Former MLB player Granderson to hold Fitness Sports Clinic for PORCH

A big event will be held in Cape Girardeau on Saturday, connecting area youth with a former Major League Baseball player who will conduct a one-day Fitness Sports Clinic at Capaha Field.

People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing (PORCH) will host former MLB outfielder Curtis Granderson who will lead the clinic, set for 9 a.m. to noon. Up to 125 youth between the ages of 7 and 17 are invited to participate, with priority given to kids who live in the south side of Cape Girardeau.

Granderson spent 16 years in MLB, having played for the Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Brewers and Marlins. He earned a spot on three All-Star teams (2009, 2011 and 2012), won a Silver Slugger Award in 2011, and won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2016 -- an honor that goes to a player who leads with sportsmanship and community involvement.

This is an exciting inaugural event for PORCH. Cape Girardeau has become a great baseball town with several competitive teams and various youth programs. This, however, is an opportunity to get youngsters from throughout the city out to Capaha Field for a day of fun and sports training. To connect them with a former MLB star such as Granderson, regularly considered one of the really good guys in Major League Baseball, is a big deal.

We're looking forward to a successful event on Saturday. Hopefully this is the first of many similar events for PORCH.