The Metropolitan Junior Baseball League is celebrating 60 years of providing life skills and opportunities to young athletes with a series of events and partnerships in 2026.

The league will begin its anniversary celebrations by hosting the 18th annual East-West All-Star Game in Nassau, Bahamas, Jan. 16-19. The event will feature three age divisions: 12U, 15U and 18U. MJBL players from across the U.S. will represent the East, while youth from Nassau will represent the West. 

The league is also launching a new program in collaboration with Richmond Public Schools. Eight elementary schools will participate in a spring league, which begins with a season-opening clinic conducted by staff from the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on March 7. Games will start March 24 and run through May 12, with teams playing twice weekly and concluding with a playoff series. 

Major League Baseball is sponsoring equipment and part of the uniform costs for the program, while the Richmond Flying Squirrels will cover remaining uniform costs and other expenses. 

MJBL plans to field national teams in two summer tournaments. The first will be the Breakthrough Invitational Tournament at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, June 17-21. The second is the fourth annual Babe Ruth Caribbean International Championship in Fort Myers, Florida, July 5-11. 

The league will also expand its Inner City Classic/Black World Series. The Southeast Region event will take place July 15-19 in Montgomery, Alabama, featuring 12U, 15U and 19U divisions. The main event returns to Richmond July 29-Aug. 2, offering six baseball divisions for youth ages 8 to 19 and 14U and 18U divisions for girls’ softball. Registration is open at mjbl.org. 

MJBL Executive Director Larry Barber said the league’s return to Montgomery reflects a need to revive youth baseball in the region. 

“I was sold on Montgomery when I spoke to former baseball coaches Mark Salter from Jackson State University and Larry Watkins from Alabama State University. They informed me of the pressing need for this event to return, as youth baseball has seen a decline in their communities since we were last there in 2007,” Barber said. 

For more information about MJBL, visit mjbl.org.