Students at Brunson Lee Elementary learn about the Arizona Fall League Home Run Readers initiative, which challenges students to read books for the chance to earn tickets to AFL events. (Photo by Hana Kaufman/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX — The “best kept secret in baseball” is striving to go beyond the game.
For more than three decades, the Arizona Fall League has captivated Valley sports fans by showcasing future MLB stars while offering baseball junkies a sunny place to get their fix.
It’s a mission that the league wants to not just benefit itself, but also the community in which it is engrained.
That is why the AFL has created more community initiatives over the past few years to not only promote its product, but to also give back to the people of Arizona.
“I think for us to be successful in my eyes, having a relationship on the ground in Arizona, in the Valley, in the community, is mission critical to everything,” said Chuck Fox, director of the Arizona Fall League.
After debuting in 1992, the AFL has spent the last 33 years serving as a haven for baseball’s top prospects to continue their development and give fans a glimpse of the sport’s future stars.
Baseball’s top prospects make up six AFL teams and each team plays at a different spring training facility. Each Fall League team is made up of seven-to-eight prospects from five major league teams.
The AFL season begins in early October and lasts until the middle of November, giving each team roughly 30 games, depending on playoffs. There is also an All-Star Game and Home Run Derby that is played toward the end of the season.
Some of MLB’s most notable players have taken the field in the AFL over the years, including Mike Trout, Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper and Michael Jordan. Yes, that Michael Jordan.
Now, the Fall League is beginning to focus on the other prospects in the area. Students.
“I think that the Fall League or any sports in general should reflect the communities that we’re in and what better way than in the schools,” said Donna Petersen, AFL project/events and community outreach director.
Two years ago, the AFL partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley with an initiative that brought almost 200 students to two Fall League games to introduce them to basic levels of baseball analytics by STEM Sports. There have been other community-driven promotions, but this was a starting point for the AFL to increase their involvement in the community.
Students at Brunson Lee Elementary learn about the Arizona Fall League Home Run Readers initiative, which challenges students to read books for the chance to earn tickets to AFL events. (Photo by Hana Kaufman/Cronkite News)
For the 2025 season, the Fall League has created three main community programs.
The HomeRun Readers program is a way to get elementary school students in the greater Phoenix area reading with the incentive of attending different Fall League events throughout the season. Depending on the students’ age and reading level, there is a “nine inning” and “seven inning” program that last either nine weeks or seven weeks.
Students use bookmarks provided by the AFL to track their reading progress and those who complete the program are rewarded with tickets to the Fall League’s triple-header event and the home run derby at the end of the season.
“From a community aspect, I think bringing kids and having an initiative for them to come out with their families is really important,” league operations coordinator Zoe Durst said. “I think that reading is a great step. Especially in the early ages, it’s very fundamental.”
Another program this year is the Draw The Pros, where elementary school students draw pictures of AFL players. Some of the drawings will be selected to be used as the player’s headshots during games on the scoreboard.
The third program is the Hometown Harmonies program. This gives local youth choirs, orchestras and musical ensembles the opportunity to perform the national anthem or full pregame sets at AFL games throughout the season.
“The work we’re doing with the different programs, different initiatives, really are going to unleash that demographic of young families and getting the kids to the ballpark,” Fox said.
The Fall League has also initiated a change designed to draw more families by adding Sunday games to the schedule. The AFL began playing games on Sunday last season, with promotions paired with the games to encourage more fans to attend.
“Traditionally, the Fall League didn’t have Sunday games for a while, but I think we looked at Sundays as an opportunity, as a family day,” Fox said. “So we piloted playing games on Sundays. We had kids running the bases afterwards and the response was tremendous. Really did well and drew much better in some of the markets that maybe we struggled a little bit.”
The AFL has taken big strides over the last few years to be more engaged in the community. But it doesn’t see an end in sight in terms of expanding its community outreach.
“We’re always trying to get better and make the league a great place for family entertainment, and trying to draw those new fans that may have maybe not experienced it,” Fox said.