Cubs, Rangers Playing 'Futures Game' March 30

Every summer, future major-league stars play a Futures Game prior to the All-Star Game. Kris Bryant played in that game last July in Minneapolis.

The Cubs and Texas Rangers are going to be doing the same thing on a smaller scale a week from Monday, March 30, at Sloan Park. The best prospects and young players from each organization will showcase their talents when they take the field at 7 p.m. Arizona time. This will follow the regularly-scheduled game at Sloan Park that day: Cubs vs Giants at 1 p.m. Arizona time.

Tickets are $6 and will be general admission. You can buy them at the Sloan Park ticket office or at sloanpark.com. Gates will open an hour before the start of the game. Parking in the general lots, located east of the ballpark, will be free.

A portion of the net proceeds from the game will benefit the Cubs Charities Diamond Project, which expands opportunities for children to play baseball in the Mesa community. Over the last four years, working with the Mesa Hohokam Foundation, Cubs Charities has raised funds to support youth sports, including the Mesa Little League.

The Diamond Project, one of Cubs Charities’ signature programs launched in 2014, aims to provide funds to nonprofit, neighborhood-based organizations to support capital improvement projects and improve the quality, safety and accessibility of local baseball fields. In addition, the program is intended to build an infrastructure through partnerships and resident involvement that will sustain these open spaces for the community.

The Texas Rangers will donate their portion of the game’s proceeds to the Dane McDonald Safe at Home Foundation, an Arizona nonprofit started by AZL Rangers’ Hitting Coach Donzell McDonald in honor of his son, who is the nephew of Cubs Mental Skills Program Coordinator Darnell McDonald.

I haven't decided yet whether I'll go to this game after a long afternoon at the ballpark, but it does sound like fun if you're in the area, and the price is certainly reasonable.