LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major League Baseball’s largest developmental effort for minority players is being renamed after one of the sport’s greatest players.The Elite Development Invitational has been renamed the Hank Aaron Invitational and will include a showcase game beginning next season. The event has been held since 2015 for high-school age players to get them to the next levels of the game either on or off the field. The program has been run by Major League Baseball Fernando Valenzuela Jersey , the Major League Baseball Players Association and USA Baseball.The announcement was made at Dodger Stadium on Friday before Game 3 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.“It means an awful lot to me. We need someone to help shape this game into what the game is all about. And the game is about all of us, not just a few of us, but all of us who have an opportunity and a chance to play this game,” Aaron said.The Hank Aaron Invitational will be held in July and August at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. Approximately 250 players ages 13 to 18 will receive training from former big league players and coaches. Recent instructors in the program have included Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Dave Winfield along with former manager Jerry Manuel.The top 44 players will then be invited to Atlanta to play in a special showcase game at SunTrust Park as part of the “Hank Aaron Week” festivities put on each year by the Braves. The program will also include presentations on college availability, potential job opportunities within the sport and visits to cultural sites around the city.“It’s been a great success for us. Being able to add Hank and his legacy is going to enhance it and bring more opportunities,” said Tony Reagins, who oversees MLB’s youth programs.Over the past four years, the Elite Development Invitational has seen more than 100 alumni playing in the minors or in college. Five players have been drafted in the first seven rounds the past two years including Hunter Greene, who was a first-round selection by the Reds in 2017.“This has been a joint program that has truly made a difference http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , we believe, in not just the development of a number of young people that have come through the program on the field, but also off the field, as well,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said.According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association Participation Report from 2016, baseball participation among African-American youth was higher than football (3.8 percent to. 3.4 percent). Overall, baseball has seen a 49.1 percent increase in casual participation. BASEBALLBrian Dozier, Chris Archer and Jonathan Schoop were among the many players traded before the deadline for making deals without waivers.Wilson Ramos and Brandon Kintzler also were on the go in the flurry of 15 deals. Every team except San Francisco made at least one trade since the All-Star Game, with Tampa Bay swinging seven.Archer hugged teammates at Tropicana Field before heading to Pittsburgh in one of the deadline’s more surprising deals. He joins a Pirates club that has pushed back into the playoff race even after trading away Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen in the offseason.The Rays also sent former All-Star catcher Ramos to NL East-leading Philadelphia.Dozier went from the Twins to the Dodgers, Schoop from the Orioles to the Brewers Kenley Jansen Jersey , and Kintzler from the Nationals to the Cubs. Baltimore also sent starter Kevin Gausman to the upstart Braves.Bryce Harper, Jacob deGrom, J.T. Realmuto and McCutchen had been mentioned in trade speculation, but stayed put.WASHINGTON (AP) In the highest-scoring game in franchise history, Daniel Murphy hit two early home runs and the Washington Nationals kept pouring it on against emergency reliever Jose Reyes and the New York Mets in a 25-4 rout.Trea Turner, who apologized before the game to his teammates for homophobic and racially insensitive tweets he sent several years ago, had four of Washington’s 26 hits. Pitcher Tanner Roark hit a three-run double during a seven-run first inning.The Nationals set the team scoring mark dating to their days as the Montreal Expos in 1969. It was the Mets’ most-lopsided loss in their 57-season history, worse than a 26-7 pounding by Philadelphia in 1985.Reyes made the first pitching appearance of his career, and the 35-year-old infielder got tagged for home runs by Matt Adams and Mark Reynolds in a six-run eighth. Throwing a fastball in the mid-80s mph and a curve in the upper 40s, Reyes gave up five hits and walked two.Reyes also plunked Ryan Zimmerman with a soft toss. After getting hit in the leg http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , Zimmerman playfully faked a charge toward the mound, drawing a laugh from Reyes, who wore one of ace Jacob deGrom’s gloves on the mound.The game got so out of hand, Mets television announcers Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Gary Cohen took turns reading verbatim from the team’s media guide in the late innings – the SNY network played the theme from ”Masterpiece Theatre” in the background.WASHINGTON (AP) – Bryce Harper is still a member of the Washington Nationals, with the two-time defending NL East champions hoping he can lead them on another playoff run after a season-long funk.Washington opted not to trade Harper, who’ll be a free agent after the season, after listening to offers for him. The Nationals didn’t do much else, either, before Tuesday’s trade deadline Enrique Hernandez Jersey , shipping out a relief pitcher but otherwise standing pat as the two teams ahead of them in the division – Atlanta and Philadelphia – made moves to upgrade their rosters.General manager Mike Rizzo said he had discussions with other teams about a litany of players and Harper was one of them, with several teams having more than a passing interest. He said the team did its due diligence on Harper and five or six other players, but there wasn’t a deal that made sense.”It would have to be a spectacular set of circumstances for us to move a player of Bryce Harper’s ability level, and we didn’t get anything that met those qualifications,” Rizzo said.SPORTS BETTINGATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – An Atlantic City casino will become the fourth in New Jersey to offer sports betting.Harrah’s casino plans to start taking sports bets at 11 a.m. Wednesday, two days after its sister property, Bally’s, did.So far, the Borgata Walker Buehler Jersey , Ocean Resort and Bally’s are offering sports bets, along with two horse racing tracks, the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park.What everyone is waiting for is approval to offer mobile or online sports betting. No one has yet been approved to offer that, although numerous gambling companies have applied to state gambling regulators for permission to do so before football season begins in September.NEW YORK (AP) – The NBA and WNBA will now share official data with MGM Resorts International, a major win for the leagues as they prepare for the anticipated growth of sports betting across the country.The Las Vegas-based casino giant will pay the NBA for that data to use in determining outcomes of various bets. The NBA’s stance has been that getting accurate stats to bettors is critical so players know what they’re betting on and so casinos will know when to pay out, and MGM Resorts is the first casino to make an arrangement with the league for those numbers.Terms of the deal announced Tuesday were not disclosed, other than it’s a multiyear arrangement.”I know the value of data,” MGM chairman and CEO James Murren said. ”To be able to have the official NBA data for sports bettors around the world is very valuable. I was willing to, and I’ve paid for that.”