‘It really motivated me’: Trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum inspires White Sox and ACE players

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Colten Jones made his way through the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on April 6, sporting a Chicago American Giants cap.

An outfielder in the Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) youth program, Jones listened intently as museum President Bob Kendrick shared tales of Andrew “Rube” Foster, James Thomas “Cool Papa” Bell, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe and Jackie Robinson — who Major League Baseball paid tribute to Monday with the annual “Jackie Robinson Day.”

“I really loved the stories,” Jones said, particularly about Hall of Famer Satchel Paige’s pitches, “and how he named them all.”

Jones and fellow ACE 13/14U players Brock Hamilton, Matthew Nabieu and Jordan Terrell recently visited the museum while the Sox were in Kansas City for their series against the Royals. Several Sox representatives — including assistant general manager Josh Barfield, hitting coach Marcus Thames, first-base coach Jason Bourgeois, television announcer John Schriffen and pitcher Michael Kopech — also attended.

“This experience is great,” said Nabieu, 13, an infielder. “It showed me what really went on in the Negro Leagues and what the MLB was built off of. It showed that everything was not made in the MLB.”

Nabieu had visited the museum before but felt like the in-depth stories provided by Kendrick added another layer on this particular afternoon.

“It never gets old to me, whether I’m sharing the stories with major league athletes, current and past, athletes from any sports discipline, but this means a little extra because it is the White Sox and how close the White Sox have been and how supportive the White Sox have been to the museum through the years,” Kendrick said. “To be able to have kids from the ACE program here is not the first time, but it’s always significant.

“I hope they take something away from this that will drive them as they continue to play this game.”

That mission was accomplished.

“It was a really good experience, getting to see everything, the old history about Black baseball,” said Hamilton, 14, who is a first baseman and an aspiring broadcaster. “It was all very important.”

Hamilton called the tour a “blessing.”

“Not everybody gets to have something like this,” he said. “The fact that I get the chance to have this opportunity is really good.”

Barfield always tries to make it a point to visit the museum whenever he is in town. He enjoyed getting the chance to share the experience with the ACE players.

“It’s another generation removed from the Negro Leagues,” Barfield said. “I think the farther and farther we get away from it, it’s so important for young kids to hear those stories so they continue to pass that on and get an appreciation of like why we get to play the game today and the privileges we have today.

“Those guys paved the way for us. It’s an awesome story. I think they really enjoyed their time there.”

So did Kopech, who made his first visit with his family. Like Jones, Kopech was enthralled by Paige.

“I always love Satchel Paige, hearing story after story about Satchel Paige,” Kopech said. “I didn’t know he could potentially have been older than I thought when he played, which is crazy to think about.

“I went in biased because I always liked Satchel Paige — seeing how much (overall) memorabilia is there, all the signed balls, it’s really cool.”

The lessons went beyond the playing field.

“As I remind folks, it is triumph over that adversity,” Kendrick said. “That’s what makes this story so compelling, so awe-inspiring to those who come here.

“I think they come here and they walk away cheering the power of the human spirit to persevere and prevail.”

Everyone said they left inspired.

“It really showed stories and how the MLB really developed,” Jones said. “It really motivated me and really uplifted me to be as good as them and have as much love for the game.”