Hank's Baby Yanks gives kids a chance and some hope

he act of fathers playing catch with sons is one of the most hallowed rituals of baseball, one of the most revered building blocks of the game.

But what if a kid doesn't have a father? Or his father is too busy working to play ball? Or his family is simply too overwhelmed with day-to-day life to pay much attention to a kid's baseball dreams?

"If you love baseball and you want to work hard and stay away from trouble, it doesn't matter where you come from," coach Ray Negron told members of his Long Island summer league team at a recent practice at Bay Shore High School. "That is what this team is all about."

This team is Hank's Baby Yanks, an 18-and-under summer league team of 18 kids who play at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank. The Baby Yanks are funded by Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner with various Yankees players, including A.J. Burnett and Robinson Cano, kicking in some money for travel and extras.

Many of the players are from single-parent homes. Some have been involved with gangs and one is a teenage parent. Most would not be able to afford to play on a team at this level without an assist from the Yankees.

"Baseball is just a steppingstone for these young kids who will hopefully turn into successful men in whatever field they choose," Hank Steinbrenner said in an e-mail to Newsday. "I'm glad that the Yankees and I are able to play a small role in the development of these young kids. My dad always believed in second chances, and a second chance is what these individuals are getting."

And it's quite a second chance. This is no ordinary youth baseball team. In January, Hank's Baby Yanks traveled to Tampa, Fla., to play at the Yankees' training facility in front of pro scouts. Last month, they got to attend batting practice before a Yankees game against the Orioles and talk to manager Joe Girardi and many of the players. There is some talk that later this season, the team might play at Yankee Stadium while the Yankees are on the road.

Negron, a special assistant for the Yankees who organizes many charity and community events, is quick to tell his players that his father wasn't a part of his life when he was growing up in the South Bronx. "George Steinbrenner, baseball and the Yankees saved my life," Negron said.

It's a message that Jonathan Smith, a 17-year-old from Bay Shore, can relate to. Having lost both his parents, Smith lives with his grandmother. He doesn't remember his father, who died when he was a baby, but he and his mother were extremely close. He was devastated when she died of a heart attack when he was 14.

"Ray came from nothing to something, and I understand where he's coming from," Smith said. "I've gone through so much that a lot of people said there was no hope for me. But baseball is my dream; it's what I live for. When I was little, I used to practice in the backyard all by myself. That's how much I loved it. I know to make this dream happen, I have to work at it."

The player who is closest to making his dream happen is Leonel Vinas, 18, the team's star pitcher. Vinas moved from the Dominican Republic to Freeport as a teenager with his brother Mariano, who is an outfielder on the team. Vinas opened the season by striking out 18 in a 5-0 win over the Long Island Giants, and last weekend he threw privately for the Rangers and the Indians.

Said Vinas: "What I like about this team is everyone comes from different places and backgrounds, but it doesn't matter because we all have the same dream. We all love baseball and we all want to make it."