Corbin Carroll turning stardom into community impact with Phoenix-area kids

The short hype video ended and Corbin Carroll’s name was officially announced. From the back of an oversized classroom, Carroll walked into sight, his all-black ensemble completed by a Jordan cap. A room full of middle schoolers shrieked and gasped his name. Beneath a curved brim, Carroll let a contented smile slip onto his face.

This is Carroll in his element. For the next hour, he walked between tables of kids, overseeing their games of STEM League, a board game based on baseball statistics. The kids delighted in showing Carroll his player card. And Carroll delighted in watching their faces light up as he approached. “I love to see that spark in kids,” Carroll told The Arizona Republic later.

Over the off-season, Carroll made it his mission to create that spark. His message for the Diamondbacks’ community relations team was simple: “I just want to be thrown into the fire.” He estimated that he did 15 events between the World Series and spring training, amounting to one per week. At first, that meant doing any work that fit his schedule. By the end of the winter, he had narrowed his focus to working with kids.

“That,” Carroll said, “is when I feel like special things can happen and the biggest difference can be made.”

From the time Carroll can remember, he enjoyed being around kids younger than him. “I don't know what it is, but I feel like it gives me a lot of energy,” he said. “There's something very pure about those interactions.” Even as a high schooler, when he was emerging as a baseball talent and traveling around the country for showcases, Carroll spent his free time babysitting for extra cash.

Dan Ramsay, the Diamondbacks’ area scout who signed Carroll, still remembers the two-hour meeting he had in the Carrolls’ living room back in the spring of 2019. These pre-draft meetings have become part of Carroll’s lore by now, such was the impression he made on Diamondbacks’ decision-makers. But to Ramsay, there was one moment that stood out.

In each of his meetings, Ramsay asks prospects what their goals in life would be if they reached the majors. Often, the responses are predictable for high schoolers. They want to buy a car or get their parents a new house. Other kids have never thought about the question before. “And Corbin's response,” Ramsay recalled, “was he wanted to have an impact.” That in itself wasn’t as unusual as the authenticity that Ramsay could sense behind Carroll’s words. “That stems from his mom and dad,” Ramsay said.

Ramsay and Pey-Lin Carroll are still Facebook friends. Every few weeks, a post will pop up on his feed, with Pey-Lin encouraging her friends to help out a family in need. “She feels a desire to help where it's needed,” Ramsay said. Corbin, too, acknowledges that his parents have been role models in this regard.

They were part of the reason that he set out to make an impact in the community after he was drafted. And the Diamondbacks, under General Manager Mike Hazen, had the infrastructure to make that happen.

Shortly after Hazen arrived, he worked with Debbie Castaldo — the Diamondbacks’ senior vice president of community impact — to found the Rookie Player Program, which helps the team’s top draft picks find their route to community engagement. Carroll has been among the most eager participants.

“A lot of people want to do that but it's not that easy,” assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye said. After all, a day in the life of Corbin Carroll means being pulled in every direction. There are commercial shoots, nonstop interview requests and videos for team promotions. And, of course, there’s the work that goes into being one of baseball’s best young players, as proven by his unanimous National League Rookie of the Year award last season.

But on the day that he began his follow-up campaign, shortly after the Diamondbacks’ first full-squad workout of spring training, there was Carroll, driving 30 miles across the Valley to El Oso Park in West Phoenix for the Cactus Youth Baseball League’s opening day.

“I don't think many people have the drive to want to do what he does,” Sawdaye said. “It's pretty special.”

For his first four years in the organization, though, Carroll’s work didn’t have the impact it does now. Even last off-season, after his major-league debut, Carroll made an appearance with Alek Thomas at a youth baseball camp at South Mountain Community College. One kid showed up. A year later, Carroll was swarmed at every appearance. Now, every little leaguer in Arizona wants a picture or a high-five from their new favorite player.

“He really does want to take care of every child that is there to meet him and make sure they get the chance to meet him,” Castaldo said. “And the celebrity — it’s there.”

Often, Carroll approaches his new celebrity with caution. At a dinner co-hosted by Boardroom and MLB this winter, he posed for a photo alongside Kyler Murray and Devin Booker. The picture made the rounds on social media, with fans celebrating the stars as the three faces of Arizona sports. When posed with this assumption, Carroll sheepishly smiles. He might know it’s true, but he’ll leave the anointing to others.

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Away from the cameras is different. When he’s at a baseball clinic or a little league game, Carroll embraces his stardom.

Just a few years ago, he saw the impact an elite player can have from the other perspective. When he was in high school, Carroll’s travel ball coach — former major leaguer Jeff Cirillo — brought his team to Arizona for spring training. One day during the team’s batting practice, Mike Trout showed up, signing autographs for the kids and giving his batting gloves to the winner of a hitting competition (surprisingly, it wasn’t Carroll).

“That's the stuff you never forget,” Carroll said.

He also knows that he can do more than that.

“Making people's day is great and I try and do it as much as I can,” Carroll said. “But it's not as substantive as providing access.”

To that end, Carroll has donated to local leagues, helping provide equipment for kids and connecting them with coaches. His favorite moments are when he sees a familiar face pop up at multiple clinics. That’s when he knows he’s made an impact.

“I grew up really lucky,” Carroll said. “I had amazing resources, I had the support of two great parents. … And realizing just what that did for me and the opportunity I had, I want to afford that to more kids.”

It’s easy to forget, listening to Carroll speak, that he is still, in a sense, a kid himself. He’s 23 years old, the youngest member of the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster for a second straight year.

He’s also the biggest star of the National League champions. He’s recognized every time he leaves his house. It’s the platform he’s long yearned for. And he’s turning it into the impact he’s long dreamt of.

The Republic's Nick Piecoro contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Corbin Carroll turning stardom into community impact with kids