MILWAUKEE -- Nestor Cortes grew up in greater Miami with a knack for wielding a hammer or a saw or a screwdriver. That’s thanks to his amateur handyman dad, who probably didn’t foresee his son making it to the Major Leagues and then putting those skills to use with a group of grade schoolers on the warning track. But Cortes must have been a quick study, judging by the speed with which he completed the first of the 60 bookshelves built by the Brewers and their young assistants as part of a community event involving the entire team on Monday. The students came to American Family Field from Lloyd Barbee Montessori School and Greenfield Bilingual School via Forward Scholars, a community volunteer tutoring program focused on helping kids from kindergarten through third grade who need some help to catch up to grade level in their reading. The program began in 2022 with five partner schools and has grown to nine schools today.
“We’re so thrilled that the Brewers offered this opportunity to our students,” said Carrie Streiff-Stuessy, the program’s executive director. “The kids have worked hard all year long. They’ve gone to tutoring twice a week with their dedicated community volunteer. They have learned not only to love to read, not only to be able to read, but to understand what it really means to have perseverance and to get through things that can feel hard sometimes.”
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The kids each went home with their bookshelves and a stack of books courtesy of Brewers Community Foundation and the club’s “Beyond the Diamond” community initiative, a series of outreach events throughout the season meant to connect players, coaches, alumni, families and front office personnel with the community.
“We’re out here with the kids pushing reading, which I think is something that especially in the summer can fall by the wayside, but is still as important as it is during the school year,” said Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins, a new dad. “We feel good about doing good things.”
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Is Hoskins handy around the house? “I’m getting handier with a 7-month-old,” he said. “Luckily they gave us some pretty elementary bookshelves right now.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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QUINTANA COMING TO THE POD |
Brewers left-hander Jose Quintana is one of the best players ever from Colombia, playing in his 14th Major League season and counting. He has a charitable foundation that helps to distribute equipment in his home country to young ballplayers in an effort to spread the game of baseball. It’s an incredible success story. And in a forthcoming episode of the Brewers Unfiltered podcast, Quintana told Sophia Minnaert and I that it all began, essentially, by accident. “I grew up in a small town named Arjona, Bolívar, and I started playing baseball when I was 10 years old,” Quintana said. “It started a little weird because I wanted to play soccer at that time. Soccer is the biggest sport in my country, so everybody as a kid wants to play soccer. “That’s what I wanted to do also, but the thing is, when I started to play it was full everywhere. My parents said, ‘Let’s start with another sport. Why don’t we start with baseball, and probably later in the year you can play soccer if you want.’” So, instead of playing on the pitch, he learned how to pitch. “I so loved playing [baseball], and I caught it right away,” Quintana said. “I never thought of being a professional player. I just played for fun. The chemistry with baseball was right away. It was my love right away. I wanted to play baseball.” That’s just part of our conversation with Quintana, who talked about the challenges facing young Latin American prospects, how he’s lasted so long in a game getting younger every year, and why he’s so eager to pitch in next year’s World Baseball Classic. Look for the episode soon in your podcast feed. |
ALL-STAR BALLOTING UNDERWAY |
All-Star Game voting is underway as of last week. Here’s what you need to know: How does All-Star voting work during Phase 1? The first of two All-Star voting phases opened on June 4 at noon ET and will end on Thursday, June 26 at noon ET. During this time, fans around the world can vote for the All-Star starters -- eight position players and one designated hitter -- for each league. You can fill out a 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot at MLB.com/vote, on all 30 MLB club sites and on the MLB app and MLB Ballpark app. How often can I vote during Phase 1? You can cast a 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot as many as five times per every 24-hour period. Each day, after submitting a fifth vote on the ballot, fans will be given the option to be redirected to the mobile game PRO SPIRIT for an exclusive opportunity to vote for a sixth time. What happens to the top vote-getters from Phase 1? The top two vote-getters at each position (and the top six outfielders) in each league will be revealed on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 26. The overall leading vote-getter in each league will receive an automatic spot in their team’s starting lineup while the other top vote-getters will advance to Phase 2 of voting. If an outfielder is a league’s leading vote-getter, only the next four outfield finalists will move on to Phase 2 to determine who starts at the two remaining spots. When does Phase 2 of All-Star voting begin? Phase 2 will begin at noon ET on Monday, June 30, and continue until noon ET on Wednesday, July 2. During this three-day window, fans can vote only once per 24-hour period on MLB platforms for the starters they want to see in the Midsummer Classic. Vote totals from Phase 1 don’t carry over. The winners at each position (including three outfielders in each league) will be revealed on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET on July 2. |
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