MADISON- The spirits of Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson, two of the greatest baseball players of all time, seem to hover around the festivities of the Major League Baseball Youth Development Baseball Camp in Vero Beach, Fla. the last week of July. The aura of the two Hall of Famers was evident to the 120 participants from around the country including Myles Hammonds of the Bob Jones baseball team.

Known as the Hank Aaron Invitational and hosted at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, the Sunday-Thursday camp was a prelude to 44 of the players selected to hop aboard a plane and fly to Atlanta where the young athletes were treated to two additional days of the Major League Baseball experience at Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. The trip concluded with the elite group of players doing battle in the annual Hank Aaron Invitational showcase game on Saturday, Aug. 3.

“The experience was amazing as a lot of players don’t have the opportunity to play on this stage,” said Hammonds who will play his senior season for the Patriots next spring. “I thought I did very well and both the camp and the game were great.”

The 17-year old Hammonds is a second baseman-outfielder for Bob Jones and was a part-time starter a season ago. He has time of 6.76 seconds in the 60-yard sprint, a hand speed of 23.6 while at bat and a bat speed of 77.2. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound right-handed hitter and thrower was coached by former Major League Baseball players who rated Hammonds a five-tool player. The rating means he has all the tools necessary to be successful at the next level of play. Those five tools are hit, pitch, run, field and hit for distance.

In addition to being instructed by dozens of former Major League players, managers and coaches on the field, they heard from a notable list of guests from throughout the baseball community, including Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. Over the last six MLB Drafts, more than 65 alumni of this event were selected, including 10 in 2024. In total, more than 200 alumni of the program are playing baseball at the next level, either professionally or on the collegiate level.

The camp portion of the event included two machine-pitched games and two live-pitch games. College and professional scouts are in attendance. Hammonds went 1 for 2 with a single and a walk and had three stolen bases in game one while he batted third in the lineup in the live games where he had one hit, one RBI with one stolen base.

“I attended the camp with one of my Bob Jones teammates, Vincent Howald, and we had a blast,” added Hammonds. “After the camp they chose 44 of us to go to Atlanta for the Invitational game. Once in Atlanta on Thursday, we stayed at the Omni Hotel overlooking Truist Stadium. On Friday, we were treated to a trip to the Atlanta History Center and Museum and then attended a big lunch event with Hank Aaron’s wife and former Major League Baseball player and manager Dusty Baker. That night, we were formally introduced on the field prior to the Braves-Marlins game.”

The 44 selected athletes, a number that pays homage to the number worn by the legendary Aaron throughout his Hall of Fame career, were broken down into two teams. One carried the name of Hank Aaron while Hammonds’ team was named after Robinson. After a short walk to the stadium and walking onto the playing field, the athletes were ready for the 10:30 a.m. first pitch.

Hammonds played two innings at second base. He struck out at his only plate appearance and turned a double-play with the shortstop on his only fielded ball.

His parents, Jeffrey and Keisha Hammonds, made the trek to The Big Peach for the contest, which was live-streamed on MLB.com and later aired on MLB Network.

Hammonds is proud of the fact he was recommended by a scout for the camp two years ago and was invited in 2023, but was unable to attend. This year, he was able to make the trip of a lifetime.

“On the ride home with my parents is when it hit me about the experience I just went through and how special the entire week was,” said Hammonds. “The experience put a lot of things in perspective. I know nothing is given and you have to work for it. I know my work paid off, but I need to get better.”