Del Matthews, Senior Vice President of Baseball Development at Major League Baseball, stands as a bridge between aspiration and achievement for young athletes from historically Black colleges and universities. A Texas Southern University alumnus and former minor league player, Matthews oversees MLB’s youth development initiatives, including the groundbreaking Swingman Classic that brings HBCU baseball talent to the national stage.
Under Commissioner Rob Manfred’s leadership and alongside Tony Reagins, Matthews has spent nearly a decade transforming how baseball cultivates diverse talent. His work extends beyond the diamond, creating pathways for students to enter the sport through photography, broadcasting, and journalism programs.
What does your role as Senior Vice President of Baseball Development entail?
This starts with our leadership. When the Commissioner took over, one of the things he wanted to invest in was youth and the next generation of Major League Baseball fans coming into the game. He hired Tony Reagins, who had been General Manager of the Angels, to lead that department.
Tony brought me in because he knew the work he wanted to do was going to impact kids through baseball development. My background working in the minor leagues and as a player professionally, and having played college, he thought it would be a good fit.
Since I came over in 2016, we’ve hit the ground running. We work with an outstanding staff. Jerry Manuel, who managed the White Sox and the Mets, leads our on-field coordination. The secret is these former Major Leaguers that want to give back to the next generation.
We get great coaches, everyone from Eric Davis to Marquis Grissom to Brian Hunter and Lou Collier. The Swingman Classic features David Justice and Brian Jordan. These guys lend their expertise to the next generation of players so we can impact high school players that are hopefully going to go on to college.
How does the Swingman Classic specifically serve HBCU athletes?
I played at an HBCU, Texas Southern University. When you go to an HBCU, you don’t have all the resources that some of the PWIs have. You play against schools that may have nicer facilities, more expensive campuses, but that’s part of the culture. You learn to channel that and play with a chip on your shoulder.
The Swingman classic is an opportunity for these HBCU student athletes to get a chance to come to Major League Baseball’s jewel event in Atlanta, the home of HBCU culture. When you think about Spelman, Morehouse and Clark, all the HBCU schools within Georgia and the surrounding areas, the history with Ambassador Young and Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta has come a long way.
Now they get a chance to go to the Braves stadium and be in a Major League stadium under the lights. It really illuminates their dreams that can be a reality. What they’ll take away from this weekend is a lifelong memory they will never forget. They’ll be fans of the game for their entire lives because of the experience.
What career opportunities beyond playing does the event provide?
We’re showing them that there are other pathways into the game that you don’t have to be just an athlete. When they can see people that look like themselves, I think that brings it closer to home.
We have a photographer program through Getty Images that allows four HBCU students to have an apprenticeship with Major League photographers. They’ll get a chance to shoot other events at the All-Star Game and learn new techniques.
We have a broadcaster’s program for aspiring broadcasters that’ll get a chance to interact with Dave Sims, voice of the New York Yankees, and Harold Reynolds, voice of MLB Network and a former Major League Baseball player.
Aspiring journalists, our DTU fellows will get a chance to interview the former Major League players and then the players participating in the game. We’re trying to create a whole culture around this so it exposes these students to the possibilities of what they might achieve if they work hard and go after their dreams.
Can you share a success story from your programs?
Kyle Walker was a student athlete at Grambling University, had a tremendous two years there. Kyle Walker was not recruited by PWIs out of high school, but he had a chance to go to Grambling and really establish who he was.
At the right time he was offered an opportunity to go to Arizona State University, and he had a tremendous year there. Was one of the best hitters on that team, which really shows you, given the playing field, given the opportunity, given the resources, these kids have just as good a chance to succeed as anyone else. He went out, did that, and now has an opportunity to be drafted this year.
How did Texas Southern University prepare you for this journey?
I started off at the University of Houston, then transferred to Texas Southern University that was literally right across the street in Third Ward, Houston. I really grew up at TSU. I embraced and leaned into the culture and the experience and everything that comes with the pride when you go to an HBCU.
Going to those football games and listening to the bands play, and everything that comes with the Divine Nine. I’m a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. All of those things you get a chance to experience at an HBCU and the Black culture is really indescribable.
My son is a freshman at Morehouse, just finished his freshman year. I’m so proud that he chose to go down that same path. But TSU really prepared me as a young man for manhood, knowing that things don’t come easy, and that you have to work hard for everything that you want and desire.
What can fans expect at the Swingman Classic?
You’re going to be in for a treat, not just great baseball on the field, but we’ve got a great DJ. DJ P’Nut, Big Tigger from Atlanta is going to be hosting us from V-103. We’ve got great talent performing before the game, AverySunshine doing the National Anthem, the Ebenezer Baptist Choir doing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” we’ll have the Divine Nine out on the dugouts pregame.
We’ll have the bands and the percussion going all through the concourse, invigorating the crowd. We’ve got the Georgia Mass Band playing throughout the game. It’s a homecoming atmosphere at a Major League Baseball park.
For those that want to see some fireworks after the game, maybe fans that have never gotten a chance to go to Truist Field, have never gotten a chance to experience what it’s like to go to the Braves stadium, here’s a perfect opportunity. It’s affordable, and you get a chance to see fireworks and baseball players have some fun.
