Andrés Giménez is Giving Back to the Cleveland Community in the Form of Guiding the Athletic Youth

The Guardians’ 2nd baseman partook in hosting a baseball camp on Monday, June 17th

Andrés Giménez and other pro athletes in America are making it a point to cultivate the athletic youth.

The 2nd baseman for the Cleveland Guardians teamed up with ProCamps Monday to deliver an unforgettable experience to the children in Northeast Ohio.

This experience was a baseball camp hosted for boys and girls in grades 1-8. It was held at Lutheran West High School in Rocky River, Ohio.

The camp consisted most of what you would guess a baseball camp for children would contain. Drills, competitions, a home run derby and a set of wiffle ball games were some of the camp’s attractions.

As the camp carried on, children had the chance to win prizes, get a picture with Giménez and even ask him some questions. A fun fact from the Q&A session I found most intriguing is that he enjoyed playing catcher the most before he committed to the middle infield.

Giménez got to acquaint himself with all the campers and run some of the drills early on in the camp. He was very encouraging, giving helpful advice from his deep knowledge of the game.

On the other hand, it wouldn’t be Andrés Giménez if he didn’t get nailed by a ball while doing baseball activities.

Andrés was tossing batting practice at one of the drill stations as a camper sent a line drive right back at him in the groin area.

Luckily, they were only using wiffle balls. Otherwise, things might not have ended so well on Andrés’ side.

Andrés knows how important it is to guide the athletic youth. He reminisced on his childhood days in Venezuela, thinking back on what such an exciting occasion would mean to him as a child. “I was there in their position ( . . . ) I just try to share some moments with them and try to teach them.”

He noted that he saw Indians legend Omar Vizquel as his favorite player growing up. With the younger generations looking up to Giménez as he did with Vizquel and (presumably) others, he wants to create these memories and moments for the little children to look back on.

Andrés went on to express how much he has identified with Northeast Ohio and how much it means to him that the city of Cleveland has his back. “This city gave me the opportunity to be who I am today,” said Giménez, “I really appreciate every single part of the Cleveland area.”

This is one of the many motives for most athletes to give back to their communities. The people are the heartbeat of each sports city, and support anyone who dons the jersey of their favorite teams.

With this in mind, incorporating themselves with the people within their own communities is very important to many pro athletes, including Giménez.

ProCamps knows this and is very dedicated towards making sure the younger generation gets to easily connect with their favorite athletes.

I had a chance to speak with Ryan Heckmuller, a supervisor for ProCamps who oversaw the proceedings of the event.

Heckmuller sees the importance of helping these young children grow in their love for the game. He works with ProCamps in his hometown of Cincinnati to plan and carry out these events.

He explains how he and the organization strives to bring pro athletes to their communities, “We want to make sure that the next generation of kids get to interact with some of the [athletes] that they look up to.”

Ryan is enthusiastic when it comes to creating memories that the children will never forget.

He was eager to be brought on the ProCamps team, because he remembers being in the exact shoes of the children that they minister to.

Seeing the excitement that the campers exude means the world to him and inspires him to keep participating in this calling of his.

Heckmuller further reveals that ProCamps is still growing and getting more big-time athletes. Just the Friday before Giménez’s camp, the Cleveland Browns’ superstar defensive end Myles Garrett and offensive tackle Dawand Jones were invited to host a football camp of their own and interact with the Browns fans of Cleveland.

The organization is inviting athletes all across the United States to host their camps. Manny Machado for the San Diego Padres, Ja Morant for the Memphis Grizzlies and Elly De La Cruz for the Cincinnati Reds are just a few of the big figures being brought on to give such memorable experiences to the children.

ProCamps began ministering to younger athletes in 1999, originating in Cincinnati. Since then, they’ve come a long way to work with sports communities and bridge the gap between fan and player.

Their highest priority is cultivating the youth in sports with people that they look up to, and they are doing a fantastic job of it.