ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg 10-year-old just returned from Seattle, where he was crowned a champion at the MLB All-Star Game.
Yet, he never even had to swing a bat or catch a ball. Kamron Richardson’s an all-star when it comes to math.
This is the first year The Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast incorporated The MLB Players STEM League into their summer camp curriculum.
“Most of the kids like baseball. It also has an edge of competition, which kids like too,” said Charlotte Robbins with The Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast.
The kids set a lineup consisting of major league players and stats, then round the bases using addition and multiplication, and no one has rounded more bases than Richardson.
Richardson said he’s actually not a huge math fan, but you don’t have to like it to be good at it.
The fifth grader was among 24 students across the United States and beyond to be invited to Seattle over All-Star weekend to compete in the Global Championship.
“He’s a great student, he has a good sense of sportsmanship, and he has a great personality,” said Robbins.
It was the adventure of a lifetime for Richardson, including his first trip on an airplane.
“I thought I would be stepping out of my comfort zone, but after the plane took off, I took two, three steps back in my comfort zone,” said Richardson.
He was on the field during the homerun derby, where he met and received an autograph from his favorite player.
“When I saw Julio Rodriguez, my jaw didn’t really drop in real life, but in my head, I was like, 'Is that Julio Rodriguez,'" said Richardson.
He also had an on-field encounter with Tampa Bay Rays all-star mascot Raymond.
“He kind of picked me up and started swinging me around,” said Richardson.
Then it was time for Richardson to show off his own all-star talents. His team went on to win the Global Championship.
“They were going to get a point, and we were going to do another inning which made me really nervous, and then I rolled the dice, and then I did the multiplication,” said Richardson.
