As Cal Ripken Jr. looked at the group of kids sitting in the infield, he thought back to a day in 1981, when he first stepped foot on this field. Well, not this field, exactly. But at this exact location, where Ripken stood Thursday morning, he made his Orioles debut.

It all looks different now, with the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Family Center Y and apartment buildings surrounding the former site of Memorial Stadium, where Ripken made his debut for an organization with which he became synonymous. Where he stood Thursday, speaking to a group of baseball players from the James Mosher Baseball League, it all flooded back.

Home plate on this youth field sits in the same location home plate sat at Memorial Stadium.

“It’s pretty sacred ground,” Ripken said, and he can think of no better way to use that sacred ground than to promote the sport to which he has dedicated his life.

That’s why the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation made it its first youth development park. And Thursday, as Ripken announced a partnership with MLB’s Nike RBI program that will expand the reach of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, they held it at the former grounds of Memorial Stadium for a reason.

The ballpark, after all, served as a home to Cal Ripken Sr. during much of his time as a coach. As his son gives back to the community, Ripken Jr. often thinks of how his dad would’ve wanted the teaching of the game to continue here.

“When we think about him, I kind of think about him as a teacher, ’cause a coach does a whole lot more than just teach you how to play,” Ripken said. “Kind of helps you with your confidence, pushes you in the right direction. … That’s really the magic that happens through the relationship of sport. And hopefully that’s what we’re capturing with the kids.”

The Nike RBI program is entering its 37th year, growing from a local project in Los Angeles to an international campaign in more than 200 cities. Ripken’s foundation, founded in 2001, has grown since its inception, too.

By partnering with MLB, the foundation will expand its coverage and provide additional access to kids pursuing baseball and softball across the country. It will supply equipment packages and training videos, and host clinics and other events during their first year in tandem.

“When you’re trying to grow the game, you’re looking for good partners to scale, to grow, and there’s so many attractive attributes about the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation,” said Tony Reagins, the chief baseball development officer for MLB and a board member on the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.

“When I talk about Cal, he’s really one of the only professional athletes who has been able to do what he’s done, in terms of the foundation and the 125 youth parks that are around the country,” Reagins continued. “It’s going to give us access to more young people, enjoying our brands, and hopefully we can keep our game alive for the next 100 years.”

Reagins said, in the last decade, MLB has seen a 106% increase in “casual growth,” meaning “young people who just touch the game.”

He thinks that growth can continue through opportunities provided by Ripken’s foundation.

“In some ways, my mom and my dad might say, ‘Don’t get too big for your britches,’ is what the warning would be,” Ripken said. “The goal is to help as many kids as possible. But the organization that we’ve built, we’re nearly in all 50 states now. To me, a program and partnership with MLB, we’re just touching the surface. We have all the potential in the world to grow this and the people that benefit are the kids, and that’s what it’s all about.”

On Thursday, on the turf field where Memorial Stadium used to stand, Ripken played baseball with kids. He served as a batting practice pitcher as kids teed off on him. They ran the bases, chased down fly balls and made a ruckus doing so.

Later, they split into individualized drills. For Tamika Bell, a coach and manager at the James Mosher Baseball League in Baltimore, events such as the one Thursday build excitement for the sport that has a lasting effect on the lives of kids.

Both of Bell’s children played in Mosher leagues, and she said her daughter, who is turning 28, returns to watch and support the next group of athletes.

“It’s a long-lasting benefit, because a lot of them end up coming back and being coaches,” Bell said. “They stay involved in the community. They’ll come out and watch games if they were former players and things like that. My daughter, she used to be a player, but she still comes out and watches the games. She comes out and supports the girls. Sometimes she brings ice cream for the girls, waters, things like that.”

The James Mosher leagues, which include baseball and softball teams, were founded in 1960. It’s one of the, if not the, longest continuously running African American youth baseball leagues in the country. They often play on fields built or supported by Ripken’s foundation, such as Eddie Murray Field in West Baltimore.

Events such as Thursday’s baseball clinic are highlights for the kids in the leagues.

“They get excited when I say ‘Cal Ripken. We’re going to do something with Cal Ripken today,’” Bell said. “The kids just light up like a light bulb. They enjoy every moment of it. And they just love to see him.”

Ripken’s role with the Orioles has changed since he was a debutant standing at home plate at Memorial Stadium all those years ago. He’s a Hall of Famer and a part-owner of the club, and he reflected on the poor start to the season briefly during his appearance at Thursday’s event.

What hasn’t changed, however, is his love of the game. That’s why his foundation, named for his dad and former coach, is focused on the next generation of players.

“Get kids playing it, because instead of just watching it, you want to play it, and you learn how to love it,” Ripken said.

Correction: Captions in this story have been updated to correct the name of the James Mosher Baseball League.