have put Yuma baseball on the map by performing on the national stage.

"I'm very proud of myself annd also the guys," Rosado said. "Coming from Yuma, we're often overlooked just because of where we're from. So being able to put a name on our shoulders with Yuma, it means a lot."

"I couldn't have picked a better group of five guys that are not only baseball players, but like represent our area as a whole," Kuzniak said. "They've really represented our area well, not just as players, but as people."

The team will arrive in Vero Beach, Florida for the RBI World Series on August 4.