A Panama Nation-Wide Tour to Find the Most Talented Baseball Players: The “Pitch Hit & Run” Program is Being Relaunched
Focused on finding the country’s future baseball players whose strengths lie in the three fundamentals of baseball: pitching, hitting and running, the “Pitch, Hit & Run” program, a Major League Baseball (MLB) initiative that encourages the national baseball talent pool, was relaunched. This morning, at the Andy Alonso stadium in Parque Lefevre, Panama City, the opening ceremony of the 2026 edition of this initiative took place with some 250 boys and girls, accompanied in the stands by family and friends, as well as former baseball players and former Major Leaguers.
The program was on hiatus for several years, but in 2026, with the support of MLB, Caja de Ahorros, the Office of the First Lady and Pandeportes, it returned to the homeland to inspire boys and girls born between 2014 and 2017 (ages 9 to 12), from schools, leagues and sports academies, to demonstrate their skills in this ball game. Each child competes within their age group in tests of pitching, hitting, and running speed. The event comprises a national tour across the country’s 10 provinces, with 12 qualifying rounds culminating on August 22nd with a final at Mariano Rivera Stadium in the district of La Chorrera, Panama Oeste province. The 72 best prospects (6 winners from each of the 12 rounds) will participate.
From there, the four top talents in the country will emerge, and they, along with their guests, will win a trip to an MLB game and receive a cash prize of several hundred dollars, deposited into a savings account. In that regard, the general manager of Caja de Ahorros, Andrés Farrugia, indicated that the prizes include scholarships and trips to MLB games (with their companions), emphasizing that “it is a significant range [of incentives], but the process is the most relevant; today can be the turning point in how these children see the sport they love and that can help them develop their talent and become the Major Leaguers of tomorrow.” For his part, Joao Texeira, MLB representative, confirmed that the idea is for it to be an annual event and return in 2027. “The intention is that we can hold it even earlier in the calendar to broaden its reach, and coincide with the boys being on school holidays,” he stated.
After the first day at Andy Alonso Stadium, the tour will continue through Changuinola (at Calvin Byron Stadium, on July 27), Puerto Armuelles (Glorias Deportivas Baruenses Stadium, on July 28), David (Kenny Serración Stadium, on the 29th), Santiago (Omar Torrijos Stadium, on the 30th), Chitré (Claudio Nieto Stadium, on the 31st), Las Tablas (Roberto ‘Flaco Bala’ Hernández Stadium, on August 1), Aguadulce (José Remón Cantera Stadium, on the 2nd), Colón (Mariano Bula Stadium, on the 3rd), La Chorrera (Justino Salinas Stadium, on the 4th), Chepo (Las Mañanitas Complex, on the 5th) and Metetí (Metetí Stadium, on the 6th), culminating in the grand final on August 22 at Mariano Rivera Stadium, in La Chorrera.
