Baseball at every level is on hiatus because of COVID-19.
Cincinnati Reds catcher and Brownsburg High School alum Tucker Barnhart is back home with family in Zionsville, awaiting the return of Major League Baseball.
He's been working out to stay ready, but on Monday, he sent out a tweet to suggest something more.
He invited professional and college baseball players from the Indianapolis area to get together for a modified game and batting practice at Westfield's Grand Park.
The response was more than he expected.
"I was kind of naive in thinking it wouldn't kind of explode a little bit," Barnhart admits. "Once I started getting texts from guys from Ohio and a couple from Kentucky, I was like 'oh boy, this could be larger than I thought.'"
Fans also began to reach out to Barnhart, wanting to watch the event. He decided to turn the batting practice into a public event to benefit his charity of choice, RBI Indianapolis (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities).
The impromptu workout raised $2,000 for the youth outreach program designed to increase participation and interest in baseball and softball among in under-served communities.
"Whenever you're in position to give back things that you were taught growing up to help mold who you are, not just as a player but as a person, I feel like RBI does a great job of that. They give opportunity to people that may not have opportunities to get out and play," said Barnhart
Fans watched for two hours while dozens of major and minor leaguers and college ball players enjoyed live action on the diamond.
It was a little taste of baseball benefiting a good cause, thanks to a former Bulldog who loves the game and his community.