Some local teenagers won’t have to wait until warm weather to play baseball.

The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League is sending a team to Nassau, Bahamas, for games next week.   

The U17 team, officially called MJBL East, will fly out of Richmond on Saturday, Jan. 19, under the supervision of MJBL Executive Director William M.T. Forrester Jr. They will play two games against Bahamian squads, called West, on Sunday, Jan. 20, and Monday, Jan. 21.

“It’s not just baseball. We’ll also tour the island and take in the sights,” Mr. Forrester said.

Mr. Forrester said the “East-West” concept dates back to the Negro Leagues when the East and West Divisions met for the World Series.

MJBL East’s 11-player roster consists of eight players from the Richmond area and one each from Delaware, North Carolina and Florida.

In turn, a Bahamian team will come to Richmond for the MJBL’s annual Inner-City Classic July 30 through Aug. 4.

The MJBL was founded in Richmond in 1966 by Mr. Forrester’s father, Dr. William M.T. Forrester Sr., a local physician, when his son was banned from playing with area Little League baseball teams because of the color of his skin. Since then, the MJBL has offered African-American youngsters and others the opportunity to play baseball, travel and experience other cultures.

The Bahamas trip isn’t the locally based organization’s first mid-winter venture. MJBL has taken teams in the past to such locations as Las Vegas, Dallas, Daytona Beach and Miami for competition.

The trip is being financed by team fundraising efforts and family donations, Mr. Forrester said, noting that community contributions are appreciated.

Details: Mr. Forrester, (804) 539-2227.